Daily Readings | Christ the Savior Orthodox Church

September 24, 2026

Holy New Martyrs of Alaska

No Fast — Fish, Wine and Oil are Allowed

Commemorations

Holy Protomartyr Thecla, Equal to the Apostles (1st c.) • St Silouan, elder of Mt Athos (1938) (September 11 OC) • St Stephen, First-crowned King of Serbia (Simon the Monk) (1224)

Isaiah 43.9-14

⁹ Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified, or let them hear, and say, “That is true.” ¹⁰ “You are my witnesses,” says the LORD, “With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither will there be after me. ¹¹ I myself am the LORD. Besides me, there is no savior. ¹² I have declared, I have saved, and I have shown, and there was no strange god among you. Therefore you are my witnesses”, says the LORD, “and I am God. ¹³ Yes, since the day was, I am he. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who can hinder it?” ¹⁴ The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing.

Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9

¹ But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will touch them. ² In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died. Their departure was considered a disaster, ³ and their travel away from us ruin, but they are in peace. ⁴ For even if in the sight of men they are punished, their hope is full of immortality. ⁵ Having borne a little chastening, they will receive great good; because God tested them, and found them worthy of himself. ⁶ He tested them like gold in the furnace, and he accepted them as a whole burnt offering. ⁷ In the time of their visitation they will shine. They will run back and forth like sparks among stubble. ⁸ They will judge nations and have dominion over peoples. The Lord will reign over them forever. ⁹ Those who trust him will understand truth. The faithful will live with him in love, because grace and mercy are with his chosen ones.

Wisdom of Solomon 5.15-6.3

¹⁵ But the righteous live forever. Their reward is in the Lord, and the care for them with the Most High. ¹⁶ Therefore they will receive the crown of royal dignity and the diadem of beauty from the Lord’s hand, because he will cover them with his right hand, and he will shield them with his arm. ¹⁷ He will take his zeal as complete armor, and will make the whole creation his weapons to punish his enemies: ¹⁸ He will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and will wear impartial judgment as a helmet. ¹⁹ He will take holiness as an invincible shield. ²⁰ He will sharpen stern wrath for a sword. The universe will go with him to fight against his frenzied foes. ²¹ Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim. They will leap to the mark from the clouds, as from a well-drawn bow. ²² Hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult. The water of the sea will be angered against them. Rivers will sternly overwhelm them. ²³ A mighty wind will encounter them. It will winnow them away like a tempest. So lawlessness will make all the land desolate. Their evil-doing will overturn the thrones of princes. ¹ Hear therefore, you kings, and understand. Learn, you judges of the ends of the earth. ² Give ear, you rulers who have dominion over many people, and make your boast in multitudes of nations, ³ because your dominion was given to you from the Lord, and your sovereignty from the Most High. He will search out your works, and will inquire about your plans,

Luke 12.2-12

² But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. ³ Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. ⁴ “I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him. ⁶ “Aren’t five sparrows sold for two assaria coins? Not one of them is forgotten by God. ⁷ But the very hairs of your head are all counted. Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows. ⁸ “I tell you, everyone who confesses me before men, the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God; ⁹ but he who denies me in the presence of men will be denied in the presence of God’s angels. ¹⁰ Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹ When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don’t be anxious how or what you will answer or what you will say; ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say.”

Ephesians 4.14-19

¹⁴ that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; ¹⁵ but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, ¹⁶ from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love. ¹⁷ This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, ¹⁸ being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Romans 8.28-39

²⁸ We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified. ³¹ What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? ³³ Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”8:36 Psalms 44:22 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Luke 4.16-22

¹⁶ He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, ¹⁹ and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”4:19 Isaiah 61:1-2 ²⁰ He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Luke 21.12-19

¹² But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. ¹³ It will turn out as a testimony for you. ¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer, ¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict. ¹⁶ You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will cause some of you to be put to death. ¹⁷ You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake. ¹⁸ And not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ “By your endurance you will win your lives.

Holy Protomartyr Thecla, Equal to the Apostles (1st c.)

She was born in Iconium of prominent pagan parents. At the age of eighteen she was instructed in the Faith of Christ by the Apostle Paul himself. She forsook her family and her betrothed, vowing herself to a life of virginity in the service of Christ. She traveled in the ministry of the Gospel with St Paul. After many travels and sufferings for the sake of Christ, she retired to Seleucia to devote herself to prayer and asceticism. There she healed many of the sick by her prayers, and brought many more to the Faith. Some local doctors envied her and sent some young men to rape her, superstitiously thinking that her healing powers might reside in her virginity. The Prologue says ‘Thecla fled from these insolent young men and, when she saw that they would catch her, prayed to God for help in front of a rock, and the rock opened and hid the holy maiden and bride of Christ. This rock was her hiding-place and her tomb.’

St Silouan, elder of Mt Athos (1938) (September 11 OC)

He was a Russian peasant who traveled to Mt Athos and became a monk in the Russian Monastery of St Panteleimon. He lived so simply, humbly and quietly that he might be forgotten had not Fr Sophrony (Sakharov) become his spiritual child and, after the Saint’s repose, written a book describing his life and teaching: St Silouan of Mt Athos, one of the great spiritual books of our time. It was through Fr Sophrony’s efforts that St Silouan was glorified as a Saint.

Following a vision of Christ Himself, St Silouan withdrew to a hermitage to devote himself entirely to prayer; but he was called back to serve as steward to the monastery. Though he now supervised some two hundred men, he only increased his prayers, withdrawing to his cell to pray with tears for each individual worker under his care. For more than fifteen years he struggled with demonic attacks during prayer until he was almost in despair. At this point Christ spoke to him in a vision, saying ‘The proud always suffer from demons.’ Silouan answered ‘Lord, teach me what I must do that my soul may become humble.’ To this he received the reply, Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not. Silouan made this his discipline in every moment of his life, and was granted the grace of pure prayer. He said that if he ever let his mind wander from the fire of hell, disruptive thoughts would once again plague him. In his humiliation he was filled with a pervasive love for all — he said many times that the final criterion of true Christian faith is unfeigned love for enemies, and that ‘to pray for others is to shed blood.’

St Silouan demonstrates that the Church’s true Theologians are those who manifest in their own lives the fruits of the Church’s hesychastic spirituality, however insignificant they may appear to the eyes of the world.

St Stephen, First-crowned King of Serbia (Simon the Monk) (1224)

“Crowned king at Zica, his foundation, by his brother and spiritual father, St Sava, he was a devout Christian and a wise and peace-loving ruler. Stephen, together with St Sava, raised Orthdooxy to great heights among his people. At his desire, St Sava made him a monk at the time of his death, giving him the name of Simon. He entered into rest in the Lord on September 24th, 1224, and his relics are preserved at Studenica.” (Prologue)

Scripture from the World English Bible (Orthodox Edition). Calendar data courtesy of Orthocal.info.