ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2022
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Святитель Порфирий, архиепископ Газский
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Old Style
February 26 		Friday
New Style
March 11
1st Week of Great Lent. Tone 4.
Great Lent.
Monastic rule: xerophagy (bread, uncooked fruits and vegetables).

Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомSt. Porphyrius, bishop of Gaza (420).

Sts. Photina, the Samaritan woman, and her sisters Phota, Photis, Parasceva, and Cyriaca; her sons Victor [or Photinus] and Joses; Sebastian the Duke, the officer Anatolius, and Theoclitus, the former sorcerer—all martyred under Nero (ca. 66) St. Sebastian, founder of Sokhotsk Monastery (Yaroslavl) (ca. 1500).

New Hieromartyr Michael Lisitsyn, priest, of Ust-Labinskaya (1918). New Hieromartyr John (Pashin), bishop of Rylsk (1938).

Mezhetsk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

New Martyr John the Cabinetmaker, at Constantinople (1575).

Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse

St. Theophan the Recluse

Friday.

   The Lord scorneth the scorners: but He giveth grace unto the lowly (Prov. 3:34). Particularly remember these words when you go to confession. Nothing like pride binds your tongue to keep it from saying, “I am a sinner.” Humble yourself before the Lord, do not spare yourself, do not fear the face of man. Reveal your shame for it to be washed; show your wounds for them to be healed; tell of all your unrighteousness that you be justified. The more merciless you will be with yourself, the more compassion the Lord will show towards you, and you will leave with a sweet feeling of forgiveness. This is that grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, given from Him to those who humble themselves through sincere confession of their sins.[1]

[1] In Russia people traditionally went to confession on the evening of this first Friday of Great Lent, in preparation for Holy Communion the next day. See the footnote for Tuesday of this week.

Articles

St. Porphyrius the Bishop of Gaza

Having the inclination for monastic life, he left his native region at twenty-five years of age and set off for Egypt, where he lived in the Nitrian desert under the guidance of Saint Macarius the Great (January 19).

St Photini, The Samaritan Woman

A significant figure in the Johannine community, the Samaritan Woman, like many other women, contributed to the spread of Christianity. She therefore occupies a place of honour among the apostles. In Greek sermons from the fourth to the fourteenth centuries she is called "apostle" and "evangelist."

Martyr Photina (Svetlana), the Samaritan Woman, and Her Sons

During the time of the emperor Nero (54-68), who displayed excessive cruelty against Christians, Saint Photina lived in Carthage with her younger son Joses and fearlessly preached the Gospel there.

The Holy Martyrs Sebastian and Christodoulus

The Holy Martyrs Sebastian and Christodoulus died by the sword under Nero (54-68).

Venerable Sebastian of Poshekhonye

Saint Sebastian of Sokhota, Poshekhonye, founded a monastery in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, located at the River Sokhota, 90 versts from the city of Romanov (now Tutaev) in the Yaroslav district.

New Martyr John Kalphes, the Apprentice

Once, encountering his former teacher and benefactor, he asked Saint John what it says in the Christian books about their “prophet” Mohammed. Saint John did not want to answer his question, but because of the persistent demands of the youth, he declared that Mohammed was a mere mortal, an uneducated man who did not perform a single miracle during his lifetime.
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