17 January Saturday
Old Style — 4 JanuaryToday
The Saturday before Theophany
Commemoration
Tap a name to open the life
5 of 9 names — the rest are in Georgian only
- St Dionysius the Areopagite›
Venerable Evagrius, Elijah the Deacon and those with them›- Sts Zosimas and Athanasius›
- St Eustathius of Serbia›
St Onuphrius of Gabrovo›
Readings
1 Tim 3:14 – 4:5 (§284); Mt 3:1–11 (§5); Rom 8:8–14 (§96, from the middle); Lk 10:1–15 (§50)
Liturgical note
This text is in Georgian only for now
* თუ უპირატესი ინებებს ღირსთა ევაგრესი და ილია დიაკონის განგების საზეიმოდ შესრულებას, მაშინ მათთვის საკითხავები საზიაროთაგან გვ. 239.
The tone and the day's psalms
What is a tone?
A tone is not a psalm number. It is the mode in which that week's resurrection hymns are sung — the whole week's Vespers, Matins and Liturgy are set in one tone.
There are eight tones, and they change each week. The cycle opens with the first tone on Thomas Sunday after Pascha and returns to the first every eight weeks; Bright Week itself has no tone of its own. A new tone begins on Saturday evening, with the new church week.
The Psalter is divided into twenty kathismata and, by the usual rule, is read through once a week. Appointed for this day:
- At Matins · kathisma 16Psalms 109–117›
- At Matins · kathisma 17Psalms 118›
- At Vespers · kathisma 1Psalms 1–8›
This is the usual rule. In Great Lent the Psalter is read twice a week, and the kathismata are divided differently.
Word of the day
One must live not “easily” but with the greatest possible exertion of all one’s strength, both physical and spiritual. When we spend our strength to the utmost, we do not “exhaust” ourselves; we multiply the source of our strength.
— Father Alexander (Elchaninov) · #
