Wednesday September 3, 2025 / August 21, 2025
13th Week after Pentecost. Tone three.
Fast. Food with Oil
Apostle Thaddeus of the Seventy (44).
Martyr Bassa of Edessa and her sons Theogonius, Agapius, and Pistus (4th c.).
Venerable Abramius, archimandrite, wonderworker of Smolensk (1220).
St. Martha, schemanun of Diveyevo (1829).
New Hieromartyr Alexander priest (1918).
New Hieromartyr Paul priest (1937).
New Martyr Ignatius (1942).
Venerable Abramius the Lover-of-Labor of the Kiev Caves (14th c.).
Hieromartyr Raphael of Sisatovac, Serbia (1941) (Serbia).
Appearance of the Light-Painted image of the Most Holy Theotokos on Mount Athos in the Russian Saint Panteleimon Monastery (1903).
Venerable Theocleta the Wonderworker of Asia Minor (840).
Venerable Cornelius, abbot of Palei Island (Valaam) (1420), and his disciple St. Abramius.
Venerable Ephraim (1238) of Smolensk disiciple of St. Abramius.
St. Avitus, bishop of Clermont (594) (Gaul).
Martyrs Donatus the deacon, Romul the priest, Silvan the deacon, and Venust (Romania).
Venerable Isaiah of Mt. Athos (Greek).
St. Sarmean, Catholicos of Kartli, Georgia (779) (Georgia).
New Martyr Symeon of Samokovo (1737).
Translation of the relics (1953) of St. Nectarius (Kephalus), metropolitan of Pentapolis (1920).
St. Hardulph of Breedon.
The Scripture Readings
12
For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God,
13
while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,
14
and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
15
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
1
Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ-who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.
2
But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
3
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6
and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
7
Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s.
20
Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21
But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
22
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
23
So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?
24
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25
And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26
And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.
27
No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.