Thursday, 24 September 2026

Holy New Martyrs of Alaska

Thursday of the 17th week after Pentecost

165 days after Pascha · Tone 7 · Red cross (polyeleos typikon symbol) · No Fast (Fish, Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

★ Holy Protomartyr and Equal-of-the-Apostles Thecla

Saint Thecla, called by the Church the Protomartyr among women and Equal of the Apostles, was born in the city of Iconium of distinguished and wealthy parents, and was renowned for her great beauty. At eighteen years of age she was betrothed to a noble youth, but having heard the holy Apostle Paul preaching about Christ from the house of her neighbour Onesiphorus, she received in her heart a steadfast love for the Saviour and resolved to remain a virgin and follow the Gospel. Her mother and her betrothed in their fury denounced her to the judges; she was condemned first to be burned, but the flames did not touch her, being quenched by a sudden downpour. She afterwards followed Saint Paul to Antioch, where she was again handed over to be devoured by wild beasts, but a fierce lioness defended her, and afterwards the beasts let loose against her would not touch her body. Released at last, with the blessing of the Apostle Paul she withdrew to a cave near Seleucia in Isauria, where she lived as an ascetic for many years, healing the sick and converting many pagans. When in old age the heathen physicians, envious of the multitudes she healed, sent men to do violence to her, the rock of her cave opened by divine power and received her, where she fell asleep in peace.

Saint Stephen the First-Crowned of Serbia

Saint Stephen the First-Crowned was the second son of Saint Simeon Nemanja, the founder of the Serbian state, and the brother of Saint Sava, first Archbishop of Serbia. Born about 1165, he became Grand Prince of Serbia in 1196 on his father's abdication for the monastic life. Through his prudent rule and the prayers and counsel of his brother Saint Sava, he united and strengthened his realm; in 1217 he was crowned king with a crown sent from Rome, becoming the first ruler of Serbia to bear the royal title and so receiving the surname Prvovenchani, the First-Crowned. He laboured for the building up of the Serbian Orthodox Church and supported his brother Sava in establishing her autocephaly in 1219. He continued the building of the great monastery of Zhicha and the rich endowment of monastic houses begun by his father. Shortly before his repose he received the angelic schema with the name Simon, and fell asleep in the Lord on 24 September 1228. His holy relics, found incorrupt, were translated by his son to the monastery of Studenitsa, where they remain a place of pilgrimage and many wonders.

Venerable Coprius of Palestine

Saint Coprius, called also Copres or Koprios, was found as a newborn infant by the monks of the monastery of Saint Theodosius the Great in the wilderness of Palestine. He had been laid by his mother upon a heap of dung, in Greek kopria, during an invasion of the Hagarenes, that he might escape the slaughter; from this circumstance the monks gave him his name when they took him up and brought him into their community. They reared him on goat's milk in the monastery, and in due time he received monastic tonsure. He spent his whole life in the same house, distinguished for the simplicity of his obedience and the depth of his prayer, and reposed there in great old age. He is commemorated together with Saint Thecla on this day, as a witness to the love and care of the monastic fathers of Palestine for the orphan and the abandoned.

St Silouan, elder of Mt Athos

1938

He was a Russian peasant who traveled to Mt Athos and became a monk in the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon. He lived so simply, humbly and quietly that he might be forgotten had not Fr Sophrony (Sakharov) become his spiritual child and, after the Saint’s repose, written a book describing his life and teaching: St Silouan of Mt Athos, one of the great spiritual books of our time. It was through Fr Sophrony’s efforts that St Silouan was glorified as a Saint. Following a vision of Christ Himself, St Silouan withdrew to a hermitage to devote himself entirely to prayer; but he was called back to serve as steward to the monastery. Though he now supervised some two hundred men, he only increased his prayers, withdrawing to his cell to pray with tears for each individual worker under his care. For more than fifteen years he struggled with demonic attacks during prayer until he was almost in despair. At this point Christ spoke to him in a vision, saying ‘The proud always suffer from demons.’ Silouan answered ‘Lord, teach me what I must do that my soul may become humble.’ To this he received the reply, Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not. Silouan made this his discipline in every moment of his life, and was granted the grace of pure prayer. He said that if he ever let his mind wander from the fire of hell, disruptive thoughts would once again plague him. In his humiliation he was filled with a pervasive love for all — he said many times that the final criterion of true Christian faith is unfeigned love for enemies, and that ‘to pray for others is to shed blood.’ St Silouan demonstrates that the Church’s true Theologians are those who manifest in their own lives the fruits of the Church’s hesychastic spirituality, however insignificant they may appear to the eyes of the world.

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

Ephesians — Ephesians 4.14-19

¹⁴That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; ¹⁵But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: ¹⁶From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

¹⁷This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, ¹⁸Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: ¹⁹Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Luke — Luke 4.16-22

¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. ¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, ¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. ²⁰And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. ²²And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

Vespers

Isaiah — Isaiah 43.9-14

⁹Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. ¹⁰Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ¹¹I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. ¹²I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. ¹³Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

¹⁴Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

Vespers

Wisdom of Solomon — Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9

¹But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.

²In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery,

³And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace.

⁴For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality.

⁵And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself.

⁶As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering.

⁷And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble.

⁸They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.

⁹They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect.

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.

Matins Gospel

Luke — Luke 12.2-12

²For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. ³Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. ⁴And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. ⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? ⁷But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. ⁸Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: ⁹But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. ¹⁰And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. ¹¹And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: ¹²For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

Epistle

— New Martyrs

Romans — Romans 8.28-39

²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ²⁹For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. ³¹What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? ³²He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? ³³Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. ³⁴Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. ³⁷Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ³⁸For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel

— New Martyrs

Luke — Luke 21.12-19

¹²But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. ¹³And it shall turn to you for a testimony. ¹⁴Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: ¹⁵For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. ¹⁶And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. ¹⁷And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. ¹⁸But there shall not an hair of your head perish. ¹⁹In your patience possess ye your souls.