Tuesday 17th February 2026
Cheesefare week: dairy, eggs and fish allowed
Great Martyr Theodore Tyro, ‘the Recruit’
Today we commemorate:
St. Mariamne, sister of the Apostle Philip (1st C). St. Auxibios, bishop of Soli in Cyprus (102). Emperor Marcian (457) and Pulcheria, his wife (453), and the commemoration of the dedication of the Great Church in Constantinople. New Martyr Theodore of Byzantium, at Mitylene (1795). New Martyr Michael Mavroeidis of Adrianople (1490). St. Theodore the Silent of the Kievan Caves (13th C). Hieromartyr Hermogenes (Hermogen), patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia (1612).
British Isles and Ireland:
Venerable Fintan, abbot of Clonenagh (603). St. Loman, 1st bishop of Trim (4th C). St. Fortchern, 2nd bishop of Trim (5th C). St. Finan, bishop of Lindisfarne (661). St. Guevrock of Saint-Pol-de-Leon (6th C).
Jude 1:1-10; Luke 22:39-42,45-23:1
For the Commemoration: 2 Timothy 2:1-10; Luke 20:46-21:4,8:8
Readings in bold type are those appointed by the Typikon for use at the Liturgy
Jude 1:1-10
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to the called, to those made holy in God the Father and protected by Jesus Christ. Mercy to you, and may peace and love abound. Beloved, I am making all speed to write to you about the salvation we share. I needed to write to you, encouraging you to strive for the faith that once and for all was entrusted to the saints, because certain people crept in unobserved, ungodly people who long ago were marked down for this condemnation. They pervert the grace of our God into debauchery, and they deny our only Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. It is my intention to remind you of what you once knew, that having rescued the people from the land of Egypt, the Lord, on a second occasion, destroyed those who did not believe. Angels too, those who did not keep to their own domain but deserted their proper place, he has kept in perpetual bondage under darkness for condemnation on the great Day. Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns were just like them, having similarly given themselves up to sexual immorality and the pursuit of unnatural passions. They are set before us as an example of those who suffer the punishment of everlasting fire, yet in the same way these dreamers defile the flesh and despise authority and defame the glorious ones. Now when the Archangel Michael confronted the devil and disputed about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a charge of blasphemy, but he said, ‘May the Lord rebuke you.’ Yet these people revile whatever they do not understand and are corrupted like brute beasts by whatever they perceive by instinct.
Luke 22:39-42,45-23:1
At that time Jesus went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. When he reached the place he told them, ‘Pray that you do not fall into temptation.’ He then withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down and prayed. He was saying, ‘Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me. Nevertheless let your will, not mine, be done.’ … He rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, and he found them sleeping because of grief. He said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Wake up and pray that you do not fall into temptation.’ As he was speaking, a crowd appeared, and the one called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He came up to Jesus to kiss him, for he had given them this sign: ‘The one whom I kiss is the man.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’ When those around him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, ‘Lord, shall we strike with the sword?’ One of them struck the High Priest’s servant and cut off his right ear, but Jesus responded with, ‘That is enough.’ Then he touched his ear and healed him. Jesus said to those who had come for him, the chief priests and temple officers and elders, ‘Have you come out as against a bandit with swords and staves? When I was with you daily in the temple you did not stretch out your hands against me, but this is your hour: the rule of darkness.’ They seized him and led him away, and brought him to the High Priest’s house. Peter was following, well behind. They kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together. Peter was seated among them, and a servant girl saw him sitting there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, ‘This man was with him as well.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ After a while someone else saw him and said, ‘You too are one of them.’ But Peter replied, ‘Man, I am not.’ After a space of an hour or so, some other person was insistent, saying, ‘Surely this man was also with him, for he is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ And at once, while he was speaking, a cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered what the Lord had said, how he had told him, ‘Before the cock crows you will disown me three times.’ And Peter went outside and wept bitterly. Now the men who held Jesus were mocking him and beating him. They blindfolded him and were hitting him in the face, demanding, ‘Prophesy who hit you.’ And they threw many other insults at him. As soon as it was day the elders of the people came together with the chief priests and the scribes, and they brought him before their Sanhedrin. They said, ‘If you are the Christ, tell us.’ And he replied, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask anything, you will not answer me or release me. From now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the Power of God.’ And they all responded, ‘You are the Son of God, then?’ He told them, ‘You yourselves say that I am.’ They then said, ‘What further evidence do we need, for we have heard it from his mouth.’ The whole assembly rose up and brought Jesus before Pilate.
2 Timothy 2:1-10
Timothy, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And these things that you heard from me through many witnesses, entrust them to faithful people, to those who will also be competent to teach others. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, you are to put up with hardship; no one on active service entangles himself in the affairs of life if he is to please the one who enlisted him. Then there are those who compete; they cannot be crowned unless they compete by the rules. The labouring farmer should be the first to take a share of the crops. Think about what I am saying, and may the Lord give you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, of the seed of David. That is my Gospel for which I am suffering hardship to the extent of being chained like a criminal, though the word of God is not chained. The reason I am enduring all this is for the sake of the chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with everlasting glory.
Luke 20:46-21:4,8:8
The Lord said to his disciples, ‘Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted in the marketplaces, and they love the front seats in the synagogues and the top table at feasts. They, who gobble up widows’ houses and for outward show pray at great length, will receive an especially severe condemnation.’ He looked up and saw those who were casting their gifts into the treasury, rich people. Then he saw a poor widow putting in two tiny coins, and he said, ‘Truly I tell you that this poor widow put in more than anyone. For they all put in gifts for God from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had in life. … After saying this he exclaimed, ‘Let those who have ears for listening, listen.’