2026

On Sunday | May 24

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The Readings from the Regular Cycle

The Epistle

Seventh Sunday, of the Holy Fathers

The reading is from the Acts of the Apostles.

Acts 20:16 – 18, 28 – 36

In those days, Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they came to him, he said to them: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of the Lord and God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down and prayed with them all. [RSV]

The Gospel

Seventh Sunday of the Holy Fathers

The reading is from the holy Gospel according to John.

Jn. 17:1 – 13

At that time, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do; and now, Father, you glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made. I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you; for I have given them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you did send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are mine; all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name; those whom you have given me I have guarded, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” [RSV]

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The Readings for the Commemoration

The Epistle

For the Devout Man.

The reading is from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians.

Col. 3:12 – 16

Brethren, put on as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as Christ has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to the Lord. [RSV]

The Gospel

For the Devout Man.

The reading is from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Mt. 5:14 – 19

The Lord said to his disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” [RSV]

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Stand for the reading of the Synaxarion.

Synaxarion

From the Menaion.

On May 24 we commemorate our devout Father Symeon of Wonder Mountain.

On this day we also commemorate the holy Martyrs Meletios the Commander and those with him: John, Stephen, Serapion the Egyptian, Callinicus the Magus, and twelve Counts and Tribunes: Faustus, Festus, Marcellus, Theodore, Meletius, Sergius, Marcellinus, Felix, Photinus, Theodoriscus, Mercurius, and Didymus; three women: Marciana, Palladia, and Susanna; two infants: Kyriacus and Christian; and another 11,208 who witnessed with them. The service in their honor is celebrated in the Temple of the holy Martyr Plato, found in the vestibule called Domninus, in Constantinople.

From the Pentecostarion.

On this day, the seventh Sunday of Pascha, we celebrate the First Ecumenical Synod in Nicaea of the three hundred eighteen God-bearing Fathers.

Verses

Luminous stars of the spiritual sky,

illumine my mind with the light of your rays.

Against Arius

Arius be a stranger to God’s glory,

for calling the Son a stranger to the Father’s essence.

By the intercession of the three hundred and eighteen God-bearing Fathers, O Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

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Fasting Rule

Fast Free: All foods allowed.