Wednesday, 13 May 2026

Leavetaking of Mid-Pentecost

Wednesday of the 5th Sunday of Pascha

31 days after Pascha · Tone 4 · Liturgy · Fast (Wine and Oil are Allowed)

Saints commemorated

Holy virgin-martyr Glyceria of Heraclea

Saint Glyceria suffered as a martyr for the name of Christ in the second century, during the persecution under the Emperor Antoninus (138 to 161). She came of an illustrious family; her father Macarius had been a high-ranking Roman official, and the family afterwards moved to the Thracian city of Trajanopolis. Left an orphan in early life, Glyceria fell in with Christians and was converted to the true faith, visiting the church every day. When the prefect Sabinus received the imperial edict commanding all to sacrifice to Zeus, the saint resolved openly to confess Christ. She came forward in the temple wearing the sign of the cross upon her brow, called upon the name of the Lord, and at her prayer the idol of Zeus was thrown to the ground and broken in pieces. Sabinus commanded the people to stone her, but the stones did not touch her. She was scourged, hung by her hair, her flesh was scraped, and she was cast into prison, where angels brought her food and healed her wounds. Taken to Heraclea, she was thrown into a red-hot furnace, but the flame was at once quenched. The skin was torn from her head; the jailer Laodicius, beholding the miracles wrought for her, confessed Christ and was beheaded for the name of the Lord. At last Saint Glyceria prayed that the Lord would receive her, and a lioness was loosed upon her in the arena, which killed her without tearing her body. Bishop Dometius and the Christians of Heraclea reverently buried the holy martyr about the year 177, and her relics gave forth healing myrrh.

Saint Sergius the confessor

Saint Sergius the confessor lived in the ninth century at Constantinople and was a leading defender of the holy icons during the second iconoclast persecution under the Emperor Theophilus. He was descended from a noble family and was a kinsman of the holy Patriarch Tarasius (commemorated on 25 February). He was married to a pious and virtuous woman named Irene, the sister of the patrician Sergius whose wife was sister to the iconophile Empress Theodora. Saint Sergius and Saint Irene had five sons, of whom one, Photius, would later become the great Patriarch of Constantinople. They especially loved and honoured the holy monks who suffered for the icons, supporting them in their imprisonment and exile and providing for the persecuted faithful. Saint Sergius himself wrote an anti-iconoclast history, a defence of the orthodox veneration of images, which he left unfinished at his repose about the year 835. For his open confession of the truth he was banished and suffered many afflictions, and is therefore numbered among the confessors of the holy faith.

Venerable Pausicacus, bishop of Synada

606

Saint Pausicacus lived at the end of the sixth century. He was born in the Syrian city of Apamea, and was raised in the Christian faith by pious parents. From his youth he gave himself up to the labours of prayer, vigil and fasting, leading an ascetic life in the world even before entering upon the priesthood. The Lord granted him the gift of healing both the sicknesses of the body and the passions of the soul. Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople (591 to 606) consecrated him bishop of Synada in Phrygia. As a hierarch he would tolerate neither heretics nor those who lived dissolutely in his flock, and constantly taught his people the way of virtue with discourse always powerful and lively. Travelling to Constantinople on the affairs of his church, he healed the Emperor Maurice of a grievous sickness; on his return journey, when his companions were faint with thirst, at his prayer a spring of pure water issued from the ground. He reposed in peace in the year 606.

Holy Martyr Alexander of Rome

298

He was an eighteen-year-old soldier in the army of the Emperor Maximian. When a public sacrifice was made to the Roman idols, Alexander refused to take part, for which he was brought before the Captain Tiberian, who told him he must either deny Christ or die. When he stood fast for Christ, he was arrested and taken through Macedonia to Byzantium, being cruelly tortured at every stop along the way. But everywhere he went, the Christians flocked to him, encouraging him and asking his blessing. His mother, Pimenia, travelled with him for the entire journey. In all his sufferings, Alexander was visited many times by an angel of God, who relieved his pain and encouraged him. As his Lord had commanded, Alexander loved and prayed for his enemies: At a place called Carasura, when the soldiers guarding him were suffering from thirst, he prayed, and a spring of cold water burst out of a dry place. Finally, on the bank of the river Ergina, Tiberian ordered that Alexander be beheaded. As the executioner raised his sword, he saw radiant angels of God all around the holy Martyr, and was afraid to strike. Alexander asked the executioner why he had stayed his hand and, hearing the answer, prayed to God that he might send the angels away so that the executioner would not be afraid. The angels vanished, and Alexander received his crown of martyrdom. Pimenia, his mother, buried her son’s body, and many miracles of healing were worked at his grave. Some time later, Alexander appeared to his mother and told her of her approaching death, which occurred not long afterward.

Daily readings

Epistle

weekly cycle

Acts — Acts 13.13-24

¹³Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. ¹⁵And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. ¹⁶Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. ¹⁷The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. ¹⁸And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. ¹⁹And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. ²⁰And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. ²¹And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. ²²And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. ²³Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: ²⁴When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

Gospel

weekly cycle

John — John 6.5-14

⁵When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? ⁶And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. ⁸One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, ⁹There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? ¹⁰And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. ¹²When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. ¹³Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. ¹⁴Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.