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Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Readings for April 23, 2024: Tuesday of the 6th week of Great Lent

Tone 5

The Scripture readings appointed for the Divine Liturgy, following the practice of the Orthodox Church in America.

New Calendar Old Calendar

Commemorated today: Holy Greatmartyr, Victorybearer and Wonderworker George

A prayer before reading the Scriptures

The priest says this prayer quietly before the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy. Many Orthodox Christians also say it before reading the Bible at home.

Illumine our hearts, O God who lovest mankind, with the pure light of thy divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our understanding to the comprehension of the proclamation of thy Gospel. Implant in us, likewise, the fear of thy blessed commandments; that, trampling down all carnal desires, we may pursue a godly life, both thinking and performing such things as are well-pleasing unto thee. For thou art the light of our souls, and of our bodies, O Christ our God, and unto thee do we ascribe glory, together with thy Father who is from everlasting, and thy holy, and blessed, and life-giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

From the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, in Isabel F. Hapgood's translation (Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906, pp. 88–89; public domain). See the scan

At the Divine Liturgy

For Holy Great-martyr George

Epistle Acts 12:1–11 WEB

1 Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly. 2 He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread. 4 When he had arrested him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him. 6 The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Stand up quickly!” His chains fell off his hands. 8 The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” He did so. He said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He didn’t know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”

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Gospel John 15:17–16:2 WEB

John 15

17 “I command these things to you, that you may love one another. 18 If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you for my name’s sake, because they don’t know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me, hates my Father also. 24 If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’ 26 “When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

John 16

1 “I have said these things to you so that you wouldn’t be caused to stumble. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God.

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Great Lent: Old Testament readings

On the weekdays of Great Lent the Church reads the Old Testament: Isaiah at the Sixth Hour, Genesis and Proverbs at Vespers. When the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served (usually on Wednesdays and Fridays), it begins with Vespers, so its readings are the Genesis and Proverbs ones. Today a Divine Liturgy is also served (above); the Lenten readings of the weekday are still appointed:

Old Testament Isaiah 49:6–10 · Sixth Hour Brenton

6 And he said to me, [It is] a great thing for thee to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to recover the dispersion of Israel: behold, I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth. 7 Thus saith the Lord that delivered thee, the God of Israel, Sanctify him that despises his life, him that is abhorred by the nations that are the servants of princes: kings shall behold him, and princes shall arise, and shall worship him, for the Lord's sake: for the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I have chosen thee. 8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I succoured thee: and I have formed thee, and given thee for a covenant of the nations, to establish the earth, and to cause to inherit the desert heritages: 9 saying to them that are in bonds, Go forth; and [bidding] them that are in darkness shew themselves. They shall be fed in all the ways, and in all the paths [shall be] their pasture. 10 They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst; neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; but he that has mercy on them shall comfort [them], and by fountains of waters shall he lead them.

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Old Testament Genesis 31:3–16 · Vespers Brenton

3 And the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy father, and to thy family, and I will be with thee. 4 And Jacob sent and called Lea and Rachel to the plain where the flocks were. 5 And he said to them, I see the face of your father, that it is not toward me as before, but the God of my father was with me. 6 And ye too know that with all my might I have served your father. 7 But your father deceived me, and changed my wages for the ten lambs, yet God gave him not [power] to hurt me. 8 If he should say thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the cattle would bear speckled; and if he should say, The white shall be thy reward, then would all the cattle bear white. 9 So God has taken away all the cattle of your father, and given them to me. 10 And it came to pass when the cattle conceived and were with young, that I beheld with mine eyes in sleep, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots. 11 And the angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob; and I said, What is it? 12 And he said, Look up with thine eyes, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots; for I have seen all things that Laban does to thee. 13 I am God that appeared to thee in the place of God, where thou anointedst a pillar to me, and vowedst to me there a vow; now then arise and depart out of this land, depart into the land of thy nativity, and I will be with thee. 14 And Rachel and Lea answered and said to him, Have we yet a part or inheritance in the house of our father? 15 Are we not considered strangers by him? for he has sold us, and quite devoured our money. 16 All the wealth and the glory which God has taken from our father, it shall be our's and our children's; now then do whatsoever God has said to thee.

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Old Testament Proverbs 21:3–21 · Vespers Brenton

3 To do justly and to speak truth, are more pleasing to God than the blood of sacrifices. 4 A high-minded man is stout-hearted in [his] pride; and the lamp of the wicked is sin. 6 He that gathers treasures with a lying tongue pursues vanity [on] to the snares of death. 7 Destruction shall lodge with the ungodly; for they refuse to do justly. 8 To the froward God sends froward ways; for his works are pure and right. 9 [It is] better to dwell in a corner on the house-top, than in plastered [rooms] with unrighteousness, and in an open house. 10 The soul of the ungodly shall not be pitied by any man. 11 When an intemperate man is punished the simple becomes wiser: and a wise man understanding will receive knowledge. 12 A righteous man understands the hearts of the ungodly: and despises the ungodly for their wickedness. 13 He that stops his ears from hearing the poor, himself also shall cry, and there shall be none to hear [him]. 14 A secret gift calms anger: but he that forbears to give stirs up strong wrath. 15 [It is] the joy of the righteous to do judgment: but a holy [man] is abominable with evil-doers. 16 A man that wanders out of the way of righteousness, shall rest in the congregation of giants. 17 A poor man loves mirth, loving wine and oil in abundance; 18 and a transgressor is the abomination of a righteous man. 19 [It is] better to dwell in a wilderness than with a quarrelsome and talkative and passionate woman. 20 A desirable treasure will rest on the mouth of the wise; but foolish men will swallow it up. 21 The way of righteousness and mercy will find life and glory.

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All readings of the day

Vespers, Matins, the Hours and the Liturgy, as listed in our tables.

Sixth Hour

Vespers

Matins

Divine Liturgy

About these readings

The readings follow the usage of the Orthodox Church in America (Slavic practice) and are calculated from the MIT-licensed tables of Paul Kachur's orthodox_calendar, checked day by day against the OCA's published readings for 2023 to 2027. Greek practice differs on many days and is not offered yet, because no openly licensed table of it exists. Your parish calendar always comes first.

Psalms are numbered as in the Septuagint, with the Hebrew numbering in brackets.

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