September 1, 2021

Events of the day

• Beginning of the Indiction — the Church New Year

  Commemoration

  The church year begins on 1 September (Old Style).

Fasting

Fast day · Wednesday / Friday

Wednesday and Friday: fast without meat, dairy or eggs. Whether fish is allowed depends on the day's feast — check the church calendar.

• Meat: not allowed
• Dairy & eggs: not allowed
• Fish: not specified
• 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

  Isaiah 61:1–9

• Vespers

  Composite reading — Leviticus 26

• Vespers

  Wisdom of Solomon 4:7–15

• Epistle

  2 Corinthians 3:4–11

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  ⁴Such confidence we have through Christ toward God,

  ⁵not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God,

  ⁶who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

  ⁷But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face, which was passing away,

  ⁸won’t service of the Spirit be with much more glory?

  ⁹For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

  ¹⁰For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses.

  ¹¹For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

• Epistle · New Year

  1 Timothy 2:1–7

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  ¹I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks be made for all men:

  ²for kings and all who are in high places, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence.

  ³For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

  ⁴who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.

  ⁵For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

  ⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony in its own times,

  ⁷to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

• Epistle · St Simeon

  Colossians 3:12–16

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  ¹²Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;

  ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.

  ¹⁴Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.

  ¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful.

  ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

• Gospel

  Matthew 23:29–39

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  ²⁹“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous,

  ³⁰and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

  ³¹Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets.

  ³²Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.

  ³³You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?

  ³⁴Therefore behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city;

  ³⁵that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.

  ³⁶Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

  ³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!

  ³⁸Behold, your house is left to you desolate.

  ³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me from now on, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

• Gospel · New Year

  Luke 4:16–22

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  ¹⁶He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

  ¹⁷The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

  ¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,

  ¹⁹and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

  ²⁰He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.

  ²¹He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

  ²²All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

• Gospel · St Simeon

  Matthew 11:27–30

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  ²⁷All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.

  ²⁸“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.

  ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.

  ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Source: Orthocal: lectionary data — Slavic tradition, New Calendar (OCA practice). Text: World English Bible.

Saints and icons

• Prayer of the day: The Trisagion