Skip to main content

Daily Orthodox - December 28th, 2024

Today is Saturday of the 27th Week after Pentecost — 4th Day of the Feast of the Nativity.

Fasting Obligations

  • OCA, GOARCH, Antioch: No fasting obligations.

Today, we commemorate...

  1. The Twenty Thousand Holy Martyrs of Nicomedia

During the reign of the wicked Emperor Maximian Hercules, the Christian Faith flourished in Nicomedia and increased day by day. At one time the emperor, staying in this city, learned of the large number of Christians and the progress of the Christian Church, and he became greatly embittered and conceived a plan of how to kill them all. The Feast of the Nativity of Christ approached, and the emperor, knowing that all the Christians gathered in the church for this feast, ordered that on that day the church be surrounded by soldiers and set afire. When all the Christians had gathered in the church after midnight and began the solemn celebration, the soldiers surrounded the church and would not permit anyone to leave. The emperor's envoy entered the church and announced to the Christians the emperor's command that they immediately offer sacrifices to the idols or be burned alive. Then the archdeacon, a heroic soldier of Christ, inflamed with divine zeal began to encourage the people, reminding the faithful of the Three Children in the furnace in Babylon. "Behold, brethren," he said, "the table of oblation in the sanctuary of the Lord, and understand that our true Lord and God was just now sacrificed for us on it; should we not then lay down our lives for Him in this holy place?" The people were filled with zeal to die for Christ, and all the catechumens were baptized and chrismated. The soldiers then set fire to the church on all sides, and the Christians, twenty thousand of them in number, were burned in the flames while singing praises to God. The church burned for five days; and smoke with an intoxicating and wonderful fragrance rose from it. A certain marvelous, golden-rayed light manifested itself over this place. Thus, numerous men, women and children gloriously died and received the wreath of eternal glory in the Kingdom of Christ. They suffered and were glorified in the year 302.

  1. The Venerable Simon, the Myrrh-gusher

Simon was the founder of the Simonospetra Monastery on the Holy Mountain. He was glorified because of his asceticism, visions and miracles. He entered peacefully into rest and went to Christ in the year 1287.

  1. The Holy Martyr Domna

Domna was a virgin and priestess of the foul idols at the court of Emperor Maximian. Reading the Acts of the Apostles, which she had obtained from somewhere, she came to believe in Christ and was baptized by Bishop Cyril in Nicomedia, together with the eunuch Indes. St. Cyril directed her to a convent, where Blessed Agatha was the abbess. When the emperor began to search for her, Agatha dressed her in men's clothing and sent her to a men's monastery. This was at the time when twenty thousand Christians were burned in the church by Emperor Maximian. Immediately after this, by the emperor's command, Saints Indes, Gorgonius and Peter were thrown into the sea with millstones around their necks; Commander Zeno, who had openly denounced the emperor for his idolatry, was beheaded; St. Theophilus, the deacon of Bishop Anthimus, was slain by stoning and by arrows; Abbess Agatha, the nun Theophila and the nobles Dorotheus, Mardonius, Migdonius and Euthymius were also slain for the sake of Christ. One night, Domna was walking along the seashore and saw fishermen casting their nets into the sea. At that time she was especially grieving for St. Indes. Called by the fishermen to help them, she assisted them and by God's providence drew out three human bodies in the net. Domna recognized in them Saints Indes, Gorgonius and Peter, and she took their bodies and reverently buried them. When the emperor learned that a young man was caring for and censing the graves of the Christian martyrs, he ordered that the young man be beheaded. Thus, St. Domna was seized and beheaded, and she was crowned with the wreath of glory in the Heavenly Kingdom with the other martyrs.

  1. Apostle Nicanor the Deacon, of the Seventy (34)

  2. St. Maughold, bishop of the Isle of Man (ca. 488)

  3. St. Ignatius, founder of Lomanosov Monastery (Yaroslavl) (1591)

  4. St. Cornelius, monk of Krypetsk Monastery (Pskov) (1903)

  5. New Hieromartyrs Nikodim, bishop of Belgorod, and Arcadius, deacon (1918)

For more information on today's saints or commemorations not provided, see https://www.oca.org/saints/lives (Slavic) and/or https://www.goarch.org/chapel (Greek).

Daily Scriptures

Slavic and Greek
  • Epistle (Slavic: for the Saturday after Nativity): 1 Timothy 6:11-16

<11> But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. <12> Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. <13> I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, <14> that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, <15> which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, <16> who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

  • Gospel (Slavic: for the Saturday after Nativity): Matthew 12:15-21

<15> But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. <16> Yet He warned them not to make Him known, <17> that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: <18> "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. <19> He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. <20> A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; <21> And in His name Gentiles will trust."

Slavic
  • Epistle (Day): Galatians 5:22-6:2

<22> But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, <23> gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. <24> And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. <25> If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. <26> Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. <1> Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. <2> Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

  • Gospel (Day): Luke 17:3-10

<3> Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. <4> And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." <5> And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." <6> So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. <7> And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? <8> But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? <9> Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. <10> So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' "

Back to top