Sunday, 26 July 2026

8th Sunday after Pentecost

105 days after Pascha · Tone 7 · Red cross (polyeleos typikon symbol) · No Fast

Saints commemorated

Holy Hieromartyrs Hermolaus, Hermippus, and Hermocrates at Nicomedia

305

They were priests in Nicomedia; it was Hermolaus who converted St Panteleimon (July 27) to Christ. When St Panteleimon, interrogated by Maximian, was asked who had turned him from the idols, he named Hermolaus. (The Great Horologion notes that it had been revealed to Panteleimon that the time of Hermolaus’ martyrdom was near at hand). St Hermolaus was arrested allong with Sts Hermippus and Hermocrates and, when they proclaimed Christ to be the only true God, all were beheaded. St Hermolaus, along with his disciple St Panteleimon, is counted as one of the Unmercenary Physicians.

Holy hieromartyr Hermolaus and his fellow martyrs Hermippus and Hermocrates

Saints Hermolaus, Hermippus and Hermocrates were three aged presbyters of the church of Nicomedia in Bithynia at the beginning of the fourth century. After the destruction of the cathedral by the emperor Maximian and the killing of more than twenty thousand Christians within it on Christmas Day 302, the surviving clergy went into hiding throughout the city. Saint Hermolaus, an elder of mild and learned disposition, instructed those who came to him secretly, and it was through him that the young pagan physician Pantoleon, who afterwards became the great-martyr Saint Panteleimon, was led to the faith. Hermolaus baptised him and prepared him for his coming martyrdom. When Saint Panteleimon was arrested and confessed Christ before the emperor, he disclosed under torture only that he had been taught by an old man named Hermolaus. Soldiers were sent to arrest the elder, and the Lord forewarned him in a vision; he received them in peace and went with them, accompanied by his fellow presbyters Hermippus and Hermocrates. The three were subjected to cruel torments, but a great earthquake shook the city when they were brought before the idols, and many statues of the gods fell and were shattered. The emperor, in fury, ordered all three to be beheaded around the year 305, the day before the martyrdom of Saint Panteleimon. Their joint commemoration is kept by the Church on 26 July.

Holy martyr Jerusalem

Saint Jerusalem was a young Christian woman who suffered for Christ in the early centuries of the Church. According to the synaxaria, she was brought to the faith by her parents and was distinguished from her childhood by piety and the works of mercy. When her confession of Christ was reported to the local authorities during one of the persecutions, she was arrested and taken before the magistrate. Refusing every appeal to renounce the Lord, she gave the magistrate a fearless answer concerning the truth of the Gospel. After being scourged and shut up in prison, where she was strengthened by the sight of an angel, she was brought out a second time and beheaded. Her commemoration appears in the calendar of the Orthodox Church on 26 July among other martyrs of the day. The brevity of the surviving account preserves nonetheless the essential witness of her faith and her final crown.

Holy venerable-martyr Parasceva of Rome

Saint Parasceva was born in Rome in the second century, of pious Christian parents who, having long awaited a child, brought her into the world after much prayer. She was named Parasceva because she was born on a Friday, the day of the Lord's saving Passion. Orphaned in early adulthood, she distributed her inheritance to the poor and dedicated herself to the preaching of the Gospel, going about the streets and houses of the city to call her countrymen to the true faith. Many were brought to baptism through her teaching and the example of her chaste and ascetical life. Brought before the emperor Antoninus and questioned, she confessed Christ. The emperor first attempted to seduce her by promises of marriage and riches, then commanded that a hot helmet be placed upon her head; but the helmet became cold at the touch of her brow. She was cast into a vat of boiling pitch and oil, which became as cool water; and when the emperor demanded that she sprinkle some of it on his face, by her prayer his sight was restored from blindness which had come upon him. He himself confessed Christ and was baptised. Continuing her preaching after his repose, she suffered later under his successor Tarasius, who, after fresh tortures, ordered her to be beheaded. The Church honours her among the great women confessors of the early Roman Church.

Holy virgin-martyr Oraiozeli of Constantinople

Saint Oraiozeli, whose name in Greek may be rendered "the beautifully zealous," was a young woman of Constantinople in the apostolic age. According to her synaxarion, she was a disciple of the holy apostle Andrew the First-called, who instructed her in the faith and baptised her. From a noble family, she renounced an advantageous betrothal and gave herself wholly to prayer, the singing of psalms, and the care of the poor and of those in chains. Her family reproached her, but she answered every reproach with the words of the Gospel. Brought to the notice of the pagan magistrate, she was seized and questioned. Her confession was clear and unflinching; she suffered scourging, the breaking of her teeth and other torments, and at length she was put to death. She is numbered among the early martyrs of the church of Byzantium, and her commemoration is kept on 26 July, the same day as the more widely known holy mother Parasceva, with whom her name is sometimes joined in the menaia.

Venerable Moses the Hungarian, of the Kiev Caves

Saint Moses was a Hungarian by birth and brother of the holy passion-bearer Saint Ephraim of Novotorzhok and of Saint George the Hungarian. The three brothers entered the service of Saint Boris the prince of Rostov, and George was killed at his master's side at the Alta in 1015. Moses escaped from the slaughter and made his way to Kiev, where he found refuge in the household of the princess Predslava. When the Polish king Boleslaw invaded Kiev in 1018 he carried Moses captive into Poland together with many of the prince's people. There a noble and wealthy Polish widow saw the young man, fell into a violent passion for him, and bought him from his master. She tried by every persuasion, by lavish promises, threats and finally by torture to overcome his vow of chastity, but Moses kept it inviolate. With the help of an Athonite monk who passed through, he was secretly tonsured. Frustrated, the woman procured by influence at court a decree that he be mutilated; he endured a terrible operation and remained immovable in his purity. After her death and the political reverses that followed, he was set at liberty and made his way to Kiev, where he entered the Caves community under Saint Anthony. He lived there ten more years in great asceticism and reposed about 1043. The faithful invoke him as a powerful intercessor for those tempted by impurity. His relics rest incorrupt in the Near Caves.

Holy Righteous Martyr Paraskeve

140

She was born near Rome to pious parents. Since she was born on a Friday, she was named Paraskeve (Friday in Greek; literally “preparation” or “preparedness” because Friday was the Biblical Day of Preparation for the Sabbath). From early childhood she studied the scriptures, consecrated herself to a monastic life, and brought many to faith in Christ by her example and teaching. During the reign of Antoninus she was arrested because she was a Christian. When ordered to worship the idols, she answered “Let the gods that have not made heaven and the earth perish from off the earth” (Jeremiah 10:11). For this, after severe tortures she was beheaded in 140.

Saint James Netsvetov, Missionary to Alaska

1864

He was born on the island of Atka in 1802, to a Russian father and an Aleut mother. Traveling to Russia, he attended the seminary in Irkutsk, and returned to Alaska after being ordained to the priesthood. For the next thirty-six years he served as missionary and pastor to the Alaskan people, undergoing tremendous hardships to do so. He first traveled among the peoples of the Aleutian islands, using native kayaks to paddle between the islands. From 1845 to 1863 he worked among the native people of the Yukon valley, traveling from village to village by dog-sled. He was the first Orthodox priest to serve the area since the hieromartyr Juvenaly, companion of St Herman. He carried with him a tent which served as a traveling church, in which he served the Divine Liturgy wherever he went — though sometimes the services could not be held because the bread and wine had frozen. Toward the end of his life, worn out by his labors, he settled for a brief time in Sitka, where he reposed in peace in 1864.

Daily readings

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. 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. 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. ¹³Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; 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. 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.

¹⁸For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which 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.

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. ¹⁶But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. ¹⁷And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. ¹⁸He said, Bring them hither to me. 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 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.

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.

Vespers

Wisdom of Solomon — Wisdom of Solomon 5.15-6.3

¹⁵But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High.

¹⁶Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord’s hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.

¹⁷He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armour, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies.

¹⁸He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet.

¹⁹He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.

²⁰His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise.

²¹Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark.

²²And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them.

²³Yea, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.

¹Hear therefore, O ye kings, and understand; learn, ye that be judges of the ends of the earth.

²Give ear, ye that rule the people, and glory in the multitude of nations.

³For power is given you of the Lord, and sovereignty from the Highest, who shall try your works, and search out your counsels.

Vespers

1 John — 1 John 4.1-6

¹Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. ²Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: ³And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. ⁴Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. ⁵They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. ⁶We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Vespers

1 John — 1 John 4.20-5.5

²⁰If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? ²¹And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

¹Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. ²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. ³For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. ⁴For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. ⁵Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

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, 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. 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. 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. ¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. 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.

Epistle

— St Jacob

Philippians — Philippians 3.7-14

⁷But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. ⁸Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, ⁹And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: ¹⁰That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; ¹¹If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. ¹²Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. ¹³Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ¹⁴I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Gospel

— St Jacob

Mark — Mark 10.29-31, 42-45

²⁹And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, ³⁰But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. ³¹But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. ⁴²But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. ⁴³But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: ⁴⁴And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. ⁴⁵For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.