March 22, 2026

Events of the day

• 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

• 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

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  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

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  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;

• Gospel

  Mark 9:17–31

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  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

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

Saints and icons

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