St. Luke of Steírion
Friday February 7
New Style February 20
2026
Parthénios was the son of a deacon from the city of Melitopolis. He knew the words of the Gospel by heart from his early youth, and strove to fulfill them. Settling beside a lake, he caught fish, sold them and shared the proceeds with the poor. By God's providence, he was chosen as bishop of Lámpsakos. He cleansed the city of paganism, closed the temples dedicated to idol-worship, built many churches and strengthened the faithful. He healed all manner of sickness through prayer, and was especially powerful over spirits.
At one time when he was about to drive the evil spirit out of a madman, the evil spirit begged him not to. 'I will give you another man, into whom you can enter and in whom you can dwell', Parthénios told him. 'And who is that man?" I am he', replied the saint, 'come and make your abode in me'. Hearing this, the evil spirit fled as though burned by fire, crying out: 'How can I enter into the house of God?'
St Parthénios lived long and showed in his deeds the greatness of his love for God and man. He entered into the eternal peace of Christ in the 4th century.
Zechariah 8:7-17, 19-23 KJV
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
8 And 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.
9 Thus 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.
10 For 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.
11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 For 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.
13 And 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.
14 For 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:
15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.
16 These 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:
17 And 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.
G19 Thus 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.
20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21 And 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.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
23 Thus 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.
Man has such powers, that he can transmit good or evil to his environment. These are very delicate matters. They require great care.
We must see everything in a good manner. We should not think anything evil about others. And even a glance and a sigh can effect our fellow man. And the slightest indignation brings evil. Let us have goodness and love within out soul, let us transmit these.
Let us pray that we not be indignant towards men who hurt us. Only let us pray for them with love. Whatever our fellow man does, let us not think evil of him. Always let us pray lovingly. Always let us think of the good.
We must never think regarding the other that God will give them some evil or punish them for their sin. This thought brings a very great evil, without us perceiving it.
Many times we are indignant, and we say to the other: "Do you not fear the righteousness of God, do you not fear that He will punish you?"
Other times we further say: "God cannot even punish you for that which you have done", or, "My God, do not do evil to that man for that which he did to me", or, "May he not suffer the same lot".
In all of these cases, we have deep within us the desire that the other be punished. Instead, however, of confessing our anger at their offense, we use another way of showing our indignation, appearing to entreat God for him. Thus, however, in reality we are cursing our brother.
And if, instead of praying, we say: "may you find it from God, that God might repay you for the evil you have done", then again we are praying for God to punish him.
Furthermore, when we say: "regardless, God sees everything", the state of our soul works in a mysterious way to bother the soul of our fellow man and he suffers evil. Do you understand, therefore, how our evil thoughts, our evil disposition bothers others? Because of these, we must find the way to purify the depth of ourselves from every evil. When our soul is sanctified, it shines with goodness. We silently sent out our love without saying words.
New Style February 20
2026
All foods are permitted except meat
At one time when he was about to drive the evil spirit out of a madman, the evil spirit begged him not to. 'I will give you another man, into whom you can enter and in whom you can dwell', Parthénios told him. 'And who is that man?" I am he', replied the saint, 'come and make your abode in me'. Hearing this, the evil spirit fled as though burned by fire, crying out: 'How can I enter into the house of God?'
St Parthénios lived long and showed in his deeds the greatness of his love for God and man. He entered into the eternal peace of Christ in the 4th century.
Zechariah 8:7-17, 19-23 KJV
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
8 And 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.
9 Thus 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.
10 For 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.
11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 For 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.
13 And 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.
14 For 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:
15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.
16 These 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:
17 And 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.
G19 Thus 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.
20 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21 And 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.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
23 Thus 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.
When our Soul is Sanctified
It Shines With Goodness
by Saint Porphyrios
Man has such powers, that he can transmit good or evil to his environment. These are very delicate matters. They require great care.
We must see everything in a good manner. We should not think anything evil about others. And even a glance and a sigh can effect our fellow man. And the slightest indignation brings evil. Let us have goodness and love within out soul, let us transmit these.
Let us pray that we not be indignant towards men who hurt us. Only let us pray for them with love. Whatever our fellow man does, let us not think evil of him. Always let us pray lovingly. Always let us think of the good.
We must never think regarding the other that God will give them some evil or punish them for their sin. This thought brings a very great evil, without us perceiving it.
Many times we are indignant, and we say to the other: "Do you not fear the righteousness of God, do you not fear that He will punish you?"
Other times we further say: "God cannot even punish you for that which you have done", or, "My God, do not do evil to that man for that which he did to me", or, "May he not suffer the same lot".
In all of these cases, we have deep within us the desire that the other be punished. Instead, however, of confessing our anger at their offense, we use another way of showing our indignation, appearing to entreat God for him. Thus, however, in reality we are cursing our brother.
And if, instead of praying, we say: "may you find it from God, that God might repay you for the evil you have done", then again we are praying for God to punish him.
Furthermore, when we say: "regardless, God sees everything", the state of our soul works in a mysterious way to bother the soul of our fellow man and he suffers evil. Do you understand, therefore, how our evil thoughts, our evil disposition bothers others? Because of these, we must find the way to purify the depth of ourselves from every evil. When our soul is sanctified, it shines with goodness. We silently sent out our love without saying words.
+ Great Lent Begins
Monday February 10 / 23 ns
St. John 13:34-35
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