Our Holy Father Porphyrius, Bishop of Gaza; Blessed Edigna.

When

February 26, 2026

All Day

Day 11 of the Great Fast. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.

LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS ON WEDNESDAY EVENING

At Psalm 140

Tone 1

Lead my soul forth from prison* that I may give thanks to Your name.

O faithful, to undertake a spiritual fast,* we must speak no deceit with our tongues* nor place obstacles in the path of each other.* But by repentance let us brighten the lamp of our souls,* that with tears we may call out to Christ:* Forgive our trespasses, for You love humankind.

The just shall gather around me* when You have been good to me.

Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;* O Lord, hear my voice!

O martyrs, worthy of praise,* though the earth may not have covered you, heaven received you,* opening to you the gates of Paradise, where you dwell,* delighting in the Tree of Life.* Beseech Christ to grant our souls peace and great mercy.

Tone 3

Let Your ears be attentive* to the voice of my prayer.

Through the prayers of the divine apostles, O righteous Lord,* grant that this time of the Fast may be well spent.* In Your kindness grant repentance to our hearts,* that we all may be saved and give glory to You.

If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?* But with You forgiveness is that You may be revered.

Your coming will be great and fearful, O Lord,* when You shall sit in just judgment.* Do not pass sentence on me,* for I am already condemned;* but show Your divine favour toward me,* through the intercession of Your apostles.

Tone 6

I have waited for You as You have commanded; my soul patiently relies on Your promise,* for it has trusted in the Lord.

O apostles of Christ who shine your light on all mortals,* you are the treasuries of the holy knowledge of God.* Through your prayers deliver from temptation those who praise you.* Guide us successfully through the course of this Fast;* direct our lives in peace,* so that with our eyes lifted up to the Passion of Christ,* we may with courage give praise to our God.

Tone 8

For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him there is plentiful redemption;* and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

O venerable father Porphyrius,* taking the Cross of Christ upon your shoulder* you abandoned all and attained to the desert,* and did battle with the ruler of this world,* armed with fasting and prayers.* Therefore, as a temple of the Spirit of God,* you cast him down together with carnal mindedness.

Praise the Lord, all the nations;* proclaim His glory, all you people.

As of old God saved the three youths from the fire by His angel,* so now by you has He saved three youths that had been dragged down into a pit;* for when they were borne as in a basket* He overshadowed them with the light of a cloud* which formed three crosses on their bodies* to the reproof of them that opposed you, O Porphyrius.

Strong is the love of the Lord for us;* eternally will His truth endure.

Who can worthily hymn your temptations and pangs,* your misfortunes and tribulations, your struggles for the faith, O Porphyrius?* For you showed the boldness which you have before God to be great.* Therefore, we entreat you, for you have such boldness:* Pray in our behalf to the Lord, that we be saved!

Tone 4

Glory… Now…

O Mother of Christ our God,* you who gave birth to the Maker of all,* deliver us from every danger,* so that we may cry out to you with one accord:* Rejoice, O only intercessor for our souls!

Prokeimenon I, Tone 8

Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord,* exult, O you just!

verse: Blessed are those whose offence is forgiven, whose sin is remitted.

Reading I

Genesis 4:16-26

Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod opposite Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael; and Mehujael begot Methushael; and Methu-shael begot Lamech. Then Lamech took two wives for himself: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. So Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal. He is the one who invented the psaltery and harp. As for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, a smith and a manufacturer of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. Then Lamech said to his wives Adah and Zillah:

“Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech,
And listen carefully to my words,
Because I killed a man for wounding me
And a young man for hurting me.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Again Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Seth, saying, “God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” As for Seth, to him also a son was born. He named him Enosh, and he hoped in the Lord God and called upon His name.

Prokeimenon II, Tone 1

Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us* as we have hoped in You.

verse: Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

Reading II

Proverbs 5:15-6:3

Drink waters from your vessels
And from the fountains of your spring.
Do not let the waters from your fountain be spilled by you,
But let your waters pass through your wide places;
Let them be only for you,
And let no stranger partake with you;
Let the fountain of your water be for you alone,
And rejoice together with the wife of your youth.
Let your loving deer and graceful colt keep company with you,
And let her alone go before you and be with you at all times;
For in living with her love, you will be great.
Do not be intimate with a strange woman,
Neither cling to the embrace of a woman not your own;
For the ways of man are before the eyes of God,
And He keeps close watch on all his paths.
Lawless women ensnare a man,
But each man is bound by the chains of his own sins.
Such a man dies with the uninstructed
And is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance;
And he is destroyed by lack of discernment.
My son, if you assume the debt of your friend,
You will deliver your hand to an enemy;
For a man’s own lips become a strong snare to him,
And he is conquered by the utterances of his own mouth.
My son, do what I command you, and you will save yourself;
For you came into the hands of evil things through your friend.

MATINS ON THURSDAY MORNING

Sessional Hymn I, Tone 4

You have made Your disciples, O Christ,* as lights that shine to the ends of the earth,* and by preaching You they illumine our souls.* Through them You have made dark the error of idolatry* and enlightened the world with the teachings of the True Faith.* At their intercessions save our souls.

Their voice is gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

Just as Moses by the strength of Your right hand, O Master,* led Israel through the Red Sea out of bondage* and drowned Pharaoh in the waves,* so have Your wise disciples by their miracles* forced a passage through the sea of bitter godlessness* and guided the people to You, O Word without beginning,* who alone loves mankind.

God is wonderful in His saints, the God of Israel.

Armed with Your Cross, O Christ our God,* Your victorious martyrs defeated the devices of the enemy* from whom all evil comes.* They shone like torches, guiding mortal men,* and they grant healing to those that ask with faith.* At their intercessions save our souls.

Glory… Now…

We acknowledge that the Word of the Father, Christ our God,* has taken flesh from you, O Virgin Theotokos.* You alone are pure, you alone are blessed:* therefore we sing your praises without ceasing and we magnify you.

Sessional Hymn II, Tone 3

Christ the beauteous Vine, presented you as clusters of grapes,* filling the earth with the sweetness of salvation, O God-bearing apostles.* Therefore I entreat you, to deliver me from the drunkenness of sensual pleasures;* granting to my soul tears of compunction on this divine day of the Fast,* that I may attain to the life of salvation.

Glory… Now…

I call to mind the measureless riches of your compassion* and the unconquerable strength of your power,* and fleeing to you for protection,* oppressed by troubles and utterly perplexed,* I cry to you with tears from the depths of my heart:* “O Virgin Theotokos, help me,* for you alone are the protection of the whole world.”

Sessional Hymn III, Tone 6

Be good and merciful to us, O Lord, in this divine season,* count us worthy to weep always before You from our hearts,* washing away the defilement of our souls,* and ever growing in obedience to Your holy commandments,* may our fasting be truly pleasing to You,* that we all be granted to behold Your Holy Passion,* by the prayers of Your apostles who have brought salvation to the world.* Glory be to You.

Glory… Now…

O fount of compassion, most pure Virgin Mother of God,* pour forth abundantly upon us your pure myrrh,* and grant us the remission of our sins,* for you alone are our Mediatress and divine protection.

Canon

Ode 4

Irmos: Were You angered by the rivers? Was Your wrath upon the rivers,* or Your strivings upon the seas?

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Let us extinguish the drunkenness of soul-destroying pleasures, and by fasting let us drink deeply from the cup of compunction. O my soul, fast from all excess of food, and take delight in the contemplation of that which is virtuous; that you may receive a place at the heavenly table.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

O divine apostles of the Saviour, blazing coals of spiritual fire, burn up the grossness of my passions.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

From your own flesh did Christ assume flesh, put to death the passions of my flesh, O birth-giver of life, most pure Virgin.

Irmos: The prophet heard of Your coming, O Lord, and he was afraid.* How were You to be born of a virgin and appear to mankind?* And he said “I have heard report of You and I am afraid;”* glory to Your power, O Lord.

Holy Apostles of Christ, pray to God for us.

O twelve apostles, Peter, Paul, James and John, Andrew, Bartholomew, Philip, Thomas and Matthew, James with Simon and Jude, pray to Christ that He may save us.

Holy Apostles of Christ, pray to God for us.

Once you let down your net and caught a hundred and fifty and three fishes; and now having cast the net of your teachings upon the sea of life, you have mystically snared the nations, bringing them as an offering to the Lord, O holy apostles.

Glory…

I glorify the Son and the Spirit who came from the Father like rays of light issuing forth from the sun; the One begotten as Offspring, the Other proceeding and sent forth; divine and coeternal Trinity, adored by all creation.

Now…

The Virgin has given birth, yet kept her purity, she has given birth to both God and man, a single Person with a twofold nature. This, your miracle, O Virgin Mother, fills every ear and mind with wonder.

Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.

You have become the light of the world, through the radiance of your preaching, as Christ said to you, pray on our behalf, that with noble courage we may complete the time of abstinence, and venerate the Resurrection.

Katavasia: The prophet heard of Your coming, O Lord, and he was afraid.* How were You to be born of a virgin and appear to mankind?* And he said “I have heard report of You and I am afraid;”* glory to Your power, O Lord.

Ode 8

Irmos: In His divine power the Lord descended into the flames* and was seen walking with the Children of the Hebrews:* O you priests, bless and supremely exalt Him* throughout all ages.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Slain by many sins, I bear in life a deadened soul. Have compassion upon me and help me by your lifegiving intercessions, O disciples of the Saviour and eyewitnesses of God.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Encompassed by the darkness of sin, I have, in truth drawn near to the Hades of despair. Therefore enlighten me, O mystic rays of the Sun of glory, and eyewitnesses of God.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

O wretched soul, abstain from the passions and be saved. For abstinence from food is not an acceptable fast unless we also struggle to correct our faults.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

Moses in prophecy foresaw you, Virgin Mother of God, as the burning bush: quench the furnace of my passions, and snatch me from the fire of Gehenna, and save me.

Irmos: Him whom the hosts of heaven glorify,* and before whom tremble the Cherubim and Seraphim,* let every breath and all creation* praise, bless, and supremely exalt, throughout all ages.

Holy Apostles of Christ, pray to God for us.

As the twelve tribes came forth from Jacob, so has the company of the twelve apostles issued forth into the world from You, O Christ, for through their preaching all the faithful who have been reborn sing Your praises throughout the ages.

Holy Apostles of Christ, pray to God for us.

As the chariots of the invisible Pharaoh were overthrown in the Red Sea, so have you led the Lord’s people into the land of the knowledge of God, O apostles; therefore they sing His praises throughout the ages.

We bless the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Lord.

I honour God one in Essence, I sing the praises of the three Hypostases, distinct from one another in characteristics, yet differing not in Nature, for there is one Godhead and one power in the three, the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Now…

From your effulgent womb, Christ has issued forth as does a bridegroom from his chamber, and as a great Light He has illumined those in darkness, like lightning has the Sun of righteousness shone forth, O pure Virgin, enlightening the whole world.

Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.

You were initiated by Christ into the mysteries, and now enthroned with Him on high, you fervently intercede at all times on behalf of us sinners. Pray that we may complete the season of the Fast in sincerity of heart.

We praise, we bless, and we worship the Lord, hymning and supremely exalting Him throughout all ages!

Katavasia: Him whom the hosts of heaven glorify,* and before whom tremble the Cherubim and Seraphim,* let every breath and all creation* praise, bless, and supremely exalt, throughout all ages.

Ode 9

Irmos: Upon Mount Sinai Moses saw you in the bush,* as one who conceived the fire of the Godhead within your womb, and yet remained unconsumed.* Daniel saw you as a mountain not cut by the hand of man,* and Isaiah proclaimed you as the Rod that blossomed forth from the root of David.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

O apostles, you are noetic rivers flowing forth from the spiritual Fountain watering the pure in heart with goodness: by your prayers dry up the streams of my sins and lead me upon the paths of salvation.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

My wretched soul is tossed about in the tempest of sin, O good One, stretch forth Your right hand to me as once You did to Peter; and let not the depths of despondency drown me, that I become not food for the ever devouring sea-monster, O most merciful Christ.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

The choir of the apostles prays to You, O Jesus King of all, and the ranks of angels entreat You: the abundance of Your tender compassions grant to Your people deliverance from evil, amendment of life and a place in Your Kingdom.

Most holy Theotokos, save us.

O pure Virgin Mother, Ark of holiness, in you virginity and childbearing have been united in a manner transcending nature. Therefore I cry to you in faith: Sanctify me wholly and deliver me from the machinations of the passions, which ever afflict me.

Katavasia: Ineffable is the birthgiving of a seedless conception,* from a mother who knew not a man; an undefiled childbearing.* For the birth of God has renewed nature,* therefore all generations rightly worship and magnify you as the Bride and Mother of God.

Holy Apostles of Christ, pray to God for us.

Living in the world as bodiless ones, you were like earthly angels, carrying in your hearts the Word alone, you netted the nations into one faith in Christ; and by your knowledge, showed the wise and eloquent to be foolish, O all-blessed apostles.

Holy Apostles of Christ, pray to God for us.

O Peter, rock and foundation of the faith; O Paul, herald and teacher to the Gentiles; O you sons of Zebedee, pray fervently on our behalf to Christ with the other eight apostles, that we may courageously complete the remaining time of the Fast.

Glory…

O Father, single only-Begetter of the only-Begotten Son; O only Light and Brightness from the one and only Light; and You, one and only Holy Spirit from the one God, true Lord from the Lord: O holy Three in One, save me as I theologize Your divinity.

Now…

The manner of your childbearing fills me with wonder, O all-immaculate One. How can you conceive without seed Him whom none can comprehend? How can you remain a Virgin and yet become a Mother? “Accept the miracle with faith and worship the Child that is born: for all that He wills, He accomplishes.”

Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You.

In the power of the Spirit you went forth to kings and rulers, fearing neither fire nor sword; as the Lord’s chief captains, you have put to flight all delusion bringing salvation to all mankind, O all-blessed apostles.

Aposticha

Tone 8

This is the season of repentance, wherein lenten ascetic struggle leads to eternal life,* let us therefore stretch out our hands in virtuous deeds,* for nothing saves the soul so much as being merciful to those in need;* for almsgiving combined with fasting delivers a man from death.* Let us do all this with gladness,* for this suffices to save to our souls.

In the morning, fill us with Your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. Give us joy to balance our affliction for the years when we knew misfortune. Show forth Your work to Your servants; let Your glory shine on their children.

Let the favour of the Lord be upon us: give success to the work of our hands, give success to the work of our hands.

Clothing yourselves with the breastplate of Faith,* and arming yourselves with the sign of the Cross,* you showed yourselves to be courageous warriors.* Bravely resisting tyrants and casting down the delusions of the devil;* you were rewarded with a crown of victory.* Intercede with Christ on our behalf, that our souls may be saved.

Glory… Now…

I flee to your protection, O holy Virgin Theotokos,* for I know that through you I shall obtain salvation;* for you are able to help me, O pure one.