Monday 15th December 2025
Nativity Fast: wine and oil allowed
Hieromartyr Eleutherius, bishop of Illyria
Today we commemorate:
Martyr Anthia, mother o St Eleutherius, and Corivus the Eparch (126). Holy martyr Susanna the deaconess of Palestine (4th C). Monk-martyr Bacchus of Mar Sabba (8th C). St. Stepan (Stephen) the Confessor, bishop of Sourozh in the Crimea (790). St. Tryphon, of Pechenga (1583), and his martyred disciple Jonah. Venerable Paul of Latros (955)
British Isles and Ireland:
Offa, King of Essex, monk (c.709). St. Florentius (Flann), abbot of Bangor (7th C).
2 Timothy 2:20-26; Mark 8:11-21
For the Commemoration: 2 Timothy 1:8-18; Mark 2:23-3:5
Readings in bold type are those appointed by the Typikon for use at the Liturgy
2 Timothy 2:20-26
Timothy, my son, in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earthenware. The former are for noble use, the latter for ignoble use. Those who purge themselves from these things will therefore be vessels for noble use, set apart and suitable for the Master, ready for every good work. Flee from the lusts of youth; pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Avoid foolish and ignorant questions, for you know that they generate conflict. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle towards all, able to teach, long-suffering, correcting with humility those who oppose, for God may give them a change of heart so that they acknowledge the truth and recover their senses from the devil’s snare, from being held captive to his will.
Mark 8:11-21
At that time the Pharisees came up and began to question Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven, testing him. He sighed deeply within himself, saying, ‘Why does this generation look for a sign? Truly I tell you that no sign will be given to this generation.’ Then he left them and returned once again to the boat. They forgot to take bread, and apart from one loaf they had nothing with them in the boat. He was warning them, saying, ‘Watch out. Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ They talked it over among themselves. They were saying, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ Jesus was aware of this and asked them, ‘What makes you think it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Is your heart still hardened? You have eyes, do you not look? You have ears, do you not listen? Do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They told him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And after the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They replied, ‘Seven.’ And he said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’
2 Timothy 1:8-18
Timothy, my son, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in the hardships of the Gospel through the power of God who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not by our actions, but through his own purpose and the grace that was given to us in Christ Jesus before time everlasting. This has now been revealed by the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ who truly abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel for which I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher of the nations. It is for this reason that I suffer these things, but I am not ashamed because I know in whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to keep safe my commitment until that day. With faith and love in Christ Jesus, hold on to the pattern of wholesome doctrine that you heard from me. Keep the noble commitment safe through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. As you know, everyone in Asia turned away from me, including Phygellus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus because he often lifted my spirits and was not embarrassed by my chains, and when he was in Rome he diligently sought and found me. May the Lord grant that he finds mercy from the Lord on that Day, for he ministered at Ephesus in so many ways, as you very well know.
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.