September 21, 2029

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

Fast day · Wednesday / Friday

A great feast on Wednesday or Friday: fish is allowed.

• Meat: not allowed
• Dairy & eggs: not allowed
• Fish: allowed
• Oil: allowed
• Wine: allowed

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

  Show the text

  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

  Show the text

  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 4:17–25

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  ¹⁷This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,

  ¹⁸being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts.

  ¹⁹They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

  ²⁰But you didn’t learn Christ that way,

  ²¹if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:

  ²²that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit,

  ²³and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

  ²⁴and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.

  ²⁵Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.

• Gospel · Theotokos

  Luke 10:38–42, 11:27–28

• Gospel

  Mark 12:1–12

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  ¹He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country.

  ²When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard.

  ³They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty.

  ⁴Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.

  ⁵Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some.

  ⁶Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

  ⁷But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

  ⁸They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

  ⁹What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.

  ¹⁰Haven’t you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner.

  ¹¹This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes’?”

  ¹²They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.

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