Orthodox Calendar

Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday of the First Week of Lent

Lenten Fast — No overrides — Abstain from meat, fish, dairy, eggs, wine, and oil

Service Notes

  • Great Canon

Scripture Readings

Commemorations

Scripture Readings

Isaiah 2.11-21 (6th Hour)

11For the eyes of the Lord are high, but man is low; and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 12For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and haughty, and upon every one that is high and towering, and they shall be brought down; 13and upon every cedar of Libanus, of them that are high and towering, and upon every oak of Basan, 14and upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, 15and upon every high tower, and upon every high wall, 16and upon every ship of the sea, and upon every display of fine ships. 17And every man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall fall: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 18And they shall hide all idols made with hands, 19having carried them into the caves, and into the clefts of the rocks, and into the caverns of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth. 20For in that day a man shall cast forth his silver and gold abominations, which they made in order to worship vanities and bats; 21to enter into the caverns of the solid rock, and into the clefts of the rocks, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth.

Genesis 2.4-19 (Vespers)

4This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when they were made, in the day in which the Lord God made the heaven and the earth, 5and every herb of the field before it was on the earth, and all the grass of the field before it sprang up, for God had not rained on the earth, and there was not a man to cultivate it. 6But there rose a fountain out of the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth. 7And God formed the man of dust of the earth, and breathed upon his face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul. 8And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed. 9And God made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil. 10And a river proceeds out of Edem to water the garden, thence it divides itself into four heads. 11The name of the one, Phisom, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold. 12And the gold of that land is good, there also is carbuncle and emerald. 13And the name of the second river is Geon, this it is which encircles the whole land of Ethiopia. 14And the third river is Tigris, this is that which flows forth over against the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed, and placed him in the garden of Delight, to cultivate and keep it. 16And the Lord God gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden you may freely eat, 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—of it youpl shall not eat, but in whatever day youpl eat of it, youpl shall surely die. 18And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him. 19And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it.

Proverbs 3.1-18 (Vespers)

1My son, forget not my laws; but let your heart keep my words: 2for length of existence, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to you. 3Let not mercy and truth forsake you; but bind them about your neck: 4so shall you find favor: and do you provide things honest in the sight of the Lord, and of men. 5Trust in God with all your heart; and be not exalted in your own wisdom. 6In all your ways acquaint yourself with her, that she may rightly direct your paths. 7Be not wise in your own conceit; but fear God, and depart from all evil. 8Then shall there be health to your body, and good keeping to your bones. 9Honor the Lord with your just labors, and give him the first of your fruits of righteousness: 10that your storehouses may be completely filled with corn, and that your presses may burst forth with wine. 11My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; nor faint when you are rebuked of him: 12for whom the Lord loves, he rebukes, and scourges every son whom he receives. 13Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who knows prudence. 14For it is better to traffic for her, than for treasures of gold and silver. 15And she is more valuable than precious stones: no evil thing shall resist her: she is well known to all that approach her, and no precious thing is equal to her in value. 16For length of existence and years of life are in her right hand; and in her left hand are wealth and glory: out of her mouth proceeds righteousness, and she carries law and mercy upon her tongue. 17Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are peaceful. 18She is a tree of life to all that lay hold upon her; and she is a secure help to all that stay themselves on her, as on the Lord.

Commemorations

Holy Martyr Agatha of Palermo in Sicily (251)

She is one of the best loved and most venerated Martyrs of the West. She was born to a noble family in Catania or Palermo in Sicily. At an early age she consecrated herself to the Lord and, though very beautiful, sought only to adorn herself with the virtues. During the persecution under Decius (251), she was arrested as a Christian; at this time she was about fifteen years old. Quintinian, the Governor of Sicily, was taken by her beauty and offered to marry her, thinking in that way not only to possess her body but her riches as well. When she spurned his advances, and continued to mock the idols, he grew angry and decided to have her tortured. She was gruesomely tormented and cast bleeding into a dungeon to die; but in the night her Guardian Angel brought the Apostle Peter to her, and he healed her wounds. The following day, the Governor ordered that she be subjected to further torments, but at his words the city was shaken by an earthquake and part of the palace collapsed. The terrified people stormed the palace and demanded that Agatha be released, lest they be subject to the wrath of her God. The Saint was returned to her prison cell, where in response to her prayers she was allowed to give up her soul to God.

At Agatha’s burial, attended by many, her Guardian Angel appeared and placed a marble slab on her tomb, inscribed with the words ‘A righteous mind, self- determining, honor from God, the deliverance of her fatherland.’ Quintinian died soon thereafter, thrown from his chariot.

On the first anniversary of Agatha’s death, Mt Etna erupted and Catania was about to be engulfed in lava. Christians and pagans together, remembering the inscription on her tomb, took the slab from the tomb and bore it like a shield to the river of lava, which was immediately stopped. The same miracle has happened many times in the following centuries, and Saint Agatha is venerated as the Protectress of Catania and Sicily, loved and honored by Christians of the East and the West.

Our Holy Father Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople (970)

Born in Constantinople, he was made a eunuch in childhood by his parents, who hoped that he would go into the Byzantine civil service. But he became a monk, and so distinguished himself for his holiness and learning that in 956 he was made Patriarch of Constantinople by the Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos. In his own day he was called ‘the Second Chrysostom’ for the power of his preaching and his zeal for the Orthodox faith.

In 957, St Polyeuctus baptized the Russian princess St Olga (July 11) in Constantinople; at her baptism, he spoke these prophetic words: ‘Blessed are you among all the women of Russia, for you have rejected darkness and desired the light. Moreover, the children of the Russian land will bless you in every generation.’ He fell asleep in peace in 970.

Holy New Martyr Antony of Athens (1774)

‘Saint Antony was the son of poor Christians from Athens. In order to help his parents, he entered the service of an Albanian Muslim at the age of twelve. In 1770, during the repression which followed the Greek rising in the Peloponnese, his masters sold him to some Turks, who tried in vain to convert him. He was then sold to a succession of five harsh, fanatical masters, but he remained unshaken in the Faith, and was bought at last by a Christian coppersmith in Constantinople. Having been warned one night in a dream that he would receive God’s help to obtain the glory of martyrdom, he was recognized next day in the street by one of his former masters, who began shouting to the passers-by that the young Christian was his runaway slave and an apostate from Islam. Antony was dragged to the court amid much commotion. He confessed that he was willing to die a thousand deaths for the love of Christ. “You would become a Christian more easily than you could make me deny my Christ,” he told the judge. Unable to persuade the Saint to feign conversion in order to save his life and under pressure from false witnesses, the judge reluctantly committed him to prison. Antony consoled the other Christian prisoners, gave away what little money he had to the poor, and wrote to thank his master for all his kindnesses and through him asked the forgiveness of all Christians and besought the prayers of the Church.

‘As the vizir delayed passing sentence, the Saint’s accusers made a complaint to the Sultan Abdul Hamid who, fearing a breach of the peace, ordered his immediate execution. The valiant sixteen-year-old went joyfully to the place of martyrdom. He offered his neck to the executioner, who struck him lightly three times to see if the pain would make him yield. Then, finding that he remained steady, he cut his throat like a slaughtered lamb.’ (Synaxarion)