Afterfeast of the Theophany. St. Theodosius the Great, the Coenobiarch (529). St. Michael of Klops Monastery (Novgorod), fool-for-Christ (ca. 1453-1456).
St. Theodosius, ascetic of Rhosus and Antioch (ca. 412).
New Hieroconfessor Vladimir (Khirasko), archpriest, of Minsk (1932).
Chernigov-Eletskaya Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (1060).
Hieromartyr Hyginus, pope of Rome (142). St. Stephen of Placidian near Constantinople. St. Agapius of Apamea in Syria. St. Theodosius of Mt. Athos, metropolitan of Trebizond (14th c.). St. Vitalis of the monastery of Abba Seridus at Gaza (609-620). St. Joseph of Cappadocia.
Repose of Blessed Nun Eupraxia of Teliakov village, Kostroma (1823).
Wednesday. [I Pet. 4:1–11; Mark 12:28–37]
One lawyer asked the Lord: Which is the first
commandment of all? The Lord answered: Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is
like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these (Mark 12:28, 30–31). This also
serves as a supplement to the portrayal of the hidden man
of the heart. Sanctifying the Lord is his spirit, and
love—his soul; all the other virtues are his various
members—arms, legs, eyes, ears, tongue. Remembrance
of this is very needful, because it sometimes happens
that, considering the doing of good to be the final
virtue, people think they can get by with only this, not
thinking about the Lord, and forgetting about love. Doing
good without faith and a desire to please God is not holy;
it is like a house that has not been blessed, or a room
without icons. Without love, the doing of good is like a
building filled with lifeless sculptures, succumbing to
mustiness and mould. Pay attention to this, each of you;
and setting out to create a new person in yourself, try to
place him before the Lord, who is without any flaw.