Friday, 6 March 2026

Forty-two Martyrs of Ammoria

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

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

Presanctified Liturgy

Saints commemorated

Discovery of the Precious Cross by Empress Helen

The Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross commemorates the discovery of the True Cross of Jesus Christ, which was found by Empress Helen (Saint Helena), the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine I, in the early fourth century. According to sacred tradition, Empress Helen travelled to Jerusalem and, through prayer and investigation, located the site of Golgotha (the place of the skull) where Christ was crucified. Through her piety and determination, the three crosses were discovered: the cross of Jesus Christ and the crosses of the two thieves crucified with Him. Through a miraculous sign, the True Cross was identified: when it was brought near to a dying woman, she was instantly healed. Empress Helen subsequently built the magnificent Church of the Holy Sepulchre over the site of both Golgotha and the Resurrection tomb. This discovery became one of the most significant events in Christian history, as it brought the most precious relic of Christendom to light and provided believers with tangible proof of the historical reality of Christ's passion and resurrection. The Orthodox Church venerates the Precious Cross and honours the memory of Empress Helen as a saint and discoverer of the holiest relic.

Holy 42 Martyrs of Amorion

The forty-two martyrs of Amorion were Christian soldiers and monks who suffered martyrdom during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus (829-842 CE), a period marked by renewed conflict with the Islamic Caliphate and internal religious disputes over icon veneration. When the city of Amorion was besieged and captured, forty-two Christian captives were selected for execution because of their refusal to renounce Christ and convert to Islam. Among them were soldiers, monks, and clergy of various ranks. Despite torture and threats of execution, all forty-two remained steadfast in their confession of Jesus Christ and refused to apostatise. They were executed together, glorifying God through their martyrdom. Their joint witness became one of the most celebrated examples of Christian martyrdom in Byzantine history. The Orthodox Church commemorates them on 6 March as the Holy 42 Martyrs of Amorion, and their feast is of great liturgical significance, recognised as a major commemoration in the Orthodox calendar.

Saint Arcadius of Cyprus

Arcadius was a Christian saint of Cyprus who lived in the early centuries of the Church. Little detailed biographical information survives in historical records, but tradition holds that he was a man of deep faith and devoted Christian practice. Arcadius became known throughout Cyprus for his holiness, his pastoral concern for the faithful, and his powerful intercession on behalf of those who sought his prayers. Though the specific details of his ministry and his repose are not extensively recorded in surviving sources, the Orthodox Church has preserved his memory as a saint worthy of veneration. Arcadius is commemorated in the liturgical tradition and honoured as an intercessor whose prayers benefit the faithful. The Church's veneration of him testifies to the presence of holiness throughout all ages and in all places, and to the communion of saints that binds the earthly Church to those who have passed into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Also commemorated: Forty-two Martyrs of Ammoria

Daily readings

6th Hour

weekly cycle

Isaiah — Isaiah 7.1-14

¹And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. ²And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. ³Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; ⁴And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. ⁵Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, ⁶Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: ⁷Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. ⁸For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. ⁹And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

¹⁰Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, ¹¹Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. ¹²But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. ¹³And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Vespers

weekly cycle

Genesis — Genesis 5.32-6.8

³²And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, ²That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. ³And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

⁴There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

⁵And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

⁶And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. ⁷And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

⁸But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Vespers

weekly cycle

Proverbs — Proverbs 6.20-7.1

²⁰My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ²¹Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. ²²When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. ²³For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: ²⁴To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. ²⁵Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. ²⁶For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. ²⁷Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? ²⁸Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? ²⁹So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. ³⁰Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; ³¹But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. ³²But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. ³³A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. ³⁴For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. ³⁵He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

¹My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.