From the calendar, 2028.

Friday, September 22

Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishop of Sinope

Strict fastNo meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil.

Appointed to be read.

At the
1. EpistleEphesians 1:7–17
2. GospelLuke 4:22–30

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Epistle.

Ephesians 1:7–17

1 min read

7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

8which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

9having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

10that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

11In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

12that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

15Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

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Gospel.

Luke 4:22–30

1 min read

22So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, 'Is this not Joseph's son?'

23He said to them, 'You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.' '

24Then He said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.

25But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;

26but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

27And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.'

28So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

29and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.

30Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

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In remembrance.

Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishop of SinopeRead the life

He was a zealous, wise and wonder-working bishop in his birthplace, Sinope, which lies on the southern shore of the Black Sea. For bringing many idolators to faith in Christ, he was hated by the pagans. He was arrested by the governor Africanus, subjected to various tortures,and finally scalded to death in a bath-house. He contested for the Faith during the reign of the Emperor Trajan.

Venerable Cosmas, desert-dweller of Zographou, Mt Athos (1323)Read the life

“Saint Cosmas came from Bulgaria where his devout parents provided him with a good education in Slavonic and Greek. They wanted him to marry but he was drawn by the love of Christ and, unknown to them, made his way to the Holy Mountain of Athos to become a monk at the Bulgarian monastery of Zographou. On the feast of the Annunciation at the Monastery of Vatopedi, he saw a woman among those serving in the Church and in the refectory, and he was grieved at first to observe this breach of the monastic rule, but overjoyed when he realized that it was the Mother of God who had appeared to him in this way.

Read the full life

Further.

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The Fathers, the services and the lives of the saints.

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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.