23. децембар 2026.
Wednesday of the 30th week after Pentecost

Nativity Fast

Commemorations

The Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete (250)
Our Venerable Father Paul, Archbishop of Neocaesarea (4th c.)
Our Holy Father Nahum of Ochrid, Wonderworker and Enlightener of the Slavs (ca. 900)

Scripture Readings

Hebrews 10.1-18 (Epistle)

1Jer zakon imajuæi sjen dobara koja æe doæi, a ne samo oblièje stvari, ne može nikada savršiti one koji pristupaju svake godine i prinose one iste žrtve. 2Inaèe bi prestale prinositi se, kad oni koji služe ne bi više imali nikake savjesti za grijehe, kad se jednom oèiste; 3Nego se njima svake godine èini spomen za grijehe. 4Jer krv junèija i jarèija ne može uzeti grijeha. 5Zato ulazeæi u svijet govori: žrtava i darova nijesi htio, ali si mi tijelo pripravio. 6Žrtve i prilozi za grijeh nijesu ti bili ugodni. 7Tada rekoh: evo doðoh, u poèetku knjige pisano je za mene, da uèinim volju tvoju, Bože. 8I više kazavši: priloga i prinosa i žrtava, i žrtava za grijehe nijesi htio, niti su ti bili ugodni, što se po zakonu prinose; 9Tada reèe: evo doðoh da uèinim volju tvoju, Bože. Ukida prvo da postavi drugo. 10Po kojoj smo volji mi osveæeni prinosom tijela Isusa Hrista jednom. 11I svaki sveštenik stoji svaki dan služeæi i jedne žrtve mnogo puta prinoseæi koje nikad ne mogu uzeti grijeha. 12A on prinesavši jedinu žrtvu za grijehe sjedi svagda s desne strane Bogu, 13Èekajuæi dalje dok se polože neprijatelji njegovi podnožje nogama njegovima. 14Jer jednijem prinosom savršio je vavijek one koji bivaju osveæeni. 15A svjedoèi nam i Duh sveti; jer kao što je naprijed kazano: 16Ovo je zavjet koji æu naèiniti s njima poslije onijeh dana, govori Gospod: daæu zakone svoje u srca njihova, i u mislima njihovijem napisaæu ih; 17I grijeha njihovijeh i bezakonja njihovijeh neæu više spominjati. 18A gdje je oproštenje ovijeh ondje više nema priloga za grijehe.

Mark 10.11-16 (Gospel)

11I reèe im: koji pusti ženu i oženi se drugom, èini preljubu na njoj. 12I ako žena ostavi muža svojega i poðe za drugoga, èini preljubu. 13I donošahu k njemu djecu da ih se dotakne; a uèenici branjahu onima što ih donošahu. 14A Isus vidjevši rasrdi se i reèe im: pustite djecu neka dolaze k meni, i ne branite im; jer je takovijeh carstvo Božije. 15Zaista vam kažem: koji ne primi carstva Božijega kao dijete, neæe uæi u njega. 16I zagrlivši ih metnu na njih ruke te ih blagoslovi.

Commemorations

The Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete (250)

All ten suffered for Christ together on Crete during the reign of the Emperor Decius. They were tormented and humiliated for thirty days, but bore their trials with such serenity that the Governor feared that others would be converted to the Faith, so had all of them beheaded.

Our Venerable Father Paul, Archbishop of Neocaesarea (4th c.)

This holy bishop was so revered that he was summoned by the Emperor Licinius himself, who attempted to turn him from the Faith. When this failed, the Emperor ordered that molten metal be poured on the bishop’s hands, which left them paralyzed and horribly disfigured. Years went by, Christianity was legalized by Constantine the Great and, when the Council of Nicaea was summoned, St Paul was among those bishops who were called to attend. Many of the bishops who attended bore in their bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus (Gal. 6:17): noses, ears or eyes lost, scars and burns from their trials for Christ. At the Council, the Emperor Constantine knelt before St Paul and kissed his hands as holy relics, saying ‘I will never tire of kissing these hands which have lost their life for the sake of my Christ.’ After the Council, the holy bishop served in Neocaesarea for several more years, then reposed in peace.

Our Holy Father Nahum of Ochrid, Wonderworker and Enlightener of the Slavs (ca. 900)

He was a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius (May 11), and traveled with them on their missionary journey to the Slavs. With them and their other companions, he endured many trials, including several imprisonments at the hands of the Latin Franks, who were seeking to seize control of the region of Moravia in order to impose the Latin language and to spread the heresy of the filioque. For a time their troubles were relieved by Pope Hadrian II, who supported the mission and made St Methodius Archbishop of Pannonia, with jurisdiction over the Eastern European Slav lands. But when St Methodius died, St Nahum and his companions were imprisoned once more, then sent into exile, where they finally found shelter in the Orthodox Kingdom of Bulgaria. There they were able to continue their work of evangelization in the Slavonic language. Saint Nahum founded the Monastery that bears his name on the shore of Lake Ochrid. After his repose his relics were brought there for burial, and are venerated there today.