Great Lent, day 12 · 37 days until Pascha
Saints commemorated
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Saint of the day
Hieromartyr Basil of Ancyra
Basil of Ancyra (†c. 362) was a martyr of Ancyra in Galatia who suffered under the emperor Julian the Apostate. A zealous confessor of the Nicene faith — the tradition remembers him as a presbyter of the church of Ancyra — he had contended in earlier years against both the Arians and the pagans, and when Julian's restoration of paganism emboldened the idolaters of Galatia, Basil went openly through the city strengthening the faithful and denouncing the worship of the gods. Arrested and brought before the imperial officers, he refused every inducement to sacrifice, was subjected to prolonged and savage torture — the Acts describe strips of flesh cut from his body — and was at last put to death, about the year 362, sealing his confession with his blood. He is commemorated on January 1, together with the Circumcision of Christ and Basil the Great; several calendars keep a martyr Basil of Ancyra also on March 22.
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Martyr Drosida of Antioch, and five nuns (104)
Drosis (Drosida) was a young woman of Antioch, honoured by tradition as a daughter of the emperor Trajan, who with a company of companions secretly gathered and buried the bodies of the martyrs that the persecutors had cast out unburied, and who was herself put to death for Christ in the early second century. Her memory was already famous at Antioch in the fourth century, when John Chrysostom preached a homily in her praise, holding her up before his people as a pattern of hidden love for the martyrs and of fearless confession.
British Isles and Ireland
- St. Darerca, sister of St. Patrick (5th C)
- St. Failbhe, abbot of Iona (7th C)
- St. Trien, abbot of Killelga (5th C)
Troparia & kontakia
Kontakion — Tone 4
In the divine meadows of the faith the Master found thee a plant of paradise, and reaped thee, a fair sheaf, by thy martyrdom; wherefore we honour thy struggles, O all-blessed Basil.
Troparion — Tone 4
Thy martyr Basil, O Lord, in his contest received an incorruptible crown from thee our God; for, possessed of thy might, he cast down the tyrants and broke the feeble insolence of the demons. By his prayers, O Christ God, save our souls.
Troparion — Tone 4 (common of a woman-martyr)
Thy lamb, O Jesus, crieth with a loud voice: Thee, O my Bridegroom, do I love, and seeking Thee I pass through many sufferings; I am crucified and buried with Thee in Thy baptism, and I suffer for Thy sake that I may reign with Thee; I die for Thee that I may live in Thee. Accept me as a spotless sacrifice, offered in love. By her prayers, O merciful One, save our souls.
Readings
6th Hour
Isaiah 7.1-14
1And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. 3Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; 4And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 6Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: 7Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. 9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. 10Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 13And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Vespers
Genesis 5.32-6.8
32And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Proverbs 6.20-7.1
20My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. 22When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. 25Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 26For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. 27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? 28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? 29So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. 30Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; 31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. 32But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. 33A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. 34For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. 1My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
Presanctified Liturgy