January 11, 2035

Events of the day

• The 14,000 Holy Innocents slain by Herod in Bethlehem; St Marcellus

  Commemoration

• Afterfeast: Nativity of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ

Fasting

No fast

Christmastide (25 Dec – 4 Jan Old Style) is fast-free: no fasting.

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

  Titus 1:5–2:1

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  ⁵I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you,

  ⁶if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of loose or unruly behavior.

  ⁷For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward, not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;

  ⁸but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober minded, fair, holy, self-controlled,

  ⁹holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him.

  ¹⁰For there are also many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,

  ¹¹whose mouths must be stopped: men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.

  ¹²One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.”

  ¹³This testimony is true. For this cause, reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

  ¹⁴not paying attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.

  ¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.

  ¹⁶They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

  ¹But say the things which fit sound doctrine,

• Gospel

  Mark 11:27–33

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  ²⁷They came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him,

  ²⁸and they began saying to him, “By what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?”

  ²⁹Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

  ³⁰The baptism of John—was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.”

  ³¹They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we should say, ‘From heaven;’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

  ³²If we should say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for all held John to really be a prophet.

  ³³They answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

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”