March 22, 2026

Events of the day

• The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste

  Polyeleos rank

• Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. St John Climacus

  Commemoration

Fasting

Fast day · Great Lent

Great Lent, Saturday and Sunday: food with oil and wine.

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

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

• Vespers · Martyrs

  Isaiah 43:9–14

• Vespers · Martyrs

  Wisdom of Solomon 3:1–9

• Vespers · Martyrs

  Wisdom of Solomon 5:15–6:3

• 8th Matins Gospel

  John 20:11–18

  Show the text

  ¹¹But Mary was standing outside at the tomb weeping. So as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb,

  ¹²and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

  ¹³They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.”

  ¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn’t know that it was Jesus.

  ¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

  ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!” which is to say, “Teacher!”

  ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

  ¹⁸Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.

• Epistle

  Hebrews 6:13–20

  Show the text

  ¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself,

  ¹⁴saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”

  ¹⁵Thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

  ¹⁶For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.

  ¹⁷In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath,

  ¹⁸that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.

  ¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil;

  ²⁰where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

• Epistle · St John

  Ephesians 5:8–19

  Show the text

  ⁸For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,

  ⁹for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,

  ¹⁰proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.

  ¹¹Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.

  ¹²For it is a shame even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

  ¹³But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.

  ¹⁴Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

  ¹⁵Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise,

  ¹⁶redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

  ¹⁷Therefore don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

  ¹⁸Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

  ¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

• Epistle · Martyrs

  Hebrews 12:1–10

  Show the text

  ¹Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

  ²looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

  ³For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.

  ⁴You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin.

  ⁵You have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, “My son, don’t take lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him;

  ⁶for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

  ⁷It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn’t discipline?

  ⁸But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then you are illegitimate, and not children.

  ⁹Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live?

  ¹⁰For they indeed, for a few days, punished us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.

• Gospel

  Mark 9:17–31

  Show the text

  ¹⁷One of the multitude answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit;

  ¹⁸and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they weren’t able.”

  ¹⁹He answered him, “Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me.”

  ²⁰They brought him to him, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at the mouth.

  ²¹He asked his father, “How long has it been since this has come to him?” He said, “From childhood.

  ²²Often it has cast him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.”

  ²³Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

  ²⁴Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”

  ²⁵When Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!”

  ²⁶After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead, so much that most of them said, “He is dead.”

  ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose.

  ²⁸When he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?”

  ²⁹He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting.”

  ³⁰They went out from there, and passed through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know it.

  ³¹For he was teaching his disciples, and said to them, “The Son of Man is being handed over to the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, on the third day he will rise again.”

• Gospel · St John

  Matthew 4:25–5:12

• Gospel · Martyrs

  Matthew 20:1–16

  Show the text

  ¹“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

  ²When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

  ³He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

  ⁴He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way.

  ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.

  ⁶About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’

  ⁷“They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ “He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’

  ⁸When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’

  ⁹“When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius.

  ¹⁰When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius.

  ¹¹When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household,

  ¹²saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’

  ¹³“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius?

  ¹⁴Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you.

  ¹⁵Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’

  ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

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

Saints and icons

• Prayer of the day: Prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian