Saturday 28th February 2026
Lenten Fast: wine and oil allowed
Commemoration of the Miracle of Kollyva wrought by St Theodore the Recruit
Today we commemorate:
St. Basil the Confessor, companion of St. Procopios at The Decapolis (750). Holy Hieromartyr Proterios, patriarch of Alexandria, and six companions (457). SS Marana, Cyanna (Kyra), and Domnica (Domnina), nuns, of Syria (c.450). New martyr Kyranna of Thessaloniki. John Cassian the Roman, confessor (435) (t/f from Feb 29th).
British Isles and Ireland:
St. Llibio of Anglesey (6th C). St. Madoc, bishop of Llanmadog (6th C). St. Sillan, abbot of Bangor (610). Holy Hieromartyr Herefrith, bishop of Lindsey (869).
Oswald of Worcester and York (t/f from Feb 29th).
Hebrews 1:1-12; Mark 2:23-3:5
Readings in bold type are those appointed by the Typikon for use at the Liturgy
Hebrews 1:1-12
God, long ago at various times and in many ways, spoke to the ancestors through the prophets. In these final days he has spoken to us through a Son whom he appointed heir of everything, and through whom he created the ages. He is the radiance of the Glory and the exact representation of his essence; he upholds everything by his mighty word. When he himself made a purification for our sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He became as much superior to the angels as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs, for to which of the angels did he ever say, ‘You are my Son. Today I have begotten you’? And again, ‘I shall be Father to him and he will be Son to me.’ And again, when he brought the first-born into the world, he says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship him.’ Of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire,’ but of the Son, ‘Your throne, O God, is to the ages of ages. The sceptre of your Kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. You love righteousness and hate lawlessness. Because of this, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness over your companions.’ And, ‘In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you continue. Like a garment they will all grow old, and like a cloak you will fold them up. They will be changed but you are the same, and your years will never end.’
Mark 2:23-3:5
At that time Jesus was passing through the cornfields, and as they went along his disciples began to pluck ears of grain. The Pharisees said to him, ‘Do you see that? Why are they doing on the Sabbath what is not permitted?’ And he asked them, ‘Have you never read what David did, and those with him, when he was in need and hungry? He entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the High Priest and ate the shewbread that only the priests are permitted to eat, and even gave it to those with him.’ He told them, ‘The Sabbath was made for human beings, not human beings for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is therefore Lord even of the Sabbath.’ He went back again into the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They were watching whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand out in the middle.’ He then asked them, ‘On the Sabbath is it right to do good or to do evil? To save a life or to kill?’ But they were saying nothing. He looked around angrily at them, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and he told the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other.