Friday, 28 February 2025

Cheesefare Friday

51 days before Pascha · Tone 2 · Liturgy · Fast (Meat Fast)

No Liturgy

Saints commemorated

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 Hieromartyr Proterius, Patriarch of Alexandria

451

Holy Hieromartyr Proterius served as Patriarch of Alexandria from 451 to 457 AD, a period of acute theological controversy and bitter factional conflict within the Church. He lived and laboured during the tenure of his predecessor Dioscorus (444-451), a prominent adherent of the Monophysite heresy of Eutyches, which denied that Christ possessed two natures united in one person. Proterius demonstrated exceptional courage in openly denouncing the heretical teachings and consistently proclaiming the Orthodox confession of faith, despite the considerable danger to his personal safety. The Fourth Ecumenical Council was convened at Chalcedon in the year 451 and definitively condemned the Monophysite heresy, reaffirming the Orthodox doctrine that Christ is perfect God and perfect man, with two natures united without confusion, division or separation in his one person. Following this conciliar decision, Dioscorus was deposed and exiled, and Proterius was elevated to the patriarchal throne of Alexandria. However, many adherents of Dioscorus remained within Alexandria and bitterly opposed Proterius' election, viewing him as a traitor to their leader and their cause. Violent riots erupted in Alexandria, with supporters of Dioscorus burning soldiers and wreaking havoc throughout the city in their rage. Saint Proterius, perceiving the depth of danger facing him, retired to a baptistry where he attempted to conceal himself. Yet his opponents discovered his refuge and attacked, and the holy patriarch was murdered together with six faithful men who stood by him. Before his martyrdom, Saint Proterius had experienced a vision of the Prophet Isaiah foretelling his sacrificial death. His martyrdom testified to his unshakeable faith and his refusal to compromise the Orthodox teaching even unto the shedding of his blood. Four Thracian bishops of his era declared that they considered Proterius to be among the ranks of the saints.

Venerable Basil, the Confessor

Venerable Basil was a monastic companion and fellow sufferer with Venerable Procopius during the iconoclast persecution of the eighth century. Both monks laboured in the region of Decapolis, east of Lake Galilee, pursuing the monastic life and striving to maintain Orthodox Christian teaching during a time when the imperial authorities actively suppressed the veneration of holy icons.

Saint Basil shared with his spiritual brother Procopius a courageous witness to the true Orthodox doctrine concerning the veneration of sacred images. When the iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian (716-741) issued orders to suppress icon veneration and persecute those who maintained this Orthodox practice, both Basil and Procopius were arrested and subjected to fierce scourging and torture. They were then thrown into prison, where they languished together in close confinement, suffering the hardships and deprivations of captivity.

The holy confessors remained imprisoned until the death of Emperor Leo, when they were finally released by his successor. Upon their liberation, Saint Basil devoted himself with renewed vigour to his monastic labours, becoming a guide to many others in the pursuit of spiritual perfection. Both Basil and Procopius spent the remainder of their lives in peace, teaching their disciples and guiding the faithful on the path to virtue and salvation. His commemoration on 28 February honours his steadfast confession of Orthodox faith and his endurance of suffering for the defence of sacred images.

Venerable Marina and Kyra of Syria

Saints Marina (also known as Marana) and Kyra (also known as Cyra) were two sister nuns who lived during the fourth century in the city of Veria, commonly known as Berea, in Syria. They were born into an illustrious family of considerable wealth, but upon reaching adulthood, they rejected the comforts and privileges of their elevated social position. Instead, they abandoned their family home and departed from their native city to pursue the monastic life in pursuit of spiritual perfection. These holy virgins established a refuge for themselves in a remote location and sealed its entrance with rocks and clay, leaving open only a narrow aperture through which necessary provisions could be passed to them. Upon their bodies they wore heavy iron chains as instruments of voluntary mortification, and they endured hunger and deprivation with remarkable steadfastness and patience. Through a period of three years they ate food merely once every forty days, sustaining their bodies on the absolute minimum necessary to maintain life. Such extraordinary ascetical practises were undertaken not from pride or spiritual arrogance, but from profound love for Christ and ardent desire to crucify the desires of the flesh in imitation of the crucified Saviour. With their sister Domnica and other devoted nuns, Marina and Kyra became beacons of Orthodox monastic virtue, demonstrating to all who encountered them the transformative power of voluntary renunciation and unceasing prayer. They lived during the period when the monastic movement was flourishing in Syria and Egypt, and their example inspired many to pursue the narrow path of evangelical perfection. Marina and Kyra, together with Domnica, are commemorated on 28 February as venerable saints and models of ascetical dedication.

Daily readings

6th Hour

weekly cycle

Zechariah — Zechariah 8.7-17

⁷Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; ⁷Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; ⁸And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. ⁸and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

⁹Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

⁹Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets that were in the day that the foundation of the house of Jehovah of hosts was laid, even the temple, that it might be built. ¹⁰For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. ¹⁰For before those days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in, because of the adversary: for I set all men every one against his neighbor. ¹¹But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts. ¹¹But now I will not be unto the remnant of this people as in the former days, saith Jehovah of hosts. ¹²For there shall be the seed of peace; the vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. ¹²For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. ¹³And it shall come to pass that, as ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong. ¹³And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. ¹⁴For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:

¹⁴For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: As I thought to do evil unto you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I repented not; ¹⁵So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. ¹⁵so again have I thought in these days to do good unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

¹⁶These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: ¹⁶These are the things that ye shall do: Speak ye every man the truth with his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates; ¹⁷And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD. ¹⁷and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith Jehovah.

Vespers

weekly cycle

Zechariah — Zechariah 8.19-23

¹⁹Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. ¹⁹Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love truth and peace. ²⁰Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: ²⁰Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities; ²¹And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. ²¹and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of hosts: I will go also. ²²Yea, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Jehovah. ²²Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. ²³Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. ²³Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.