28. фебруар 2025.
Cheesefare Friday

Fast — Meat Fast

Service Notes

No Liturgy

Commemorations

Blessed Nicholas of Pskov, fool for Christ (1576)
Holy New Martyr Kyranna (1751)

Scripture Readings

Zechariah 8.7-17 (6th Hour)

7Ovako veli Gospod nad vojskama: evo, ja æu izbaviti svoj narod iz zemlje istoène i iz zemlje zapadne. 8I dovešæu ih, i oni æe nastavati usred Jerusalima, i biæe mi narod i ja æu im biti Bog, istinom i pravdom. 9Ovako veli Gospod nad vojskama: neka vam se ukrijepe ruke koji slušate u ovo vrijeme ove rijeèi iz usta proroèkih od dana kad se osnova dom Gospoda nad vojskama da se sazida crkva. 10Jer prije tijeh dana ne bješe plate ni za èovjeka ni za živinèe, niti bješe mira od neprijatelja ni onome koji odlažaše ni onome koji dolažaše, i pustih sve ljude jednoga na drugoga. 11A sada neæu biti kao prije ostatku toga naroda, govori Gospod nad vojskama. 12Nego æe usjev biti miran, vinova æe loza nositi plod svoj, i zemlja æe raðati rod svoj, i nebo æe davati rosu svoju; i sve æu to dati u našljedstvo ostatku toga naroda. 13I kao što bijaste uklin meðu narodima, dome Judin i dome Izrailjev, tako æu vas izbaviti te æete biti blagoslov; ne bojte se, neka vam se okrijepe ruke. 14Jer ovako veli Gospod nad vojskama: kao što vam namislih zlo uèiniti, kad me razgnjeviše oci vaši, veli Gospod nad vojskama, i ne raskajah se, 15Tako opet u ove dane namislih da dobro èinim Jerusalimu i domu Judinu; ne bojte se. 16Ovo je što treba da èinite: govorite istinu jedan drugom, sudite pravo i mirno na vratima svojim; 17I ne mislite jedan drugome zlo u srcu svom, i ne ljubite krive zakletve, jer na sve to mrzim, govori Gospod.

Zechariah 8.19-23 (Vespers)

19Ovako veli Gospod nad vojskama: post èetvrtoga mjeseca, i post petoga i post sedmoga i post desetoga obratiæe se domu Judinu u radost i veselje i u praznike vesele; ali ljubite istinu i mir. 20Ovako veli Gospod nad vojskama: još æe dolaziti narodi i stanovnici mnogih gradova; 21Dolaziæe stanovnici jednoga u drugi govoreæi: hajdemo da se molimo Gospodu i da tražimo Gospoda nad vojskama; idem i ja. 22Tako æe doæi mnogi narodi i silni narodi da traže Gospoda nad vojskama u Jerusalimu i da se mole Gospodu. 23Ovako veli Gospod nad vojskama: u to æe vrijeme deset ljudi od svijeh jezika narodnijeh uhvatiti jednoga Judejca za skut govoreæi: idemo s vama, jer èujemo da je Bog s vama.

Commemorations

Blessed Nicholas of Pskov, fool for Christ (1576)

“A rare fearlessness is a characteristic of fools for Christ. Blessed Nicholas ran through the streets of Pskov, pretending madness, rebuking people for their secret sins and foretelling what would happen to them. When Tsar Ivan the Terrible entered Pskov, the whole town was in fear and dread of the terrible Tsar… The Tsar, learning about this blessed man, who and what he was, visited him in his tiny room. [Ivan was a great lover of external piety.] It was the first week of the Great Fast. Hearing that the Tsar was coming to visit him, Nicholas found a piece of raw meat and, when the Tsar entered his cell, Nicholas bowed and offered the meat to the Tsar. ‘Eat, little Ivan, eat!’ The terrible Tsar answered him furiously: ‘I am a Christian, and do not eat meat in the Fast.’ Then the man of God retorted, ‘You do that and worse; you feed on men’s flesh and blood, forgetting not only the Fast but God as well.’ This lecture entered deeply into the heart of Tsar Ivan, and he immediately left Pskov in shame, having intended to wreak great slaughter there.” (Prologue)

Holy New Martyr Kyranna (1751)

This pious and beautiful maiden lived in a village near Thessalonica. One day a Janissary, come to collect taxes, laid eyes on her and was struck by lust. When she refused his advances, the wicked official brought her before the judge in Thessalonica and, using other soldiers as false witnesses, said that she had agreed to marry him and to convert to Islam. To all these claims Kyranna replied, ‘I am a Christian, and I have no bridegroom but Christ, to whom I have offered my maidenhood as a dowry. Him I love and for Him I am ready to shed my blood! That is my answer; expect no other from me.’ Having said this, she ‘enclosed herself in silence’ (Synaxarion) and would testify no more. She was cast into prison, where she was tormented and finally beaten to death by her jailer. When she died, a divine Light surrounded her and illumined the entire prison. When news of the miracle spread, the shamed Turkish officials handed over her body to Christians, who laid it to rest outside the city.