Sunday of the Holy Forefathers; Octoechos Tone 4; The Holy Martyrs Eustratios, Auxentius, Eugenius, Mardarius, and Orestes. The Holy Martyr Lucia, Virgin.

Troparia and Kontakia

Troparion, Tone 4: When the disciples of the Lord learned from the angel* the glorious news of the resurrection* and cast off the ancestral condemnation,* they proudly told the apostles:* “Death has been plundered!* Christ our God is risen,* granting to the world great mercy.”

Troparion, Tone 2: By faith You justified Your ancestors* and through them in advance You betrothed the Church taken from the nations.* The saints exult in glory;* from their seed comes the blessed fruit, the one who bore You without seed.* By their prayers, O Christ our God, have mercy on us.

Troparion, Tone 4: Your martyrs, O Lord,* by their sufferings acquired the crowns of incorruptibility from You, our God.* For possessing Your power they overcame the torturers* and shattered the feeble insolence of demons.* By their supplications, save our souls.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 6: Armed by the Being that defies description,* you defied the man-made idol, O thrice blessed youth.* In the midst of the unbearable flames you stood and cried out to God:* “In Your mercy, O gracious One, hasten and come to our aid,”* for You can do whatever You will.

Prokeimenon, Tone 4

Blessed are You, Lord God of our fathers,* and praised and glorified is Your Name forever.

verse: For You are righteous in everything that You have done to us. (Daniel 3:26,27)

Epistle

Colossians 3:4-11

Brothers and Sisters, when Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

Alleluia, Tone 4

verse: Moses and Aaron are among His priests and Samuel among those who call upon His name.

verse: They called on the Lord and He heard them. (Psalm 98:6)

Gospel

Luke 14:16-24

The Lord told this parable: “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

Communion Hymn

Praise the Lord from the heavens;* praise Him in the highest (Psalm 148:1).* Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous (Psalm 32:1).* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia.