December 12, 2024

Events of the day

• Martyr Paramon and the 370 with him; St Acacius of Sinai

  Commemoration

Fasting

Fast day · Nativity Fast

Nativity Fast, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday: fish is allowed.

• Meat: not allowed
• Dairy & eggs: not allowed
• Fish: allowed
• Oil: allowed
• Wine: allowed

By the Typikon (ch. 33) Tuesday and Thursday of the Apostles' and Nativity Fasts call for oil and wine only, fish only for a saint with a polyeleos; lay practice per the ROC calendar allows fish.

Food rules are reference church information. Agree your personal measure of fasting with a priest; consult a doctor if you are ill.

Readings of the day

• Epistle

  2 Thessalonians 2:13–3:5

  Show the text

  ¹³But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth,

  ¹⁴to which he called you through our Good News, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  ¹⁵So then, brothers, stand firm and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word or by letter.

  ¹⁶Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,

  ¹⁷comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.

  ¹Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, even as also with you,

  ²and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men; for not all have faith.

  ³But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

  ⁴We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you both do and will do the things we command.

  ⁵May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love, and into the perseverance of Christ.

• Gospel

  Luke 20:9–18

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  ⁹He began to tell the people this parable. “A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time.

  ¹⁰At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.

  ¹¹He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

  ¹²He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out.

  ¹³The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’

  ¹⁴“But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’

  ¹⁵They threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?

  ¹⁶He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard that, they said, “May that never be!”

  ¹⁷But he looked at them and said, “Then what is this that is written, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the chief cornerstone?’

  ¹⁸Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust.”

Source: Orthocal: lectionary data — Slavic tradition, Julian calendar. Text: World English Bible.

Saints and icons

• Prayer of the day: Prayer to the Holy Spirit “O Heavenly King”