Friday, 6 February 2026

St Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna

65 days before Pascha · Tone 1 · Liturgy · No Fast (Fast Free)

Saints commemorated

Holy Martyr Julian of Emesa

312

The Holy Martyr Julian was a native of the Phoenician city of Emesa (modern Homs in Syria). He was born into a Christian family and from his youth devoted himself to learning the healing arts. He became a skilled physician, well-trained in the knowledge of medicine and the treatment of bodily infirmities. However, his gifts extended far beyond the merely physical; through his faith in Christ and his pastoral care, he was also able to heal the spiritual wounds of those who came to him, converting many souls to faith in the Saviour. Saint Julian lived during a time of persecution, when the Roman authorities sought to suppress the Christian faith and compel the faithful to abandon Christ. During the reign of the Emperor Numerian, when the civil authorities arrested the bishop of Emesa for his Christian faith, Saint Julian, moved by his love for Christ and his bishop, hastened to embrace and encourage the imprisoned bishop. For this act of Christian compassion and loyalty, he was immediately arrested. During the persecution, a terrible storm arose over the region, with hail covering the city. The force of this storm frightened away the wild beasts that had been assembled to devour the Christian prisoners, providing temporary deliverance from death. However, the governor of Emesa, seeking to eliminate the Christian witness, ordered the execution of all captured Christians. Remarkably, through God's providence, Saint Julian was spared from immediate execution while others suffered martyrdom. The persecutors sought to exploit his gifts as a physician, compelling him to serve their purposes. However, Saint Julian remained faithful to Christ despite the threats and pressures he faced. Ultimately, the governor of Emesa, seeing that Saint Julian would not renounce his faith, condemned him to death. The holy martyr received the crown of martyrdom in the year 312 under the emperor Maximian, sealing his witness with his blood. Saint Julian is venerated as a Holy Unmercenary, a physician who did not take money for the cures he performed, but rather offered his healing gifts freely in the name of Christ and for the glory of God.

Saint Bukolus, Bishop of Smyrna

The Holy Father Bukolus was a disciple of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, who ministered in Asia Minor. Through the instruction of the Apostle, Saint Bukolus received the faith of Christ and was prepared for great service in the Church. After the death of the Apostle John, the Church in Asia Minor grew and expanded, and Saint Bukolus was ordained as a bishop to shepherd the flock in the city of Smyrna. Saint Bukolus became the first Bishop of Smyrna and laboured tirelessly to establish the Church in that great city. By the grace of God working through him, he converted many pagans from their false worship to faith in Christ and baptized them into the Church. He was adorned with all Christian virtues, manifesting especially gentleness and meekness toward all whom he encountered, following the example of the Apostles and of Christ Himself. Through his ministry and witness, the Church in Smyrna flourished and grew strong. Saint Bukolus served faithfully as bishop for many years, providing pastoral care and spiritual guidance to the faithful. As his life drew to a close, recognizing the need for continuity in the apostolic succession, he designated the holy Polycarp as his successor in the episcopate. Polycarp would later become one of the most celebrated bishops of the early Church, known for his martyrdom and his letters to the faithful. Saint Bukolus peacefully departed this life between the years 100 and 105, having completed his faithful labours. A myrtle tree grew at his grave, and the Lord granted through this tree the gift of healing to many who came with faith seeking relief from their infirmities. After his death, churches dedicated to Saint Bukolus were built in Smyrna and elsewhere, serving as centres of worship and pilgrimage. Today, a church dedicated to Saint Bukolus still stands in operation in Smyrna (the modern city of Izmir, Turkey), testifying to the enduring veneration of this holy apostolic bishop. A portion of his holy relics is preserved in the Monastery of Saint Theodosios in Argos, where the faithful continue to venerate his memory and seek his intercession.

Saint Photius the Great, Patriarch of Constantinople

The Holy Father Photius the Great was one of the most brilliant and influential church leaders and theologians of the Byzantine Church. Born in Constantinople, he came from an aristocratic family and received an exceptional education. From his youth, he demonstrated exceptional intellectual gifts and a profound knowledge of sacred learning, classical literature, and theology. He rose to prominence in the imperial court and in the Church through his learning, wisdom, and spiritual gifts.

Saint Photius served as Patriarch of Constantinople during two periods: first from 858 to 867, and again from 877 to 886. His tenure as Patriarch occurred during a crucial and turbulent period in the history of the Church, marked by theological disputes, ecclesiastical controversies, and tensions between Constantinople and Rome. Despite these challenges, Saint Photius proved himself to be a stalwart defender of Orthodox doctrine and the apostolic traditions of the Eastern Church.

He was renowned for the power of his theological teaching and preaching. His contemporaries called him "the Second Chrysostom" for the eloquence and strength of his homilies and his pastoral care for the flock of Christ. His written works display profound theological learning and scriptural insight. He was a defender of sacred images (icons) against those who opposed their veneration, and he stood firm against the pretensions of Rome to universal jurisdiction over the Church.

Saint Photius was also a great scholar and accomplished author. He composed the Myriobiblon (or Bibliotheca), a remarkable work cataloguing and summarizing numerous ancient texts, thereby preserving much learning that would otherwise have been lost. He was a leading figure of the ninth-century Byzantine renaissance, a time of remarkable intellectual and cultural achievement. Historians regard him as "the leading light of the ninth-century renaissance" and as the most important intellectual of his time.

Saint Photius was also instrumental in the evangelization of the Slavic peoples. He worked to establish the Church among the Slavs and supported missionary efforts to bring the Gospel to these peoples. His theological and pastoral leadership extended far beyond Constantinople, influencing the life of the entire Orthodox Church.

Saint Photius departed this life on 6 February, the date on which his feast day is observed. Though the exact year of his repose is not certain, some sources indicate it occurred around 893, or perhaps earlier. His memory is venerated in the Orthodox Church as one of the greatest Patriarchs of Constantinople and as a defender of Orthodox faith and learning.

Sts Barsanuphius and John the Prophet, monks of Palestine

6th c.

‘Saint Barsanuphius the Great, who was from Egypt, and his disciple, Saint John the Prophet, struggled in very strict reclusion during the sixth century at the monastery of Abba Seridus at Gaza of Palestine, and were endowed with amazing gifts of prophecy and spiritual discernment. They are mentioned by Saint Dorotheus of Gaza, their disciple, in his writings. Many of the counsels they sent to Christians who wrote to them are preserved in the book which bears their names. Once certain of the Fathers besought Saint Barsanuphius to pray that God stay His wrath and spare the world. Saint Barsanuphius wrote back that there were “three men perfect before God,” whose prayers met at the throne of God and protected the whole world; to them it had been revealed that the wrath of God would not last long. These three, he said, were “John of Rome, Elias of Corinth, and another in the diocese of Jerusalem,” concealing the name of the last, since it was himself.’ (Great Horologion) Saint Barsanuphius lived in such reclusion that only Abbot Seridus ever saw him: once a week the Abbot would bring him three loaves and some water, and would write down the Saint’s counsels. Some of the brethren came to suspect that Barsanuphius was an invention of the Abbot, and to relieve their minds he came out of his cell for the only time, greeted them, washed their feet, and withdrew again. It is unknown when St Barsanuphius reposed. When it was suspected that he had died in his cell, the Patriarch of Jerusalem ordered that it be opened, but fire blasted forth from the door, preventing any from entering.

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

1 John — 1 John 2.7-17

⁷Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. ⁸Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. ⁹He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. ¹⁰He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. ¹¹But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. ¹²I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. ¹³I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. ¹⁴I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. ¹⁵Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. ¹⁷And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Mark — Mark 14.3-9

³And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. ⁴And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? ⁵For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. ⁶And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. ⁷For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. ⁸She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. ⁹Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.