Daily Reading:

Monday

SIXTH HOUR

Isaiah 1:1-20

     The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

VESPERS

Genesis 1:1-13

     In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Proverbs 1:1-20

     The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:


NO LITURGY

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GREAT MARTYR THEODORE THE TYRO (OR RECRUIT)

HOLY NEW MARTYR THEODORE THE BYZANTINE

ST FINAN

Troparion of St Theodore the Tyro    Tone 2
Great are the achievements of faith!/ In the fountain of flame as in refreshing water,/ the holy Martyr Theodore rejoiced./ He was made a whole burnt offering in the fire/ and was offered as bread to the Trinity./ By his prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.

Troparion of St Theodore the Byzantine    Tone 1
Thou wast offered to God as a precious gift through thy labours in conflict,/ and didst become a blameless and acceptable offering./ O blessed Theodore, we lovingly gather to praise thy struggles;/ we give glory to God who has strengthened thee,/ O much-afflicted one, against all thine enemies,/ visible and invisible.

Troparion of St Finan    Tone 2
As Aidan's successor thou didst rule the See of Lindisfarne fearlessly/ preaching the Orthodox Faith, O holy Hierarch Finan./ Boldly obeying the Gospel command,/ thou didst soften the stony heart of Mercia's pagan Prince Peada/ and win his soul for Christ./ Pray for us, O Saint, that Christ alone will rule in our hearts,/ that He may save our souls.

Kontakion of St Theodore the Tyro    Tone 8
Thou didst receive the Faith of Christ in thy heart as a breastplate/ and trample upon the enemy hosts, O great Champion./ Thou hast been crowned with a heavenly, eternal crown, for thou art invincible.

Kontakion of St Theodore the Byzantine    Tone 4
Thy contest has arisen like a bright morning star/ and has inspired us to glorify Christ./ He has shown thee forth as one steadfast in struggle, O Martyr Theodore.

Kontakion of St Finan    Tone 6
Great Hierarch of the Christian North/ and radiant luminary of the Orthodox Faith, O Hierarch Finan,/ by thy preaching to all nations/ the warlike Mercians were illumined by the light of Christ's holy Gospel./ As we keep festival in thy honour/ we pray for grace to emulate thy righteous example.

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THE CANON

TONE 2 (By Joseph)

CANTICLE ONE:

FIRST CANON

IRMOS:  COME, NATIONS; LET US SING A SONG TO CHRIST OUR GOD!
HE DIVIDED THE WATERS AND GUIDED THE PEOPLE FROM BONDAGE IN EGYPT,//
FOR HE IS GREATLY GLORIFIED!

How shall I begin to weep for my failures?
Where can I make a start for salvation?
I have lived as a Prodigal.
Save me by the ways that are Your, Bountiful One.

This is the time of repentance.
This is the day of salvation.
This is the beginning of the fast.
Be vigilant, my soul!
Close the door of your passions, and seek the Lord.

The tempest of my sins has drawn me to the depths of despair.
But I flee to the sea of Your mercy:
O Lord, save me!

I have become a slave to sin.
I alone have opened the doors to passion, O Word,
but convert me by Your compassion, Savior!