Sunday, 7 December 2025

26th Sunday after Pentecost

231 days after Pascha · Tone 1 · Red squigg (doxology typikon symbol) · Nativity Fast (Fish, Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

Holy Apostle Tychicus of the Seventy

Saint Tychicus was one of the Seventy Apostles, a faithful disciple and companion of the holy Apostle Paul in the first century. A native of the province of Asia, he is mentioned several times in the writings of Paul: he is one of those who travelled with the Apostle from Greece into Asia, and Paul calls him "a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord." Tychicus was entrusted by the Apostle to deliver the Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, and was sent on missions to Crete and to Asia. After the martyrdom of his teacher he succeeded the Apostle Sosthenes as bishop of Colophon (or, according to some traditions, Chalcedon) and laboured zealously, by his preaching and example, to confirm the faithful and bring many pagans to the knowledge of Christ. He reposed in peace and is commemorated on 7 December and again on 8 December among the synaxis of the Seventy Apostles.

Holy Martyr Athenodorus of Mesopotamia

The Holy Martyr Athenodorus, of Syrian Mesopotamia, embraced the monastic life from his youth, devoting himself to fasting, prayer and the reading of the Scriptures. When he was denounced to the authorities as a Christian, he was arrested and brought before the governor Eleusius. Refusing every command to deny Christ, he was subjected to fierce tortures: he was hung up and torn with iron hooks, his sides were burned with fire, and he was cast onto red-hot iron, but the flames did not harm him. Many pagans, beholding the miracles that accompanied his sufferings and seeing the holy martyr unharmed, came to faith in Christ. When at last the governor ordered the saint to be beheaded with the sword, the executioner who lifted up his weapon dropped down dead, and his head was severed from his shoulders. The holy Athenodorus, kneeling in prayer, gave up his soul to God of his own accord and was crowned a martyr around the year 304 during the persecution of Diocletian.

Holy Martyrs Priscus, Martin and Nicholas of Blachernae

The Holy Martyrs Priscus, Martin and Nicholas suffered for their confession of Christ near Blachernae in the imperial city of Constantinople in the early centuries of the Christian era. Steadfast in faith, they refused to offer sacrifice to idols and rebuked the impious. Each of them endured fierce torments and received the unfading crown of martyrdom by the sword for the glory of the name of Jesus Christ. Their memory is kept by the Orthodox Church on 7 December together with that of Saint Ambrose of Milan and the Holy Martyr Athenodorus.

Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan

This illustrious light of Orthodoxy in the Western Church was born in Gaul in 349, but his widowed mother took the family to Rome while he was still a small child. Brilliant and well-educated, he was made a provincial Governor in 375 and took up residence in Milan. In those days, the Arian heresy was still dividing the Church, despite its repudiation at the Council of Nicaea in 325. When the time came to elect a new Bishop in Milan, the Orthodox and Arian parties were so divided that they could come to no agreement on a new Bishop. When Ambrose came as Governor to try to restore peace and order, a young child, divinely inspired, called out “Ambrose, Bishop!” To Ambrose’s amazement, the people took up the cry, and Ambrose himself was elected, though he tried to refuse, protesting that he was only a catechumen (it was still common in those days to delay Holy Baptism for fear of polluting it by sin). He even attempted to flee, but his horse brought him back to the city. Resigning himself to God’s will, he was baptized and, only a week later, elevated to Bishop. Immediately, he renounced all possessions, distributed all of his money to the poor and gave his estates to the Church. Straightaway, he entered into a spirited defense of Orthodoxy in his preaching and writings to the dismay of the Arians who had supported his election. Soon he persuaded Gratian, Emperor of the West, to call the Council of Aquilea, which brought an end to Arianism in the Western Church. (Arianism, however, continued to prosper among the barbarian nations for many years; see the Martyrs of Africa, also commemorated today).

Several times the holy Bishop was called upon to defend the Church against domination by the secular powers. Once, putting down an uprising in Thessalonika, the Emperor Theodosius punished the city by ordering the massacre of thousands of its residents. When the Emperor later visited Milan and came to the Cathedral to attend the Liturgy, Saint Ambrose stopped him at the door, condemned his crime before all the people, forbade him entrance to the church and excommunicated him for eight months. The Emperor went away weeping, and submitted in humility to the Church’s discipline. When he returned after long penance to be restored to Communion, he went into the sanctuary along with the clergy, as had been the custom of the Emperors since Constantine the Great. But again the holy Ambrose humbled him in the sight of all the people, saying “Get out and take your place among the laity; the purple does not make priests, but only emperors.” Theodosius left without protest, took his place among the penitents, and never again attempted to enter the sanctuary of a church. (When the Emperor died, it was Bishop Ambrose who preached his funeral eulogy).

Saint Ambrose, by teaching, preaching and writing, brought countless pagans to the Faith. His most famous convert was St Augustine (June 15), who became his disciple and eventually a bishop. Ambrose’s many theological and catechetical works helped greatly to spread the teaching of the Greek fathers in the Latin world. He wrote many glorious antiphonal hymns which were once some of the gems of the Latin services.

Saint Ambrose reposed in peace in 397; his relics still rest in the basilica in Milan.

Venerable Ammon of Nitria

Saint Ammon (Ammoun), one of the great fathers of Egyptian monasticism, lived in the fourth century. Born to wealthy Christian parents around the year 294, he was compelled by his uncle to marry, but on the wedding night he persuaded his bride that they should live together as brother and sister, dedicated to chastity and prayer. After eighteen years of common life thus consecrated, with the bride's consent he withdrew to the Nitrian desert in Lower Egypt, where his wife in turn gathered other women to live the monastic life. There Ammon dwelt for twenty-two years, attaining great heights of asceticism, the gift of wonderworking and the discernment of spirits. He is venerated as the first hermit to settle the desert of Nitria and is associated with the founding of the monastic settlement of Kellia further south, which he, together with Saint Anthony the Great, established as a place for those seeking a stricter solitude. Saint Athanasius the Great in his Life of Saint Anthony mentions Ammon and recounts how Anthony beheld in vision the soul of his friend ascending to heaven at the moment of his repose around the year 350. He is commemorated on 7 December and on 4 October.

The Martyrs of Africa, who suffered during the Vandal persecution

In the year 429, eighty thousand Vandals crossed from Spain into Africa and, in the course of ten years of massacre and pillage, gained control of most of the Roman territories of North Africa. Many people picture these barbarians as pagans, but they were in fact Arian heretics, who under their leader Genseric began a fierce persecution of the Church wherever they encountered it. The tortures that many thousands endured in their confession of the Faith are too horrible to describe here; the clergy were singled out for special cruelty. Today we especially commemorate the Orthodox faithful whom the Vandals burned to death in their church, who went on singing hymns and praising God until the moment of their death. We also commemorate the three hundred Martyrs in Carthage who died by the sword rather than submit to Arian baptism. The death of Genseric in 454 brought little relief, for after a short hiatus his successors Huneric (477-484) and Gonthamund (484-497) continued the persecution as viciously as before. Christian Africa lived under the Vandal yoke for almost 100 years: freedom from persecution was not secure until Justinian’s forces overcame and drove off the Vandals in 523-525. The African Church, once a beacon of Christianity, never recovered its former vitality.

Our Venerable Father Antony of Siya

1556

Saint Anthony is one of the holy protectors of iconographers. He was born in 1477 in a Russian village near Archangel. From an early age he devoted himself to reading sacred books and making icons. When his parents died, he entered the service of a wealthy lord in Novgorod, and later married the lord’s daughter. But less than a year after his marriage he was widowed. Despairing of earthly consolations, he gave his wealth to the poor and, owning only the clothes that he wore, went to become a monk at the Monastery of St Pachomius. There he excelled in prayer, vigil and ascesis, praying for most of the night, taking on the heaviest work by day, and eating only every second day. After a short time he was ordained to the priesthood. Some years later he and two companions, seeking a more secluded life for prayer, traveled to the frigid shores of the White Sea and established a small monastic brotherhood where the River Siya enters Lake Mikhailov. They lived in utter poverty, staying alive by gathering mushrooms and wild berries. Many times they heard the sound of bells, though there was no church or habitation anywhere nearby. In time other brethren were attracted to the site, and a monastery was founded with the help of the Grand Prince of Moscow. When the monastery church burned down, an icon of the Holy Trinity painted by St Antony miraculously survived unscathed, and later worked many miracles. The Saint himself withdrew into the forests, living alone for many years until he was called back by his spiritual children to serve as the monastery’s abbot. Having foreseen his own end, he reposed in peace in 1556. He asked that his body be thrown into the lake, but his disciples, obedient in every other way, did not fulfil his request. His tomb was the source of many miracles in the coming years.

Also commemorated: Ven. Nilus of Stolobensk

Daily readings

4th Matins Gospel

Luke — Luke 24.1-12

¹Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. ²And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. ²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. ³And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: ⁴And it came to pass, while they were perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel: ⁵and as they were affrighted and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? ⁵And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, ⁶He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, ⁷saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. ⁷Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. ⁸And they remembered his words, ⁸And they remembered his words, ⁹And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. ⁹and returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. ¹⁰Now they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James: and the other women with them told these things unto the apostles. ¹¹And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk; and they disbelieved them. ¹¹And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. ¹²But Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb; and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths by themselves; and he departed to his home, wondering at that which was come to pass. ¹²Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Epistle

weekly cycle

Ephesians — Ephesians 5.8-19

⁸for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light ⁸For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ⁹(for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), ⁹(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) ¹⁰proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord; ¹⁰Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. ¹¹and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; ¹¹And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. ¹²For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. ¹²for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of. ¹³But all things when they are reproved are made manifest by the light: for everything that is made manifest is light. ¹³But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. ¹⁴Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. ¹⁴Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.

¹⁵Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; ¹⁵See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, ¹⁶redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁶Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁷Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; ¹⁸And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; ¹⁹Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; ¹⁹speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Gospel

weekly cycle

Luke — Luke 17.12-19

¹²And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: ¹²And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off: ¹³And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. ¹³and they lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. ¹⁴And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. ¹⁴And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go and show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed. ¹⁵And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁵And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice glorifying God; ¹⁶And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. ¹⁶and he fell upon his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? ¹⁷And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? but where are the nine? ¹⁸Were there none found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger? ¹⁸There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. ¹⁹And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. ¹⁹And he said unto him, Arise, and go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.