Saturday, 16 January 2027

Saturday of the 33rd week after Pentecost

279 days after Pascha · Tone 7 · Black squigg (6-stich typikon symbol) · No Fast

Saints commemorated

★ Veneration of the Precious Chains of the Holy Apostle Peter

On 16 January, the Orthodox Church commemorates the veneration of the precious chains with which the Apostle Peter was bound during his imprisonment by King Herod Agrippa around the year 42 AD. According to the Acts of the Apostles (12:1–11), Peter was imprisoned and fastened with two iron chains by Herod, who had begun to persecute the Christian community in Jerusalem following the martyrdom of James the Greater.

During the night before his trial, when he was to be executed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Peter in the prison. The chains fell away from him, and the angel led him miraculously out of the prison to safety. This deliverance became one of the most celebrated episodes demonstrating God's protection of the apostles during the era of persecution.

For nearly three centuries after Peter's deliverance, the chains were carefully preserved in Jerusalem. They became a source of great spiritual power, and those who suffered from illness and approached them with sincere faith received healing. The chains were revered as powerful relics of the apostolic age.

In the fifth century, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, the Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem presented the chains as a gift to Eudokia, the wife of the emperor. Eudokia then transferred them from Jerusalem to Constantinople, either in 437 or 439, where they were publicly venerated and housed in a church dedicated to their honour.

The veneration of Peter's chains exemplifies the Orthodox tradition of honouring the relics and spiritual legacy of the apostles, celebrating their faithfulness and God's providence in protecting His Church during its earliest trials.

Holy Martyrs Speusippus, Eleusippus and Meleusippus, and their Grandmother Leonilla

The holy martyrs Speusippus, Eleusippus and Meleusippus were three brothers born to a devout Christian family in Asia Minor during the era of imperial persecution against the Church. They were reared in the Christian faith by their grandmother, Leonilla, an elderly woman of great spiritual wisdom and unwavering commitment to Christ. Under her guidance and example, the three brothers developed a profound devotion to the Lord, studying the teachings of the Gospel and preparing themselves for potential suffering for the faith. When persecution against Christians intensified, the brothers refused to participate in pagan worship and publicly confessed their allegiance to Christ. Rather than renounce their Saviour to appease the authorities, they endured torture and ultimately suffered martyrdom for their faith. Their grandmother Leonilla witnessed their steadfast courage and devotion, offering them spiritual encouragement and prayers throughout their trial. She herself is also venerated as a saint for her faithful witness, her maternal love, and her role in forming these three holy martyrs in the faith. The Church celebrates their memory together on 16 January, honouring the unity of faith that bound them across generations and their collective witness to Christ. Their lives demonstrate the power of Christian family formation and the grace that flows from one generation of believers to the next.

Saint Priscilla of Rome

Saint Priscilla of the Roman Glabrio family was an early Christian saint of the first century who is commemorated on 16 January in the Orthodox Church. She is remembered as a devout Christian and generous benefactor who hosted the Apostle Peter in Rome around the year 42 AD, providing him sanctuary during his apostolic ministry. Saint Priscilla's villa near the Roman catacombs became an important centre of Christian worship and fellowship during the apostolic age. Tradition holds that Peter established his headquarters within her household, conducting his ministry and pastoral care for the fledgling Christian community in Rome from her home. Her hospitality and support were vital to Peter's work in spreading the Gospel amongst the pagans of the Roman capital. The historical legacy of Saint Priscilla is preserved in the Catacomb of Priscilla, the ancient Christian burial place that still bears her name to this day. These catacombs contain some of the earliest Christian art and inscriptions, providing archaeological evidence of early Christian life and worship during the first and second centuries. Her generosity and willingness to risk her status and security as a Roman noblewoman to support the apostles demonstrates her deep faith and commitment to Christ. Saint Priscilla exemplifies the role of wealthy and influential women in the early Church who used their resources and position to advance the Gospel and provide safe spaces for Christian community and worship during the era of persecution.

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

Ephesians — Ephesians 1.16-23

¹⁶cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁶Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; ¹⁷That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: ¹⁸having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, ¹⁸The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might ¹⁹And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, ²⁰which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: ²¹Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: ²²And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, ²²and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, ²³which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. ²³Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Luke — Luke 12.32-40

³²Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³²Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. ³³Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ³⁵Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

³⁵Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning; ³⁶And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. ³⁶and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him. ³⁷Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and shall come and serve them. ³⁷Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. ³⁸And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them so, blessed are those servants. ³⁸And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. ³⁹And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. ³⁹But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have left his house to be broken through. ⁴⁰Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. ⁴⁰Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.