Friday, 5 March 2027

Friday of Meatfare

58 days before Pascha · Tone 6 · Liturgy · Fast

Saints commemorated

Holy Martyr Conon of Isauria

The holy Martyr Conon lived in the days of the holy Apostles; he was born in the village of Bydane of Isauria in Asia Minor, to parents named Nestor and Nada. He was instructed in the Faith and baptised into Christ by the Archangel Michael himself, who, it is said, accompanied him for the rest of his life. His parents joined him in marriage to a pagan maiden named Anna; but on their wedding night he took a candle, put it under a vessel, and asked her ‘Which is better, light or darkness?’ She answered ‘Light,’ and he told her of the Christian faith and the joys of the spiritual life. She accepted Christ, and the two agreed to live in virginity. Conon went on to bring many pagans to Christ, including his own parents. His wife and both parents died after a few years (Nestor as a Martyr) and he gave himself up entirely to prayer, fasting, and contemplation on God. He was known as a wonder-worker, and even evil spirits were compelled to serve him.

During one of the persecutions, Magnus the governor of Isauria imprisoned Conon and had him tortured, beaten and stabbed with knives. Believers obtained some of his blood, and the sick who were anointed with it became well. A large crowd of Christians whom Conon had brought to Faith surrounded the governor’s palace demanding Conon’s release, and the frightened governor let him go. He lived for two more years in his own home, then reposed in peace.

Holy Martyr Conon the Gardener

Conon the Gardener was a Christian martyr who lived in the ancient world, known for his humble occupation and his extraordinary faith. Living through the era of persecution, Conon laboured as a gardener whilst cultivating a garden of virtue in his soul through prayer, fasting, and labour. When persecution arose, he refused to renounce Christ and was brought to trial. Rather than compromise his faith to save his life, Conon endured torture and death as a testimony to Christ. His martyrdom, though that of a humble gardener rather than a person of worldly prominence, became a powerful witness to the equality of all believers in Christ. The Orthodox Church venerates him as a holy martyr whose example shows that greatness in God's Kingdom is not measured by earthly station but by faithfulness and love.

Venerable Hesychius the Faster

Hesychius was a venerable monastic ascetic known for his extraordinary dedication to fasting and the ascetic disciplines of the Orthodox Christian tradition. Living in a monastic community, Hesychius pursued the way of hesychasm—the practice of quiet prayer and inner stillness—with singular devotion. Through rigorous fasting, he mortified his passions and liberated his soul from the distractions that bind it to earthly concerns. His fasting was not merely a physical discipline but a spiritual practice aimed at heightening his awareness of God's presence and deepening his union with the divine. Through the rigours of voluntary self-denial, Hesychius became a transparent vessel through which God's grace could work. His example inspired others to take up the ascetic struggle, and his teachings regarding the proper approach to fasting and prayer were treasured by the monastic tradition. The Orthodox Church venerates him as a venerable father whose intercession sustains those engaged in spiritual warfare and the mortification of the passions.

Venerable Mark the Faster

Mark was a venerable monk of the Eastern Orthodox tradition known for his intense ascetic disciplines and his pursuit of spiritual perfection. Living in a monastic community, Mark devoted himself to fasting, vigil, prayer, and manual labour as means of mortifying the passions and drawing near to God. Through rigorous self-denial, he sought to free his soul from the attachments that bind human beings to earthly concerns and to cultivate the virtues that align the soul with the divine will. Mark became known to his brother monks for his humility, his gentle teaching, and his powerful example of ascetic dedication. His sayings and teachings regarding fasting and spiritual warfare were preserved and treasured by the monastic tradition. The Orthodox Church venerates him as a venerable father and ascetic whose intercession sustains those struggling to mortify the passions and advance in holiness.

St Mark of Athens

4th c.

He was born in Athens of pagan parents, but believed and was baptized, and, forsaking everything, lived as a hermit in the desert beyond Egypt. He did not see another human being for ninety-five years, and we would know nothing of his life had not the monk Serapion come upon him. Mark was about to depart this life, and lived only long enough to tell Serapion his story. Serapion then gave him burial.

St Mark the Ascetic

5th c.

St Mark was a disciple of St John Chrysostom, tonsured a monk at the age of forty by St John himself. He then withdrew to the Nitrian desert and lived for sixty years as a hermit, devoting himself to fasting, prayer, and writing spiritual discourses. Saint Mark knew all the Holy Scriptures by heart. His compassion was so great that he wept at the distress of any of God’s creatures: once he wept for the blind pup of a hyena, and the pup received its sight. Though he lived alone in the desert, it is said that he received Communion from an angel. The holy and scholarly Patriarch Photios held his writings in the highest esteem, and at one time there was a saying, ‘sell all that you have, and buy Mark.’ Some of these beautiful and profound writings may be read in English in the first volume of the Philokalia.

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

2 John — 2 John 1.1-13

¹The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all they that know the truth;

¹The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; ²for the truth’s sake which abideth in us, and it shall be with us for ever: ²For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. ³Grace, mercy, peace shall be with us, from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. ³Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

⁴I rejoice greatly that I have found certain of thy children walking in truth, even as we received commandment from the Father.

⁴I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. ⁵And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. ⁵And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote to thee a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. ⁶And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. ⁶And this is love, that we should walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, even as ye heard from the beginning, that ye should walk in it. ⁷For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁷For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. ⁸Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. ⁸Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. ⁹Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. ⁹Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: ¹⁰If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into your house, and give him no greeting: ¹¹For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. ¹¹for he that giveth him greeting partaketh in his evil works.

¹²Having many things to write unto you, I would not write them with paper and ink: but I hope to come unto you, and to speak face to face, that your joy may be made full.

¹²Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. ¹³The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. ¹³The children of thine elect sister salute thee.

Gospel

weekly cycle

Mark — Mark 15.22, 25, 33-41

²²And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

²²And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. ²⁵And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. ²⁵And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. ³³And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

³³And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ³⁵And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. ³⁵And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elijah. ³⁶And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. ³⁶And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take him down. ³⁷And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. ³⁷And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. ³⁸And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. ³⁸And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. ³⁹And when the centurion, who stood by over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

³⁹And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. ⁴⁰There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; ⁴⁰And there were also women beholding from afar: among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; ⁴¹(Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem. ⁴¹who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him; and many other women that came up with him unto Jerusalem.