Wednesday, 4 March 2026

Ven. Gerasimus of the Jordan; Rt. Blv. Prince Daniel of Moscow

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

39 days before Pascha · Tone 5 · Presanctified · Lenten Fast

Presanctified Liturgy

Saints commemorated

Holy Martyrs Paul and his sister Juliana of Ptolemais

Paul and his sister Juliana were Christian siblings of Ptolemais in Egypt who lived during the age of persecution. Despite the dangers, both maintained their faith in Christ with steadfast courage. When brought before pagan magistrates and commanded to participate in idolatrous worship, they steadfastly refused, declaring their allegiance to Jesus Christ alone. Their refusal to comply with the demands of pagan authorities resulted in their arrest and torture. Rather than breaking under duress, brother and sister encouraged each other in faith and glorified God through their sufferings. Their martyrdom became a powerful witness to the triumph of Christian faith over the violence of persecutors. The Orthodox Church commemorates Paul and Juliana as joint martyrs and powerful intercessors, honouring the special grace that unites them as blood siblings united in faith.

Saint Casimir of Poland

Saint Casimir (1458-1484) was a prince of Poland, son of King Casimir IV, who distinguished himself by his piety, virtue, and unwavering commitment to Christian principles despite his position of power and privilege. From his youth, Casimir gave evidence of extraordinary holiness: he devoted himself to prayer, fasting, and the study of Scripture, and he refused to indulge in the pleasures and vanities that typically attracted noble youth. As he matured into manhood, Casimir became an advisor to his father and later served as regent of Poland, but he never allowed political authority to seduce him into worldly ambition or compromise of his principles. He was known for his justice, his defence of the Church's freedom, and his extraordinary generosity towards the poor. Casimir never married, choosing instead to dedicate himself entirely to service of God and neighbour. He spent long hours in prayer, particularly before the Blessed Sacrament, and was known for his mystical devotion to Christ. Though his life was brief—he reposed at only twenty-six years of age—his sanctity left an indelible mark on his age. The Orthodox Church venerates him as a saint and prince who chose the narrow way of ascetic virtue over the broad path of worldly pleasure.

Saint Joasaph, Prince of India

Joasaph (also known as Josaphat or Yudasaf) was a legendary Indian prince whose life story, though historically debated, has profound spiritual significance in Orthodox tradition. According to the sacred narrative, Joasaph was born a prince and heir to his father's kingdom but was shielded from knowledge of human suffering by his earthly parent. When he discovered through a chance encounter the reality of sickness, old age, and death, Joasaph's heart was moved to seek the true remedy for human misery. He secretly renounced his princely estate and sought out a wise Christian hermit named Barlaam, who became his spiritual father and guide. Through their dialogues, recorded in the famous "Barlaam and Joasaph" narrative, Joasaph was instructed in the Christian faith and ascetic discipline. Abandoning all worldly honours and pleasures, he devoted himself entirely to prayer, fasting, and the pursuit of union with God. The Orthodox Church venerates him as a saint and prince who chose the Kingdom of Heaven over all earthly glory.

Venerable Gerasimus of the Jordan

He was from Lycia in Asia Minor. After living there as a hermit for many years, he traveled to the Egyptian Thebaid and lived among the Desert Fathers. He then went to Palestine, where he founded the great Lavra, a community of about seventy monks, that remains to this day. The monastery’s rule was simple and strict: During the five weekdays, the monks would stay in their cells, praying and weaving baskets and mats. On these days they ate only a little dry bread and some dates. On Saturdays and Sundays the monks gathered for worship and ate boiled vegetables with a little wine. Each monk owned only one garment; if he left his cell he was required to leave it open so that anyone else could take whatever he needed from it. Saint Gerasimos himself was an example to all of them, exceeding even the rule that he laid upon them: during the Great Fast, he would eat nothing but what he received in Holy Communion.

In the desert, the Saint once saw a lion in great pain from a thorn in its paw. Moved by compassion, Gerasim approached it, made the sign of the Cross and pulled the thorn out. The lion followed the elder back to the monastery and remained there until the Saint’s death. When Gerasimos died, the lion, overcome by grief, soon died also, lying upon the Saint’s grave.

Saint Gerasimos was present at the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon, where he proved a strong champion of Orthodoxy, though he had inclined toward the Monophysite heresy in his youth. He reposed in peace in 475.

St James the Faster of Phoenecia

6th c.

“He lived in the sixth century. He was so perfected in godliness that he was able to heal the gravest illnesses by his prayers. But the enemy of the human race brought a heavy temptation on him. There was once sent to him a woman who had been corrupted by some mockers. She pretended to weep before him, but enticed him to sin. Seeing that he would fall into sin, James put his left hand into the fire and held it there until it was completely burned. Seeing this, the woman was filled with fear and horror, repented and reformed her life. “But on a second occasion he did not resist and fell with a young girl whom her parents had brought to him to be healed of her madness. He indeed healed her, but then sinned with her and, in order to conceal the sin, killed her and threw her into a river. As always, the path from lust to murder was not very long. James spent ten years after that as a penitent, living in a grave. He learned after that that God had forgiven him, because, when he at one time prayed for rain in a time of great drought from which both men and cattle were suffering, it fell. “Here is an example, similar to that of David, of how wicked the evil demon is; how, by the permission of God, the greatest spiritual giants can topple, and how again, by sincere repentance, God in His compassion will forgive the greatest sins and does not punish those who punish themselves.” (Prologue)

Also commemorated: Rt. Blv. Prince Daniel of Moscow

Daily readings

6th Hour

weekly cycle

Isaiah — Isaiah 5.16-25

¹⁶But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. ¹⁷Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

¹⁸Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: ¹⁹That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!

²⁰Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ²¹Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ²²Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: ²³Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! ²⁴Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. ²⁵Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Vespers

weekly cycle

Genesis — Genesis 4.16-26

¹⁶And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. ¹⁷And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. ¹⁸And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

¹⁹And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. ²⁰And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. ²¹And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. ²²And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²³And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. ²⁴If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

²⁵And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. ²⁶And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

Vespers

weekly cycle

Proverbs — Proverbs 5.15-6.3

¹⁵Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. ¹⁶Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. ¹⁷Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee. ¹⁸Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. ¹⁹Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. ²⁰And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? ²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

²²His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. ²³He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

¹My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, ²Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. ³Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.