Sunday March 22, 2026 / March 9, 2026
Fourth Sunday of the Great Lent. Tone eight.
Great Lent. Food with Oil
Venerable John Lestvichnik (movable holiday on the 4th Sunday of the Great Lent).
The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste: Cyrion (or Quirio), Candidus, Domnus, Hesychius, Heraclius, Smaragdus, Eunoicus, Valens, Vivianus, Claudius, Priscus, Theodulus, Eutychius, John, Xanthias, Helianus, Sisinius, Angus, Aetius, Flavius, Acacius, Ecdicius, Lysimachus, Alexander, Elias, Gorgonius, Theophilus, Dometian, Gaius, Leontius, Athanasius, Cyril, Sacerdon, Nicholas, Valerius, Philoctimon, Severian, Chudion, Aglaius,and Meliton (320).
New Hieromartyr Archpriest Mitrophan Buchnoff of Voronezh (1931).
New Hieromartyrs Michael, Alexis, Demetrius, Sergius, Sergius priests and Nicholas deacon, New Hieromartyr Iosaph and Virgin-martyrs Natalia and Alexandra (1938).
Urpasianus of Nicomedia (295).
Righteous Caesarius, brother of St. Gregory the Theologian (369).
St. Tarasius of Liconium.
“Albazin” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (“The Word Was Made Flesh”) (1666).
St. Philoromus the Confessor of Galatia (4th c.).
St. Pacianus, bishop of Barcelona (390).
St. Jonah, archbishop of Novgorod (1470).
St. Vitalius of Castronovo (994).
The Scripture Readings
John 20:11-18 (8th Matins Gospel)
11
But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.
12
And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13
Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14
Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
17
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ “
18
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
Hebrews 6:13-20
13
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
14
saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”
15
And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16
For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.
17
Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
18
that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20
where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Mark 9:17-31
17
Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.
18
And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.
19
He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
20
Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21
So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
22
And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.
23
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
25
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”
26
Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”
27
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
28
And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29
So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
30
Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.
31
For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.”
Hebrews 12:1-10 40 Martyrs
1
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
4
You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
5
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:”My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6
For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
8
But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
9
Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
Matthew 20:1-16 40 Martyrs
1
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2
Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3
And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4
and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.
5
Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
6
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’
7
They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’
8
So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’
9
And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.
10
But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.
11
And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner,
12
saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’
13
But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14
‘Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.
15
‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
16
So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.