2024

On Tuesday | April 16

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THE PROPHECY

READER

Prokeimenon. Mode pl. 2.

Psalm 87 (88).

I am poor and in troubles from my youth.

O Lord God of my salvation, I cry day and night before You. [SAAS]

The reading is from the Prophecy of Isaiah.

PRIEST

Wisdom. Let us be attentive.

READER

Is 40:18-31

Thus says the Lord: To whom then will you liken the Lord, and to what likeness will you compare Him? Has the workman made an image, or has the goldsmith overspread it with gold, gilding it, making a likeness of Him? For the workman chooses wood that will not rot, and skillfully seeks to prepare a carved image that will not totter. Will you not know? Will you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Do you not know the foundations of the earth? It is He who possesses the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. It is He who stretches out heaven like a vault, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He makes the rulers He establishes to rule to be as nothing; He makes the earth as nothing. Scarcely shall they be planted, scarcely shall they be sown, scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, when He shall also blow on them and they will wither, and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. “Now then, to whom will you liken Me, that I should be exalted?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see. Who displayed these things? He who brings forth their host by number; He who calls them all by name. From the greatness of His glory to the strength of His might, nothing escapes Your notice. For why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, saying, “My way is hidden from God, and my God took away my judgment and departed”? So then, have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the God who created the ends of the earth, neither hungers nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives strength to the hungry, and sorrow to those who do not grieve. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the elect shall be without strength, but those who wait on God shall renew their strength. [SAAS]

Prokeimenon. Mode pl. 2.

Psalm 88 (89).

The heavens shall confess Your wonders.

O Lord, I will sing of Your mercies forever. [SAAS]

The Readings from Vespers

READER

Prokeimenon. Mode 4.

Psalm 89 (90).

O Lord, You became a refuge to us.

And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us. [SAAS]

The reading is from the book of Genesis.

PRIEST

Wisdom. Let us be attentive.

READER

Gn 15:1-15

The Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield and will be your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus, the son of Masek, my domestic maidservant?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed, my household servant is my heir.” And immediately the Voice of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but the One who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said to him, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your seed be.” And Abram believed God, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Then He said to him, “I am the God who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” And he said, “Master and Lord, how will I know I will inherit it?” So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” So he brought all these to Him and cut them in half, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. Now around sunset, a trance fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your seed will be strangers in a land not their own, and will serve them; and they will afflict and humble them four hundred years. Also, the nation they serve I will judge; and afterward, they shall come out with great possessions. But as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace, buried in a good old age.” [SAAS]

Prokeimenon. Mode pl. 1.

Psalm 90 (91).

He who dwells in the help of the Most High.

He shall say to the Lord, “You are my protector.” [SAAS]

The reading is from the Proverbs of Solomon.

PRIEST

Wisdom. Let us be attentive.

READER

Pr 15:8-21

The lips of the wise are bound by perception, but the hearts of those without discernment are not safe. The sacrifices of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord, but the prayers of the upright are acceptable with Him. The ways of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord, but He loves those who pursue righteousness. The instruction of the simple is known by those who pass by, but those who hate reproofs will die shamefully. Hades and destruction are manifest before the Lord; how can the hearts of men not be also? An uninstructed man will not love those who reprove him, and he will not keep company with the wise. When one’s heart is glad, his face is cheerful, but when it is in grief, his face is sad. The upright heart seeks perception, but the mouth of the uninstructed will know evil things. The eyes of evil men are waiting for evil things all the time, but good men are at rest continually. Better is a small portion with the fear of the Lord than great treasures with lack of fear. Better is a dinner of herbs with friendship and grace than a fatted calf with hostility. An angry man stirs up contention, but a longsuffering man even calms the rising quarrel. A longsuffering man will extinguish condemnations, but the ungodly man stirs up more. The ways of idle men are strewn with thorny plants, but the thorny plants of the courageous are worn smooth. [SAAS]

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Stand for the reading of the Synaxarion.

Synaxarion

From the Menaion.

On April 16 we commemorate the holy women Martyrs Agape, Irene, and Chionia.

On this day we also commemorate Saint Felix the bishop, Januarius the presbyter, Fortunatus and Septiminus.

On this day we also commemorate the holy Martyrs Leonides, Charissa, Nike, Galina, Kallis, Nunechia, Basilissa, and Theodora.

On this day we also commemorate the holy Martyr Irene.

On this day the holy Neo-martyr Michael of Vourlae witnessed and died by the sword in Smyrna in the year 1772.

On this day the devout monastic Martyr Saint Christopher witnessed and died by the sword in Adrianoupolis in the year 1818.

By the intercessions of Your Saints, O Christ God, have mercy on us. Amen.

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Fasting Rule

Strict: Refrain from meat, fish, oil, dairy, and eggs.

It is a weekday in Lent.