Leavetaking of the Dormition of the Theotokos - 8/23/26
Sunday, August 23rd, is the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost. On this day we celebrate the Leavetaking of the Dormition of the Theotokos.
We also remember:
Prousiotissa Icon of the Mother of God
Martyr Lupus, slave of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica (4th c.)
Hieromartyr Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons (202)
Ss. Eutychius (ca. 540) and Florentius (547), of Nursia
St. Callinicus, Patriarch of Constantinople (705).
Readings for Sunday, August 23rd:
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1
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
2
by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.
3
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4
and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
5
and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
6
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
7
After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
8
Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
9
For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11
Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
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16
Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18
He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “’You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’
19
’Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “
20
The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24
And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
25
When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The Holy Scriptures are part of the Church’s Holy Tradition. Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of blessed memory wrote:
In the words of Father Alexander Schmemann, “A Christian is the one who, wherever he looks, finds everywhere Christ, and rejoices in Him.” This is true in particular of the biblical Christian. Wherever he looks, on every page, he finds everywhere Christ.
See Metropolitan Ware’s article How to Read the Bible for more on an Orthodox approach to scripture.