Fasting Guidelines
Friday May 10, 2024
Fasting information unavailable.
Today’s Commemorations
- Bright Friday: The Life Giving Fountain of the Mother of God
- Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Footprint” at Pochaev
- Apostle Simon the Zealot
- Saint Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal of the Kiev Near Caves
- Martyrs Philadelphus, Cyprian, Alphius, Onesimus, Erasmus, and 14 others, in Sicily
- Martyr Hesychius of Antioch
- Blessed Isidora the Fool of Tabenna in Egypt
- Blessed Thais of Egypt
- “Kiev-Bratsk” Icon of the Mother of God
- Venerable Comgall of Bangor
Scripture Readings
1 John 3:21-4:6 (Vespers, 1st reading)
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4:11-16 (Vespers, 2nd reading)
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:20-5:5 (Vespers, 3rd reading)
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
John 21:15-25 (Matins Gospel)
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.” Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
1 Corinthians 4:9-16 (Epistle, Saint)
For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
Matthew 13:54-58 (Gospel, Saint)
When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Philippians 2:5-11 (Epistle, Theotokos)
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28 (Gospel, Theotokos)
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Acts 3:1-8 (Epistle)
Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them – walking, leaping, and praising God.
John 2:12-22 (Gospel)
After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
Saints and Feasts Celebrated Today
Bright Friday: The Life Giving Fountain of the Mother of God 
Today we commemorate the Life-Giving Fountain of the Most Holy Theotokos.There once was a beautiful church in Constantinople dedicated to the Mother of God, which had been built in the fifth century by the holy Emperor Leo the Great (January 20) in the Seven Towers district.Before becoming emperor, Leo was walking in a wooded area where he met a blind man who was thirsty and asked Leo to help him find water. Though he agreed to search for water, he was unable to find any. Suddenly, he heard a voice telling him that there was water nearby. He looked again, but still could not find the water. Then he heard the voice saying “Emperor Leo, go into the deepest part of the woods, and you will find water there. Take some of the cloudy water in your hands and give it to the blind man to drink.Then take the clay and put it on his eyes. Then you shall know who I am.” Leo obeyed these instructions, and the blind man regained his sight. Later, Saint Leo became emperor, just as the Theotokos had prophesied.Leo built a church over the site at his own expense, and the water continued to work miraculous cures. Therefore, it was called “The Life-Giving Fountain.”After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the church was torn down by the Moslems, and the stones were used to build a mosque. Only a small chapel remained at the site of the church. Twenty-five steps led down into the chapel, which had a window in the roof to let the light in. The holy Fountain was still there, surrounded by a railing. After the Greek Revolution in 1821, even this little chapel was destroyed and the Fountain was buried under the rubble. Christians later obtained permission to rebuild the chapel, and work began in July of 1833. While workmen were clearing the ground, they uncovered the foundations of the earlier church. The Sultan allowed them to build not just a chapel, but a new and beautiful church on the foundations of the old one. Construction began on September 14, 1833, and was completed on December 30, 1834. Patriarch Constantine II consecrated the church on February 2, 1835, dedicating it to the Most Holy Theotokos.The Turks desecrated and destroyed the church again on September 6, 1955. A smaller church now stands on the site, and the waters of the Life-Giving Fountain continue to work miracles.There is also a Life-Giving Fountain Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos which is commemorated on April 4.
Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Footprint” at Pochaev 
On Bright Friday we commemorate the Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Footprint” at Pochaev.In the year 1340, two monks came and settled in a cave on the hill where the monastery is now located. After reading his usual Prayer Rule, one of them went to the top of the hill, and and suddenly he beheld the Theotokos standing on a rock and enveloped in flames. He summoned the other monk, who also witnessed the miracle. A third witness of the vision was the shepherd John Bosoy. He ran to the hill, and the three of them glorified God. The Most Holy Theotokos left the imprint of her right foot on the stone where she had stood, and this filled up with water. Since that time, many people have been healed at this miraculous spring.
Apostle Simon the Zealot 
Saint Simon was from Cana in Galilee, and was known to the Lord and His Mother. Tradition says that he was the bridegroom at the wedding where the Savior performed His first miracle. After witnessing the miracle of the water which had been turned into wine, he became a zealous follower of Christ. For this reason, he is known as Saint Simon the Zealot.Saint Simon was one of the twelve Apostles, and received the Holy Spirit with the others on Pentecost. He traveled to many places from Britain to the Black Sea, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. After winning many pagans to the Lord, Saint Simon suffered martyrdom by crucifixion.Saint Demetrius of Rostov says that this Saint Simon is to be distinguished from the Apostle Simon Peter, and from the Lord’s relative Simon (Mt.13:55), who was the second Bishop of Jerusalem.Saint Simon is also commemorated on June 30 with the other Apostles.
Blessed Thais of Egypt 
Saint Thais lived in Egypt in the fifth century. Left an orphan after the death of her wealthy parents, she led a pious life, distributing her wealth to the poor, and she gave shelter to pilgrims on her estate. She decided that she would never marry, but would devote her life to serving Christ. After spending all her inheritance, Thais was tempted to acquire more money by any means, and began to lead a sinful life. The Elders of Sketis near Alexandria heard of her fall, and asked Saint John the Dwarf (November 9) to go to Thais and persuade her to repent. “She was kind to us,” they said, “now perhaps we can help her. You, Father, are wise. Go and try to save her soul, and we will pray that the Lord will help you.”The Elder went to her home, but Thais’s servant did not want to allow him into the house. Saint John said, “Tell your mistress that I have brought her something very precious.” Thais, knowing that the monks sometimes found pearls at the shore, told her servant to admit the visitor. Saint John sat down and looked her in the face, and then began to weep. Thais asked him why he was crying. “How can I not weep,” he asked, “when you have forsaken your Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, and are pleasing Satan by your deeds?” The Elder’s words pierced the soul of Thais like a fiery arrow, and at once she realized how sinful her present life had become. In fear, she asked him if God would accept the repentance of a sinner like her. Saint John replied that the Savior awaited her repentance. That is why He came, to seek and to save the perishing. “He will welcome you with love,” he said, “and the angels will rejoice over you. As the Savior said Himself, one repentant sinner causes the powers of Heaven to rejoice” (Luke 15:7). A feeling of repentance enveloped her, and regarding the Elder’s words as a call from the Lord Himself to return to Him, Thais trembled and thought only of finding the path of salvation. She stood up and left her house without speaking to her servants, and without making any sort of disposition of her property, so that even Saint John was amazed. Following Saint John into the wilderness, she hastened to return to God through penitence and prayer. Night fell, and the Elder prepared a place for Thais to lay down and sleep. He made a pillow for her from the sand, and he went off somewhat farther, and went to sleep after his evening prayers. In the middle of the night, he was wakened by a light coming down from the heavens to the place where Thais was at rest. In the radiant light he saw holy angels bearing her soul to Paradise. When he went over to Thais, he found her dead. Saint John prayed and asked God to reveal to him whether Thais had been saved. An angel of God appeared and told him, “Abba John, her one hour of repentance was equal to many years, because she repented with all her soul, and a compunctionate heart.”After burying the body of the saint, Saint John returned to Sketis and told the monks what had happened. All offered thanks to God for His mercy toward Thais who, like the wise thief, repented in a single moment.
“Kiev-Bratsk” Icon of the Mother of God 
The wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk (i.e. “Brotherhood”) Icon of the Mother of God was revealed in 1654, and was originally kept in the church of Saints Boris and Gleb in the city of Vyshgorod (Kiev), and was placed in a shrine to the left of the Royal Doors on the iconostasis. On May 10, 1662, during a war with Poland (1659–1667), the city suffered great damage from the Poles and Crimean Tatars who fought against Russia. The church of the Holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb was ravaged and looted by enemy soldiers, who took all the jewels and icons, but the relics of the Saints were hidden under a crypt. By God’s Providence, the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was preserved. Some devout Christians, at the risk of their very lives, rescued the Icon of the Mother of God from the unclean hands of those who had stolen it. Since they were unable to hide the Icon, they had to consign it to the Dnieper River, praying that God’s will would be done. To their amazement, the Icon did not sink, but floated upright down the river. Leaving Vyshgorod, the Tatars began to cross the Dnieper, but they were drowned during a storm. Only one of them escaped by clinging to the Icon of the Mother of God as though it were a raft. The river carried the holy Icon to the bank of the Podil in Kiev, where it stopped before the Bratsk Monastery. The Tatar was afraid of drowning, and cried desperately for help. A boat was sent from the Monastery, into which the monks received the Icon and the Tatar. The Tatar, whose life was spared by God, believed in Jesus Christ and was baptized. The Icon was placed in the wooden church of Saints Boris and Gleb, where it remained for a long time. An inventory of the church property in the Kiev-Bratsk Monastery, compiled in 1807, gives a description of the miraculous Icon. In 1919, the Bratsk Monastery was closed, and the Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God was thought to be lost. For a long time, the lack of information about the shrines of the Monastery until the 90s of the XX century was perceived as confirmation that the Icon was lost. In recent years, however, studies have shown that the Icon is one of the five most valuable icons in the Monastery. It was transferred to the Kiev Caves Lavra in 1926. In 1948, this group of icons was first recorded in the ledger of the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NHMU) with a note saying their fate before they came to the museum was unknown. The reacquisition of the Kiev-Bratsk Icon occurred in the early 2000s, when employees of the NHMU established a connection between these monuments and the Bratsk Monastery. Currently the Kiev-Bratsk Icon is in the collection of NHMU. It’s reacquisition is regarded as confirmation of the Icon’s miraculous qualities. There is an exact copy of the Icon, which is located in the Kievan Monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God. The Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God is commemorated on September 6, May 10, June 2, and on Saturday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent.
Venerable Comgall of Bangor 
Saint Comgall (Comhghall), “the Father of Monks,” was born in Ireland at Dalaradia, Co. Ulster sometime between 510 and 520. Unlike many of the early Irish saints, Saint Comgall was not of noble birth. He served as a soldier, then studied with Saint Finnian of Moville (September 10). He was ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Lugaid before the age of forty. Saint Comgall and several companions lived for a time on an island in Lough Erne in the county of Ulster, where they lived a very strict ascetical life. Although his desire was to be a missionary in Scotland, Bishop Lugaid asked him to stay in Ireland and establish a monastery at Bangor (Bennchor) on the southern shore of Belfast Loch (in modern Co. Down). The monastery was founded sometime between 552-555.It is believed that over four thousand monks were trained by Saint Comgall at Bangor, including Saint Columbanus of Luxeuil (November 21, or 23) and Saint Moluag (June 25). Saint Comgall often prayed while standing in the water for several hours. Sometimes at night his cell seemed to be ablaze with a heavenly radiance.Later Saint Comgall did visit Scotland, where he became very close to Saint Columba of Iona (June 9), by whose prayers Comgall was once saved from drowning.Saint Comgall lived to an advanced age, then suffered from a prolonged illness. He completed the course of his earthly life at Bangor on May 10, 602, after receiving Holy Communion from Saint Fiacre (August 30).
Saint Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal was an author of the Kiev Caves Paterikon, and he became a monk at the Monastery of the Caves, sometime in the second half of the twelfth century. In the year 1206 he was appointed igumen of the Vladimir Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos, and in 1214, at the wish of Prince George Vsevolodovich (+ 1238), he was made the first bishop of Vladimir-on-the-Klyazma and Suzdal. In 1218 he consecrated a church at the Nativity monastery, and in the year 1225, a cathedral church at Suzdal. The Great Prince, who deeply respected Saint Simon, was prepared to establish a new bishop’s See at Suzdal for his friend, the monk Polycarp of the Kiev Caves monastery, who sought after spiritual glory. Saint Simon, seeing that Polycarp was not yet ready to assume such an office, talked the Great Prince out of his idea, and he wrote a deeply moving letter to Polycarp, in which he offered his friend advice on overcoming his spiritual shortcomings. Saint Simon’s own inner life, character, and virtue are also revealed in the epistle.Saint Simon was known as a learned teacher, and his epistle to Polycarp was placed at the beginning of the Kiev Caves Paterikon. On the eve of his repose in 1226, the saint received the schema.Initially his body was buried at Vladimir, but later, in accordance with the saint’s last wishes, his body was transferred to the Kiev Caves Lavra, where it rests in the Antoniev Caves.
Martyrs Philadelphus, Cyprian, Alphius, Onesimus, Erasmus, and 14 others, in Sicily
The Holy Martyrs Philadelphus, Alphaeus, Cyprian, Onesimus, Erasmus and 14 others with them, lived during the third century and came from Italy. Alphaeus, Philadelphus and Cyprian were sons of a governor in Italy, named Vitalius. They were enlightened by faith in Christ and baptized by Saint Onesimus. During this period the emperor Licinius issued orders to seek out and hand over the Christians for torture. The brothers went to Rome together with Onesimus, Erasmus and fourteen other Christians. At Rome the pagans crushed the chest of Saint Onesimus with a heavy stone, which killed him. Erasmus and the fourteen Martyrs were beheaded. The brothers Alphaeus, Philadelphus and Cyprian suffered in the city of Mesopolis Leontini in Sicily, where they had been sent from Rome. Saint Philadelphus was burned over an iron lattice in the year 251, in the reign of the emperor Decius. In the year 1517 their incorrupt relics were discovered at Leontini [Lentini]. Saints Alphaeus, Philadelphus and Cyprian appeared to Saint Euthalia (March 2) and told her that she would be healed of an affliction after she was baptized.
Martyr Hesychius of Antioch
The Holy Martyr Hesychius of Antioch lived in Antioch during the reign of Maximian Galerius (305-311), and he occupied a high official position. Maximian issued an edict by which all Christians were to be deprived of military rank and expelled from military service. Those who would not renounce Christianity were stripped of their soldier’s belt and military insignia, and degraded to the level of hired servants. Saint Hesychius was one of these. Maximian ordered Hesychius to remove his robes of office, put on common attire, and to be placed among the women servants. After several days he summoned Hesychius and asked, “Are you not ashamed to remain in such dishonor?” Saint Hesychius answered, “The honors which I had from you were only temporal.” Then Maximian gave orders to drown Saint Hesychius in a river, with a millstone tied about his neck. The exact year of the martyr’s death is not known.
Blessed Isidora the Fool of Tabenna in Egypt
Saint Isidora, Fool-for-Christ, struggled in the Tabenna monastery in Egypt during the sixth century. Taking upon herself the feat of folly, she acted like one insane, and did not eat food with the other sisters of the monastery. Many of them regarded her with contempt, but Isidora bore all this with great patience and meekness, blessing God for everything. She worked in the kitchen and fulfilled the dirtiest, most difficult tasks at the monastery, cleaning the monastery of every impurity. Isidora covered her head with a plain rag, and instead of cooked food she drank the dirty wash water from the pots and dishes. She never became angry, never insulted anyone with a word, never grumbled against God or the sisters, and was given to silence. Once, a desert monk, Saint Pitirim, had a vision. An angel of God appeared to him and said, “Go to the Tabenna monastery. There you will see a sister wearing a rag on her head. She serves them all with love, and endures their contempt without complaint. Her heart and her thoughts rest always with God. You, on the other hand, sit in solitude, but your thoughts flit about all over the world.” The Elder set out for the Tabenna monastery, but he did not see the one indicated to him in the vision among the sisters. Then they led Isidora to him, considering her a demoniac. Isidora fell down at the knees of the Elder, asking his blessing. Saint Pitirim bowed down to the ground to her and said, “Bless me first, venerable Mother!” To the astonished questions of the sisters the Elder replied, “Before God, Isidora is higher than all of us!” Then the sisters began to repent, confessing their mistreatment of Isidora, and they asked her forgiveness. The saint, however, distressed over her fame, secretly hid herself away from the monastery, and her ultimate fate remained unknown. It is believed that she died around the year 365.
Today’s Hymns
Bright Friday: The Life Giving Fountain of the Mother of God – Troparion & Kontakion
Kontakion — Tone 8
O most favored by God, you confer on me the healing of your grace from your inexhaustible Fountain.
Therefore, since you gave birth incomprehensibly to the Word,
I implore you to refresh me with the dew of your grace that I might cry to you: Hail, O Water of salvation.
Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Footprint” at Pochaev – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 8
O Victorious Leader, who has chosen the mountain of Pochaev as your habitation,
we, your servants, sing our grateful thanks and praise to you, O Theotokos;
for you have glorified this godly place from of old by the appearance of the healing power of your footprint and your wonderworking image.
As you once preserved your habitation from the invasion of infidels,
set us free from every calamity and invasion,
so that always preserved through your help, we may sing from the depths of our souls:
“Rejoice, O Praise of Pochaev, our hope and consolation.”
Apostle Simon the Zealot – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 3
Holy Apostle Simon
entreat the merciful God
to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.
Kontakion — Tone 2
With praise let us all bless Simon, the herald of God,
who established the doctrines of wisdom securely in the souls of the pious.
Now he stands before the throne of glory,
and rejoicing with the angels, he unceasingly prays for us all.
Saint Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal of the Kiev Near Caves – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 4
In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith,
an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence;
your humility exalted you;
your poverty enriched you.
Hierarch Father Simeon,
entreat Christ our God
that our souls may be saved.
Martyrs Philadelphus, Cyprian, Alphius, Onesimus, Erasmus, and 14 others, in Sicily – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 4
Your holy martyrs O Lord,
through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God.
For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through their intercessions, save our souls!
Martyr Hesychius of Antioch – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 3
Your holy martyr Hesychius, O Lord,
through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God.
For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through his intercessions, save our souls!
Kontakion — Tone 2
You appeared as a bright star announcing Christ with your radiance,
which is repulsive to this world, O Martyr Hesychius;
extinguishing the allure of false gods,
you enlighten the faithful,
always interceding for us all.
Blessed Isidora the Fool of Tabenna in Egypt – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 8
In you the image was preserved with exactness, O Mother,
for taking up your cross, you followed after Christ.
By so doing, you taught us to disregard the flesh, for it passes away,
but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore, most venerable Mother Isidora your spirit rejoices with the Angels.
Kontakion — Tone 2
Because of your love of God you forsook a bed for rest, O Mother Isidora,
you illumined your soul with fasting, thoroughly vanquishing your enemies;
but by your intercessions destroy the evil designs of our adversaries.
Blessed Thais of Egypt – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 8
By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe!
O our holy mother Thais, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
Troparion — Tone 8
In you the image was preserved with exactness, O Mother,
for taking up your cross, you followed after Christ.
By so doing, you taught us to disregard the flesh, for it passes away,
but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore, most venerable Mother Thais your spirit rejoices with the Angels.
Kontakion — Tone 2
Because of your love of God you forsook a bed for rest, O Mother Thais,
you illumined your soul with fasting, thoroughly vanquishing your enemies;
but by your intercessions destroy the evil designs of our adversaries.
“Kiev-Bratsk” Icon of the Mother of God – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 4
Let all of us, who are burdened with sins, fall on our knees before the Theotokos,
bowing before her wonderworking Icon of Tenderness,
kissing it and crying aloud with tears:
“O Sovereign Lady, accept the prayer of your unworthy servants,
and to us who ask, grant your great mercy.”
Kontakion — Tone 6
We have no other help, we have no other hope but you, O Lady.
Help us, for in you do we hope,
and of you do we boast, for we are your servants.
Let us not be put to shame.
Venerable Comgall of Bangor – Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 3
Having learned of the goodness of the Grace that comes from the Highest
and girded yourself from your youth in a clear conscience,
O Comgall, imitator of Christ, you were a pillar of patience
and a preacher of the Word of God,
you confirmed the teachings of the faith and subdued the imaginations of the superstitious,
by so doing you gladly suffered for the truth being an example of suffering.
Since you possess boldness before Christ our God
do not cease to pray for us, who in love revere your holy memory.
Readings and Feast Day Information provided by The Orthodox Church in America (OCA).
Fasting guidelines provided by The Greek American Orthodox Archdiocese (GOARCH).
Aggregated and Formatted by OrthoBot.
If you benefit from this daily content, please consider Subscribing to my Substack.
Orthodox Daily Readings 