Fasting Rules
Meat
Abstain
Fish
Allowed
Dairy
Abstain
Oil
Allowed
Wine
Allowed
Saints & Commemorations
Seven Sleepers of Ephesus
During a persecution of Christians under the Emperor Decius, these seven Christian youths hid themselves in a cave outside Ephesus. When they were discovered, their persecutors sealed them in the cave to die; but God instead sent them a miraculous, life-preserving sleep. There they rested for about two hundred years.
During a persecution of Christians under the Emperor Decius, these seven Christian youths hid themselves in a cave outside Ephesus. When they were discovered, their persecutors sealed them in the cave to die; but God instead sent them a miraculous, life-preserving sleep. There they rested for about two hundred years. In the time of the Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), a heresy that denied the bodily Resurrection of the dead began to trouble the people. The Emperor prayed God to reveal the truth to the people. At this time, some shepherds removed the stones blocking the cave in order to build a sheep-pen. They discovered the seven youths, who awoke in full health and told their miraculous story. The miracle was told throughout the empire, and the Emperor himself came to Ephesus and spoke with the youths. A week later, they again fell asleep, this time in death.
Troparion - Tone 4
Your holy martyrs, O Lord, / through their sufferings have received their incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!
Kontakion - Tone 4
Those who renounced the perishing comforts of this world, / preferring the eternal things of Heaven, / were incorrupt after death and rose from the dead / and buried the snares of the devils! / O Faithful, let us then honor them, singing a hymn of praise to Christ!
Scripture Readings
☩Epistle
1 Corinthians 15:29-38
29
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
30
And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
31
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32
If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
33
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
34
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
35
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
36
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
37
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
38
But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
☩Gospel
Matthew 21:23-27
23
And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
24
And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25
The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
26
But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
27
And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
Liturgical data sourced from OCA.org and orthocal.info