April 23, 2025

Events of the day

• Holy Great-martyr George the Trophy-bearer

  Polyeleos rank

• Afterfeast: Pascha. The Bright Resurrection of Christ

Fasting

No fast

Bright Week is fast-free.

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 · St George

  Isaiah 43:9–14

• Vespers · St George

  Wisdom of Solomon 3:1–9

• Vespers · St George

  Wisdom of Solomon 4:7–15

• Matins Gospel · St George

  Luke 12:2–12

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  ²But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.

  ³Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

  ⁴“I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

  ⁵But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

  ⁶“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two assaria coins? Not one of them is forgotten by God.

  ⁷But the very hairs of your head are all counted. Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.

  ⁸“I tell you, everyone who confesses me before men, the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God;

  ⁹but he who denies me in the presence of men will be denied in the presence of God’s angels.

  ¹⁰Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

  ¹¹When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don’t be anxious how or what you will answer, or what you will say;

  ¹²for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say.”

• Epistle

  Acts 2:22–36

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  ²²“Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,

  ²³him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;

  ²⁴whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.

  ²⁵For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.

  ²⁶Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;

  ²⁷because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.

  ²⁸You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

  ²⁹“Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

  ³⁰Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

  ³¹he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades, and his flesh didn’t see decay.

  ³²This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.

  ³³Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.

  ³⁴For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand

  ³⁵until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’

  ³⁶“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

• Epistle · St George

  Acts 12:1–11

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  ¹Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly.

  ²He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.

  ³When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread.

  ⁴When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

  ⁵Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him.

  ⁶The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.

  ⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side, and woke him up, saying, “Stand up quickly!” His chains fell off his hands.

  ⁸The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” He did so. He said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”

  ⁹And he went out and followed him. He didn’t know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision.

  ¹⁰When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

  ¹¹When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”

• Gospel

  John 1:35–51

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  ³⁵Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples,

  ³⁶and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

  ³⁷The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

  ³⁸Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”

  ³⁹He said to them, “Come, and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.

  ⁴⁰One of the two who heard John and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

  ⁴¹He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ).

  ⁴²He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter).

  ⁴³On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

  ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.

  ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

  ⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

  ⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

  ⁴⁸Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

  ⁴⁹Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”

  ⁵⁰Jesus answered him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!”

  ⁵¹He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you all, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

• Gospel · St George

  John 15:17–16:2

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  ¹⁷“I command these things to you, that you may love one another.

  ¹⁸If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.

  ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

  ²⁰Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

  ²¹But they will do all these things to you for my name’s sake, because they don’t know him who sent me.

  ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

  ²³He who hates me, hates my Father also.

  ²⁴If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father.

  ²⁵But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’

  ²⁶“When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.

  ²⁷You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

  ¹“I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble.

  ²They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God.

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

Saints and icons

• Holy Great-martyr George the Trophy-bearer
• Prayer of the day: Paschal Troparion