Orthodox Calendar

Tuesday, March 24, 2111
Forefeast of Annunciation

Lenten Fast — Wine and Oil are Allowed — Abstain from meat, fish, dairy, and eggs

Scripture Readings

Commemorations

Scripture Readings

Isaiah 5.7-16 (6th Hour)

7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Juda his beloved plant: I expected it to bring forth judgment, and it brought forth iniquity; and not righteousness, but a cry. 8Woe to them that join house to house, and add field to field, that they may take away something of their neighbor's: will you⌃ dwell alone upon the land? 9For these things have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts: for though many houses should be built, many and fair houses shall be desolate, and there shall be no inhabitants in them. 10For where ten yoke of oxen plow the land shall yield one , and he that sows six homers shall produce three measures. 11Woe to them that rise up in the morning, and follow strong drink; who wait at it till evening: for the wine shall inflame them. 12For they drink wine with harp, and lute, and drums, and pipes: but they regard not the works of the Lord, and consider not the works of his hands. 13Therefore my people have been taken captive, because they know not the Lord: and there has been a multitude of dead bodies, because of hunger and of thirst for water. 14Therefore hell has enlarged its desire and opened its mouth without ceasing: and her glorious and great, and her rich and her pestilent men shall go down into it. 15And the mean man shall be brought low, and the great man shall be disgraced, and the lofty eyes shall be brought low. 16But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be glorified in righteousness.

Genesis 4.8-15 (Vespers)

8And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go out into the plain; and it came to pass that when they were in the plain Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him. 9And the Lord God said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? and he said, I know not, am I my brother's keeper? 10And the Lord said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood cries to me out of the ground. 11And now you are cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12When you till the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to you: you shall be groaning and trembling on the earth. 13And Cain said to the Lord God, My crime is too great for me to be forgiven. 14If you cast me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from your presence, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, then it will be that any one that finds me shall kill me. 15And the Lord God said to him, Not so, any one that slays Cain shall suffer sevenfold vengeance; and the Lord God set a mark upon Cain that no one that found him might kill him.

Proverbs 5.1-15 (Vespers)

1My son, attend to my wisdom, and apply your ear to my words; 2that you may keep good understanding, and the discretion of my lips gives you a charge. Give no heed to a worthless woman; 3for honey drops from the lips of a harlot, who for a season pleases your palate: 4but afterwards you will find her more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword. 5For the feet of folly lead those who deal with her down to the grave with death; and her steps are not established. 6For she goes not upon the paths of life; but her ways are slippery, and not easily known. 7Now then, my son, hear me, and make not my words of none effect. 8Remove your way far from her; draw not near to the doors of her house: 9lest you give away your life to others, and your substance to the merciless: 10lest strangers be filled with your strength, and your labors come into the houses of strangers; 11And you repent at last, when the flesh of your body is consumed, 12and you shall say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart avoided reproofs! 13I heard not the voice of him that instructed me, and taught me, neither did I apply my ear. 14I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. 15Drink waters out of your own vessels, and out of your own springing wells.

Genesis 28.10-17 (Vespers, Annunciation)

10And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan. 11And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, 12and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. 13And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of your father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed. 14And your seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in you and in your seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed. 15And behold I am with you to preserve you continually in all the way wherein you shall go; and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not desert you, until I have done all that I have said to you. 16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. 17And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Ezekiel 43.27-44.4 (Vespers, Annunciation)

27And it shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, that the priests shall offer your whole burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord.

1Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward; and it was shut. 2And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. 3For the prince, he shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same. 4And he brought me in by the way of the gate that looks northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold, the house was full of the glory of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.

Proverbs 9.1-11 (Vespers, Annunciation)

1Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars. 2She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine in a bowl, and prepared her table. 3She has sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying, 4Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me: and to them that lack understanding she says, 5Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you. 6Leave folly, that you⌃ may reign for ever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge. 7He that reproves evil men shall get dishonor to himself; and he that rebukes an ungodly man shall disgrace himself. 8Rebuke not evil men, lest they should hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more instruction. 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: for to know the law is the character of a sound mind. 11For in this way you shall live long, and years of your life shall be added to you.

Commemorations

Ven. Zachariah the Recluse

His father, Carion the Egyptian, forsook his family to become a monk, taking Zacharias with him. Though very young, Zacharias manifested gifts of grace rarely seen among the elders of Sketis. Abba Moses once asked him, ‘What does it mean to be a monk?’, to which Zacharias replied by taking off his hat and treading it underfoot, saying ‘If a man be not so broken, he cannot be a monk.’ After shining as a great light among the holy monks of Scetis, he reposed at a young age.

Commemoration of the Miracle at the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev (?)

“Two friends, John and Sergius, swore brotherhood before the icon of the holy Mother of God in this monastery. John was a rich man, with a five-year-old son, Zachariah. John fell ill, and at his death commended his son to the care of Sergius, and left in Sergius’ keeping a large sum of silver and gold for him to hand over to Zachariah when he had grown up. When Zachariah came of age, however, Sergius denied receiving anything from the deceased John. Then Zachariah said: ‘Let him swear before the same icon of the most holy Mother of God, in front of which he accepted brotherhood with my late father, that he received nothing from John, and then I will seek nothing more from him.’ Sergius agreed, but when he had sworn this and went up to kiss the icon, some force held him back and would not allow him to come near. Then, tormented all at once by a demon, he began to cry out: ‘Holy fathers Antony and Theodosius, do not let this merciless angel destroy me!’ The demon had attacked him by God’s permission. He then told them of all the money which John had left. But when they opened the box, they found double the amount. Taking it, Zachariah gave it to the monastery and was himself tonsured as a monk. He lived a long time and was worthy of God’s great gifts, entering peacefully into eternity.” (Prologue)