Sunday, 3 August 2025

8th Sunday after Pentecost

105 days after Pascha · Tone 7 · Red squigg (doxology typikon symbol) · Dormition Fast (Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

Holy Myrrhbearer Salome

Saint Salome the Myrrhbearer is named in the Gospel according to Saint Mark among the women who stood watching the crucifixion of the Lord from afar and who came on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, bringing spices to anoint his body and were the first to receive from the angel the news of his resurrection. She is identified by tradition with the wife of Zebedee mentioned by Saint Matthew, and so as the mother of the holy apostles James the Greater and John the Theologian. According to the tradition received in the Church, Salome was a daughter of Saint Joseph the Betrothed by his first marriage, and therefore was reckoned a sister of the Lord, and a near kinswoman of the Most Holy Theotokos. From the days of his preaching in Galilee she followed Jesus with a number of other devout women, ministering to him from her substance. It was she who came to the Lord with her sons, asking that they might sit one at his right hand and one at his left in his kingdom, receiving the gentle rebuke that drew from her sons the promise of the cup of suffering. After Pascha she remained among the disciples in Jerusalem and is numbered by the Church among the eight myrrhbearing women. Her memory is kept on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, the third Sunday of Pascha, and again on this day, on which from antiquity she has been honoured among the saints of the early Church.

Saint Anthony the Roman, Wonderworker of Novgorod

Saint Anthony the Roman was born about 1067 in the city of Rome to wealthy Orthodox parents who, in the years of the schism between East and West, kept the faith of the early Church. After their death he distributed much of his inheritance to the poor, sealed the rest of his gold and silver in a wooden cask which he committed to the sea, and at the age of about eighteen withdrew to a hermitage on a rock by the shore of the western sea, where he lived for twenty years in fasting and prayer. According to the chronicle of his monastery, on 5 September 1106 a great storm arose on the eve of the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God; the rock on which he was praying was torn from its foundation and carried by the waves out to the open sea. Borne on this stone for two days and two nights through the waters, the saint arrived at last on the bank of the river Volkhov, three versts from Veliky Novgorod, on the very day of the feast. The local people, beholding this marvel, brought him to Saint Nikita, bishop of Novgorod, who blessed him to found a monastery on the spot where the stone had come to rest. The barrel of treasure he had cast into the sea years before was miraculously brought up by fishermen of the river, and with these means the monastery was built, dedicated to the Nativity of the Mother of God; the stone itself remains in the courtyard of the cathedral of the monastery. In 1131 Saint Niphon, bishop of Novgorod, made him igumen of the brotherhood. He fell asleep in the Lord on 3 August 1147, and was buried by Saint Niphon. His relics were uncovered incorrupt in 1597, and in the same year he was glorified for general veneration in the Russian Church.

Sts Isaac, Dalmatus and Faustus, ascetics of the Dalmatian Monastery, Constantinople

5th c.

St Isaac is also commemorated May 30; see his life there. St Dalmatus was a soldier in the Imperial army, but along with his son Faustus left all to become a monk at the monastery founded by St Isaac. He was present at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in 431; there he labored zealously for the Orthodox faith against Patriarch Nestorius. He was made Archimandrite of all the monasteries in Constantinople, and reposed in peace, having lived for more than eighty years.

Venerable Isaakios, Dalmatos and Faustos of the Dalmaton Monastery

Saint Isaakios was a hermit and confessor of the fourth century who lived in the desert near Constantinople. Hearing of the persecution stirred up by the Arian emperor Valens against the Orthodox, he came to the city to admonish the emperor in person. He met Valens as he was setting out on campaign against the Goths and warned him that he would not return alive unless he restored the Orthodox bishops to their sees. The emperor, mocking the elder, ordered him cast into a thorny pit, but Isaakios was preserved by an angel, and Valens perished as the saint had foretold, burned to death in a barn near Adrianople in 378. The new emperor Theodosius the Great honoured the elder, and a wealthy senator named Saturninus built a monastery for him outside the walls of Constantinople. Saint Isaakios governed the brethren until extreme old age and reposed in peace about 383, leaving as his successor his disciple Dalmatos, formerly an officer in the imperial guard, who had distributed all his goods to the poor and embraced the monastic life. From this Saint Dalmatos the monastery took its lasting name. Saint Dalmatos showed himself a zealous defender of the Orthodox Faith at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in 431, leaving his cell after forty-eight years of enclosure to plead with the Emperor Theodosius the Younger on behalf of Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the council against the heresy of Nestorius. He was raised to the dignity of archimandrite of all the monasteries of the capital and reposed at the age of about ninety after 446. His son Saint Faustos succeeded him as igumen, distinguished by his abstinence and humility, and bringing the brotherhood through the troubles of the fifth century to a peaceful end of his own labours.

Also commemorated: Ven. Isaac, Dalmatius, Faustus

Daily readings

8th Matins Gospel

John — John 20.11-18

¹¹But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

¹¹But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping: so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; ¹²And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. ¹²and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. ¹³And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. ¹³And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. ¹⁴And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. ¹⁴When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. ¹⁵Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. ¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. ¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turneth herself, and saith unto him in Hebrew, Rabboni; which is to say, Teacher. ¹⁷Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God. ¹⁷Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. ¹⁸Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. ¹⁸Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples, I have seen the Lord; and that he had said these things unto her.

Epistle

weekly cycle

1 Corinthians — 1 Corinthians 1.10-18

¹⁰Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

¹⁰Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. ¹¹For it hath been signified unto me concerning you, my brethren, by them that are of the household of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. ¹²Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. ¹²Now this I mean, that each one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. ¹³Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? ¹³Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul? ¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; ¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you, save Crispus and Gaius; ¹⁵lest any man should say that ye were baptized into my name. ¹⁵Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. ¹⁶And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. ¹⁶And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. ¹⁷For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.

¹⁸For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

¹⁸For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Matthew — Matthew 14.14-22

¹⁴And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. ¹⁴And he came forth, and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

¹⁵And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. ¹⁵And when even was come, the disciples came to him, saying, The place is desert, and the time is already past; send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food. ¹⁶But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. ¹⁶But Jesus said unto them, They have no need to go away; give ye them to eat. ¹⁷And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. ¹⁷And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. ¹⁸He said, Bring them hither to me. ¹⁸And he said, Bring them hither to me. ¹⁹And he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. ¹⁹And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. ²⁰And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²⁰And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. ²¹And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. ²¹And they that did eat were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

²²And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

²²And straightway he constrained the disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him unto the other side, till he should send the multitudes away.