Thursday 19 November 2026
Prophet Obadiah; Ven. Barlaam and Joasaph
Thursday of the 25th week after Pentecost
Nativity Fast, day 5
Saints commemorated
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Saint of the day
Prophet Obadiah
Obadiah — Abdias in the Greek of the Septuagint and the Byzantine service books — is the fourth of the Twelve Minor Prophets and the author of the shortest book in the Old Testament, a single chapter of twenty-one verses proclaiming the judgment of God upon Edom and the deliverance of Zion. The tradition the Church received identifies him with the God-fearing steward of King Ahab who, in the days of Jezebel's persecution, hid a hundred prophets of the Lord in two caves and fed them (1 Kings 18). His name means "servant" or "worshipper of the Lord." He is commemorated on November 19, within the Nativity Fast.
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Saint of the day
Ven. Barlaam and Joasaph
Barlaam and Josaphat are the two ascetic saints of one of the most widely translated and beloved stories of the medieval world: the hermit Barlaam, who in the guise of a merchant sought out the sheltered prince Josaphat (Ioasaph) of India and, through a chain of parables, brought him to faith in Christ; and Josaphat himself, the king's son, who was baptised, converted his father and people, renounced his throne, and ended his life in the desert beside his teacher. Their tale — passed to Byzantium in Greek, thence into Latin, Slavonic, and dozens of European and Eastern tongues — is now recognised by scholars as a Christianised retelling of the life of the Buddha, the Indian setting and the very name Josaphat (through Bodhisattva) preserving its origin. The Church commemorates the two saints together on November 19, within the Nativity Fast.
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Our Holy Father Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (1867)
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Holy Martyr Barlaam of Antioch (304)
Barlaam was an aged and unlettered Christian farmer martyred in the persecution of Diocletian, around the year 304. Arrested and unable to be argued or tortured out of his confession, he was carried to a pagan altar, where the judge had his right hand stretched out over the fire and a coal with a heap of burning incense laid upon the open palm — expecting that when the flame reached the flesh the old man would fling it down, and so, against his will, be seen to have offered sacrifice to the idol. Barlaam did not let it fall: he held his hand steady until it was burned away, and gave up his soul. His constancy so captured the imagination of the Church that both Basil the Great and John Chrysostom preached homilies in his honour. He is commemorated on November 19, within the Nativity Fast.
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Heliodorus of Magydos
Heliodorus was a martyr of Magydos (Magydum) in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor, who suffered for Christ in the reign of the emperor Aurelian (270–275). Brought before Aetius, the governor of the city, and refusing to renounce his faith, he was subjected to prolonged tortures — which the fuller synaxarion accounts describe him as enduring unharmed — and was finally beheaded. He is commemorated on November 19, within the Nativity Fast.
British Isles and Ireland
- St. Egbert, 1st archbishop of York (766)
- St. Ermenburgh, abbess of Thanet (c.700)
- St. Medana of Galloway (8th C)
Troparia & kontakia
Kontakion
God alone, the Knower of hearts, beholding thy good will from thine infancy, O Josaphat, led thee from an earthly kingdom into the monastic life and granted thee to follow the great Barlaam. Having now with him the radiant heavenly Jerusalem for thy homeland, and delighting in the longed-for beauty of the Holy Trinity, we beseech thee, O royal adornment: remember us who honour thee with faith.
Kontakion — Tone 4
Thou wast shown forth wondrous in the strength of thy whole-burnt sacrifice: as fragrant frankincense thou didst offer thyself a sacrifice to Christ; and having received the crown of honour, O Barlaam, ever pray for us, O sufferer.
Troparion
Taught by thy spiritual guide to know God, O King Josaphat, and enlightened by holy Baptism, thou didst turn thy people to the faith; becoming thy own father's sponsor at the font, thou didst forsake thy kingdom and attain to the wilderness, and there didst labour diligently in the ascetic struggle. Pray to Christ God, together with thy teacher Barlaam, that our souls may be saved.
Troparion
Forsaking the fair things of the world and its glory, thou camest to a cave, where, advancing from strength to strength, thou didst become a guide of the flock of Christ, all-glorious Barlaam. As thou didst shepherd them well, shepherd us also, we entreat thee, keeping us from every evil, that we may call thee blessed.
Troparion — Tone 4 (general troparion of a martyr)
Thy martyr Barlaam, O Lord, in his contest received an incorruptible crown from thee, our God; for possessing thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and shattered the feeble insolence of the demons. By his intercessions save our souls.
Troparion — Tone 4 (general troparion of a martyr)
Thy martyr Heliodorus, O Lord, in his contest received an incorruptible crown from thee, our God; for possessing thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and shattered the feeble insolence of the demons. By his intercessions save our souls.
Troparion — Tone 2
As we celebrate the memory of thy prophet Obadiah, O Lord, through him we entreat thee: save our souls.
Readings
Epistle
2 Thessalonians 2.13-3.5
13But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. 16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 17Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. 1Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. 4And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. 5And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
Gospel
Luke 16.1-9
1And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.