September 21, 2023

Events of the day

• Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos

  Twelve Great Feast

  The birth of the Virgin Mary to the righteous Joachim and Anna; the first of the Twelve Great Feasts in the church year.

Fasting

No fast

No fast today.

Food rules are reference church information. Agree your personal measure of fasting with a priest; consult a doctor if you are ill.

Readings of the day

• Vespers

  Genesis 28:10–17

• Vespers

  Ezekiel 43:27–44:4

• Vespers

  Proverbs 9:1–11

• Matins Gospel

  Luke 1:39–49, 56

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  ³⁹Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,

  ⁴⁰and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

  ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

  ⁴²She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

  ⁴³Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

  ⁴⁴For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!

  ⁴⁵Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”

  ⁴⁶Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.

  ⁴⁷My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,

  ⁴⁸for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.

  ⁴⁹For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.

  ⁵⁶Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.

• Epistle · Theotokos

  Philippians 2:5–11

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  ⁵Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,

  ⁶who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,

  ⁷but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.

  ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross.

  ⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name,

  ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,

  ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

• Epistle

  Ephesians 1:1–9

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  ¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:

  ²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

  ⁴even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love,

  ⁵having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,

  ⁶to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved,

  ⁷in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

  ⁸which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

  ⁹making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him

• Gospel · Theotokos

  Luke 10:38–42, 11:27–28

• Gospel

  Mark 7:24–30

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  ²⁴From there he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. He entered into a house, and didn’t want anyone to know it, but he couldn’t escape notice.

  ²⁵For a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet.

  ²⁶Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter.

  ²⁷But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

  ²⁸But she answered him, “Yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

  ²⁹He said to her, “For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

  ³⁰She went away to her house, and found the child having been laid on the bed, with the demon gone out.

Source: Orthocal: lectionary data — Slavic tradition, Julian calendar. Text: World English Bible.