Readings for Sunday 8 February 2026
1 Amshir 1742
First Sunday of Amshir
Vespers Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 82 : 8,6
| 8 | Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations. |
| 6 | I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 6 : 15 - 21
| 15 | Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. |
| 16 | Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, |
| 17 | got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. |
| 18 | Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. |
| 19 | So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. |
| 20 | But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." |
| 21 | Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. |
Glory be to God forever.
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Matins Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 119 : 105,73
| 105 | Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. |
| 73 | Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 8 : 51 - 59
| 51 | Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." |
| 52 | Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, "If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.' |
| 53 | Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?" |
| 54 | Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. |
| 55 | Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, "I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. |
| 56 | Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." |
| 57 | Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" |
| 58 | Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." |
| 59 | Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. |
Glory be to God forever.
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Divine Liturgy
Pauline Epistle
Paul, the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, appointed to the Gospel of God. A reading from the Epistle of our teacher Paul to the Corinthians.
May his blessings be with us. Amen.
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
| 11 | But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. |
| 12 | For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? |
| 13 | But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." |
| 1 | Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? |
| 2 | Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? |
| 3 | Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? |
| 4 | If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? |
| 5 | I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? |
| 6 | But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! |
| 7 | Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? |
| 8 | No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! |
| 9 | Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, |
| 10 | nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. |
| 11 | And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. |
The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen.
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Catholic Epistle
A Reading from Epistle of St. Peter . May his blessings be upon us. Amen.
2 Peter 3 : 14 - 18
| 14 | Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; |
| 15 | and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, |
| 16 | as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. |
| 17 | You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; |
| 18 | but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. |
Do not love the world or the things in the world. The world passes away, and its desires; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Amen.
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Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of our fathers the apostles, may their blessings be with us. Amen.
Acts 9 : 3 - 9
| 3 | As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. |
| 4 | Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" |
| 5 | And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." |
| 6 | So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." |
| 7 | And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. |
| 8 | Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. |
| 9 | And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. |
The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty, and be confirmed, in the holy Church of God. Amen.
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Synaxarium
Day 1 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir.
May God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins are forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers. Amen.
The First Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Commemoration of the Universal Ecclesiastical
Council in Constantinople
On this day of the year
381 A.D., one hundred and fifty fathers assembled upon the order of Emperor
Theodosius the Great, in the city of Constantinople. They assembled to
judge Macedonius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Sabellius and Apollinaris,
for their blasphemy against God the Word and the Holy Spirit. When this
blasphemy became widespread, the fathers of the church were concerned about
the peace of the church, and made these heresies known to Emperor Theodosius.
He ordered that a council be assembled, and invited Abba Timothy, 22nd
Pope of Alexandria; Abba Damasus, Pope of Rome; Abba Petros (Peter), Patriarch
of Antioch; and Abba Cyril (Kyrillos), Patriarch of Jerusalem. They came
to the council with their bishops, except the Pope of Rome, who delegated
others to attend on his behalf. When the holy council convened in Constantinople,
they called upon Macedonius. Abba Timothy, Pope of Alexandria, who was
presiding over the council, asked him, "What is your belief?" Macedonius
answered that the Holy Spirit was created like any other creature. Abba
Timothy said, "The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. If we say as you claim
that the Spirit of God is created, we are saying, in essence, that His
Life is created, and therefore, He is 'lifeless' without it." He advised
Macedonius to renounce his erroneous belief. When he refused, Macedonius
was excommunicated, anathematized and striped of his rank.
Then Abba Timothy asked
Sabellius, "And you, what is your belief?" He answered, "The Trinity is
one being and one person." Abba Timothy said, "If the Trinity is as you
claim, then the mentioning of the Trinity is groundless, and your baptism
is futile, because it is in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit, and the Trinity would have suffered pain and died, and the saying
of the gospel would be invalid, when it is said that the Son was in the
Jordan River, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the likeness of
a dove, and the Father called upon Him from heaven." Then Abba Timothy
advised him to renounce his belief. When Sabellius did not accept, Abba
Timothy excommunicated, anathematized and striped him of his rank. Then
Abba Timothy asked Apollinaris, "And you, what is your belief?" Apollinaris
said, "The Incarnation of the Son was by His union with the human flesh
without the rational being, for His divinity replaced the soul and the
mind of the human being." Abba Timothy replied, "God the Word united with
our nature to save us, therefore if He only united with the animal body,
then He did not save mankind but the animals. Humans will rise on the day
of Resurrection with the rational and speaking soul with which there will
be the communication and the judgement, and with it they will be granted
the blessing or the condemnation. Accordingly, the Incarnation would be
in vain. If that was the case, why did He call Himself a man if He did
not unite with the rational speaking soul?" Then Abba Timothy advised him
to turn away from his erroneous belief, but he also refused. He excommunicated
Apollinaris as he did the other two friends.
Ultimately, the council
excommunicated these three and all those who agreed with them. Then they
completed the creed that was established by the fathers at the Council
of Nicea until its saying, "Of Whose Kingdom shall be no end." The fathers
of the Council of Constantinople added, "Truly we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, Giver of Life... to the end." They put down many canons that
are still in the hands of the believers today.
May The prayers of these holy fathers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of the Consecration of
the First Church that was Built after the Name of St.Peter, the Seal of
the Martyrs
On this day also, we celebrate
the commemoration of the consecration of the Church of St. Peter, 17th
Pope of Alexandria and the Seal of Martyrs. He was martyred in Alexandria
during the last days of the reign of Diocletian the Infidel. When Emperor
Constantine the Great reigned, and all the idol temples were destroyed,
churches were built. So the believers built this church west of Alexandria
in the name of St. Peter, the Seal of Martyrs. The church existed till
shortly after the reign of the Arabs over Egypt, when it was destroyed.
May His blessings be with us and glory be to our God forever. Amen.
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Divine Liturgy Psalm & Gospel
From the Psalms of our father David the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.
Psalms 96 : 6,4
| 6 | Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. |
| 4 | For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. |
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, unto Him be the glory forever, Amen.
Stand in the fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to our teacher Saint John the Evangelist. May His Blessings be with us all. Amen.
John 6 : 22 - 27
| 22 | On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone-- |
| 23 | however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks-- |
| 24 | when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. |
| 25 | And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?" |
| 26 | Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. |
| 27 | Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." |
Glory be to God forever.
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