Sunday 7th December 2025
Nativity Fast: fish, wine and oil allowed
Tone 1 - Eothinon 4
26th after Pentecost, 10th of Luke
Today we commemorate:
St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan (397). Holy martyr Athenodorus of Mesopotamia (304). St. Gregory the Silent of Serbia , founder of Grigoriou monastery, Mt. Athos (14th C). St. Nilus of Stolbensk Lake (1554). St. Anthony, abbot of Siya, Novgorod (1558). St. John, Faster of the Kievan Caves (12th C). Holy Martyr Philothea of Arges (13th C). Venerable Gerasimos.
British Isles and Ireland:
St. Buithe, missionary (521). St. Diuma, bishop and missionary (658).
Ephesians 5:8-19; Luke 13:10-17
Readings in bold type are those appointed by the Typikon for use at the Liturgy
Ephesians 5:8-19
Brothers and sisters, walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, in discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not keep company with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them, for it is shameful even to speak of the things these people do in secret; but everything exposed by the light is revealed, because everything that is revealed is light. This is why it is said, ‘Awake, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine upon you.’ Watch carefully how you walk then, not like the unwise but like the wise, and make good use of time because the days are evil. For this reason do not be foolish but understand what the Lord wills. And do not get drunk with wine because that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, conversing in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
Luke 13:10-17
At that time Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath when a woman appeared. She had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent right over and completely unable to straighten up. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, ‘Woman, you have been freed from your infirmity.’ Then he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was straightened up and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by saying to the congregation, ‘There are six days on which we should work. Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.’ The Lord replied, saying to him, ‘You hypocrite. Does not each of you untie an ox or a donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it off to water it? And here is this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for all of eighteen years. Should she not be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?’ As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame and the whole congregation rejoiced over all the glorious things that were being done by him.