19 February Friday
Old Style — 6 FebruaryToday

This year's detailed calendar has not been published yet — these are calculated dates.
Commemorated — from the synaxarion
Tap a name to open the life
- Our Venerable Father Arsen of Ikalto (+1127)›
- Venerable Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna (+c. 100)›
- Venerable Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet (VI)›
- St Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople›
- Holy Martyrs Dorothea, Christina, Callista and Theophilus (+288–300)›
- Holy Martyr Julian (+312)›
- Holy Martyrs Fausta the Virgin, Evilasius and Maximus (+305–311)›
- Holy Martyrs Martha, Mary and Their Brother the Child Lycarion›
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 19Psalms 134–142›
- At Matins · kathisma 20Psalms 143–150›
- At Vespers · kathisma 18Psalms 119–133›
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
“I will repent before I die,” some say. With such repentance one may end up in hell. Let us take care that the weak man’s repentance be not weak too, and the dying man’s dead. If we repent only before death, it may be said that we do not leave our sins but they leave us. We must leave our desires before they leave us, and leave vanity before it leaves us of itself.
Icons of the day's saints — from our shop
All icons →For every day — candles and incense
Candles and incense →Icon: Icon of Christ — Sinai, 6th c. · Public domain












