From the calendar, 2028.

Tuesday, September 5

Prophet Zachariah and Elizabeth

Fast-free

Appointed to be read.

At the
1. Epistle2 Corinthians 12:20–13:2
2. GospelMark 4:24–34

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Epistle.

2 Corinthians 12:20–13:2

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20For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults;

21lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.

13:1This will be the third time I am coming to you. 'By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.'

2I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare

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Gospel.

Mark 4:24–34

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24Then He said to them, 'Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.

25For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.'

26And He said, 'The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,

27and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.

28For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.

29But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.'

30Then He said, 'To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?

31It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;

32but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.'

33And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.

34But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

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In remembrance.

Prophet Zachariah and ElizabethRead the life

Much of his story is told in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel. The Synaxarion continues:

‘After the birth of Christ, Zacharias plainly declared the virginity of Mary and showed her truly to be the Mother of God; for he appointed her a place in that part of the Temple reserved for the virgins and so brought upon himself the hatred of the priests and levites.

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Holy Hieromartyr Athanasius of Brest-Litovsk (1649)Read the life

“Saint Athanasius was born in the province of Minsk in 1596, the same year as the false Union of Brest-Litovsk was concluded between Rome and some Russian bishops. His father was a Lithuanian nobleman of modest means, but Athanasius acquired a breadth and depth of learning that were exceptional at that time. Besides modern and ancient languages and the writings of the holy Fathers, he was familiar with the works of Western philosophers and theologians.

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Holy Martyrs Abda the bishop, Hormizd and Sunin of Persia (4th c)Read the life

Saint Abda lived in Persia during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius II and of the Persian king Yazgerd I; as bishop of the Christians there, he labored tirelessly to care for his own flock and bring the pagans to Christ. One day, full of zeal, he entered the temple at which the king made sacrifice, overturned the sacred fire and set the temple on fire. The enraged king forbade the worship of the Christian God, ordered the destruction of all the churches and monasteries, and arrested all of the clergy. Abda was brought before the king and ordered to rebuild the pagan temple; when he refused, he was cruelly and lengthily tortured until he gave up his soul to God. This was the beginning of a thirty-year period of terrible persecution for Christians in Persia.

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Further.

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What this is.

The Scripture the Orthodox Church reads each day, the saints it remembers, and a study aid that answers from Scripture and the Fathers and shows its sources.

Divine Liturgy. The Church's main service, at which Holy Communion is given. Its Epistle and Gospel are what most people mean by the day's readings.

Matins. The morning service of praise. On Sundays and feasts it has a Gospel of its own.

Vespers. The evening service. The Church's day begins at sunset, so a feast's Vespers is served the evening before.

Hours. Short services of psalms and prayer at set times of the day: the First, Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours.

Tone. The hymns of the week are sung in one of eight tones, or melodies, which follow each other week by week.

New Calendar. Fixed feasts are kept on the civil date, as in the OCA and the Antiochian Archdiocese. Churches on the Old Calendar keep them 13 days later. Pascha is the same for both.