Orthodox Calendar

Wednesday, August 16, 2028
Image of Christ Not Made by Hands

Fast — Abstain from meat, fish, dairy, eggs, wine, and oil

Scripture Readings

Commemorations

  • Timothy of Euripus, founder of the Monastery of Pentele
  • Holy Monk Penteles
  • Gerasimus of Cephalonia
  • The Six Martyrs Dorotheos, Sarantis, Jacob, Seraphim, Demetrios and Basil who contested in Megara
  • Nicodemus the New Martyr of Meteora
  • Manuel and John the New Martyrs
  • Stamatios the Martyr
  • Apostolos the New-Martyr
  • Martyr Diomedes the Physician of Tarsus in Cilicia (298)

Scripture Readings

2 Corinthians 3.4-11 (Epistle)

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.

1 Timothy 3.13-4.5 (Epistle, Image)

13For those who have served well gain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

14These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly, 15but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.

1But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, 2through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron, 3forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 5For it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.

Matthew 23.29-39 (Gospel)

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!’”

Luke 9.51-57, 10.22-24, 13.22 (Gospel, Image)

51It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem 52and sent messengers before his face. They went and entered into a village of the Samaritans, so as to prepare for him. 53They didn’t receive him, because he was traveling with his face set toward Jerusalem. 54When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky and destroy them, just as Elijah did?”

55But he turned and rebuked them, “You don’t know of what kind of spirit you are.

56For the Son of Man didn’t come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” They went to another village. 57As they went on the way, a certain man said to him, “I want to follow you wherever you go, Lord.”

22Turning to the disciples, he said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whomever the Son desires to reveal him.”

23Turning to the disciples, he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see, 24for I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.”

22He went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and traveling on to Jerusalem.

Commemorations

Translation of the Image Not-Made-By-Hands of our Lord Jesus Christ from Edessa to Constantinople (944)

The Third “Feast of the Savior” in August While the Lord was preaching in Palestine, his fame reached a king Avgar of Edessa, who suffered from leprosy. Avgar sent a messenger named Ananias to ask whether the Lord could heal his illness. The king also charged Ananias, if he was unable to bring back Jesus Himself, to bring back a likeness of Him. When Ananias found Jesus, the Lord told him that he could not come to Edessa since the time of His passion was at hand. But he took a cloth and washed His face, miraculously leaving a perfect image of His face on the cloth. Ananias brought the holy image back to the king, who reverently kissed it. Immediately his leprosy was healed, save for a small lesion that remained on his forehead. Later the Apostle Thaddeus came to Edessa, preaching the gospel, and Avgar and his household were baptized, at which time his remaining leprosy vanished. The king had the holy likeness mounted on wood and displayed above the city gate for all to revere. But Avgar’s grandson returned to idolatry, and the Bishop of Edessa had the image hidden in the city wall to prevent it from being defiled. Many years later, when the Persian king Chosroes besieged Edessa, the Bishop Eulabius was told in a vision to find the sealed chamber, whose location had been forgotten. The holy icon was found, completely incorrupt, and by its power the Persian army was driven off. In the year 944 the image was brought to Constantinople and enshrined in the Church of the Theotokos called the Pharos. This is the event commemorated today.

Martyr Diomedes the Physician of Tarsus in Cilicia (298)

He is one of the Holy Unmercenary Physicians, a physician who practiced in Tarsus during the reign of Diocletian. Around 288 he came to Nicaea, where he healed many bodies by his medical arts and many souls through his preaching of the Gospel of Christ. The Emperor Diocletian sent men to arrest him, but when they arrived they found that he had already reposed. They cut off his head to take it back to the Emperor, and for this abomination were all struck blind. When Diocletian saw St Diomedes’ head, he ordered the men to return it to the body from which they had taken it. As soon as they had done so, their sight was restored.