Orthodox Daily Devotional
Orthodox Daily Devotional
Monday, February 23, 2026 — Beginning of the Great Fast
Today’s Commemorations
🕯️ Beginning of the Great Fast (Great Lent) We enter today the holy season of Great Lent — forty days of fasting, prayer, and repentance in preparation for the Paschal feast of our Lord’s Resurrection.
- Hieromartyr Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (167) — Disciple of St. John the Theologian and a living link to the apostolic age, who at age 86 declared, “For eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” He died in the flames.
- Venerable Polycarp of Briansk (1620–1621)
- Venerable John, Antiochus, Antoninus, Moses, Zebinas, Polychronius, Moses, and Damian — Ascetics of the Syrian deserts (5th c.)
- Venerable Alexander, Founder of the Monastery of the “Unsleeping Ones” (ca. 430)
- Venerable Damian of Esphigmenou, Mt. Athos (1280)
- Monastic Martyr Damian of Philotheou (1568)
- St. Gorgonia, Sister of St. Gregory the Theologian (370)
Today’s Readings
On weekdays of Great Lent, the Church appoints only Old Testament readings. We begin all three major Old Testament reading streams today: the Law (Genesis), the Prophets (Isaiah), and the Wisdom writings (Proverbs).
Isaiah 1:1–20
The Orthodox Study Bible (St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint)
¹ The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw against Judah and Jerusalem in the kingdom of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
² Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth. For the Lord has spoken: “I have begotten and brought up sons, but they rejected Me. ³ The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know Me, and the people do not understand Me.” ⁴ Alas, sinful nation, a people full of sins, an evil seed, lawless children. They forsook the Lord; they provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel. ⁵ Why should you still be struck as you continue in lawlessness? The whole head is in pain, and the whole heart in sadness. ⁶ From the feet all the way to the head, there is no soundness in them, only wounds and bruises and festering sores. They have not been closed or bandaged, or soothed with ointment. ⁷ Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Strangers take over your land in your presence and it is made desolate, overthrown by foreign people. ⁸ So the daughter of Zion is forsaken, like a tent in a vineyard, like a hut in a garden of cucumbers, like a besieged city. ⁹ Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah.
¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah: ¹¹ “What is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” says the Lord. “I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of lambs. I do not desire the blood of bulls and he-goats. ¹² When you come to appear before Me, who required these things from your hands to tread My court? ¹³ Although you should bring fine wheat flour, it is vain. Incense is an abomination to Me. I cannot endure your new moons, and Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies, and fasting and holy day. ¹⁴ Your new moons and feasts My soul hates. You have become a dissatisfaction to Me; I will not forgive your sins. ¹⁵ When you stretch forth your hands to Me, I will turn My eyes from you. Although you make many prayers, I will not listen to you. Your hands are full of blood. ¹⁶ Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Put away the evils from your souls before My eyes. Cease from your evils. ¹⁷ Learn to do good. Seek judgment and redeem the wronged. Defend the orphan and justify the widow. ¹⁸ Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “although your sins are like crimson, I shall make them white like snow, and although they are as scarlet, I shall make them white like wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good things of the land. ²⁰ But if you are unwilling and disobedient, you shall be devoured by the sword,” for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Genesis 1:1–13
The Orthodox Study Bible (St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint)
¹ In the beginning God made heaven and earth. ² The earth was invisible and unfinished; and darkness was over the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw the light; it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day; the darkness He called Night; and there was evening and morning, one day.
⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it divide the water from the water”; and it was so. ⁷ Thus God made the firmament, and God divided the water under the firmament from the water above the firmament. ⁸ So God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good; and there was evening and morning, the second day.
⁹ Then God said, “Let the water under heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. The water under heaven was gathered into its places, and the dry land appeared. ¹⁰ So God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas; and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass, bearing seed according to its kind and likeness. Let the fruit tree bear fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind on earth.” It was so. ¹² Thus the earth brought forth the herb of grass, bearing seed according to its kind and likeness. The fruit tree bore fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind on earth. God saw that it was good. ¹³ So evening and morning were the third day.
Proverbs 1:1–20
The Orthodox Study Bible (St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint)
¹ The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, Who reigned in Israel,
² To know wisdom and instruction, And to understand words of discernment; ³ To receive both subtlety of words, And to understand true righteousness and upright judgment; ⁴ So as to give astuteness to the simple, And both perception and understanding to a young man; ⁵ For a wise man who hears these things will be wiser, And the man of understanding will gain direction.
⁶ He will understand both a parable and a hidden saying, Both wise words and riddles. ⁷ The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, And there is good understanding in all who practice it; ⁸ And godliness toward God is the beginning of perception, But the ungodly despise wisdom and instruction.
⁹ Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, And do not reject the laws of your mother. ¹⁰ For you will receive a crown of grace on your head And a gold chain around your neck.
¹¹ My son, do not let the ungodly lead you astray, And do not consent if they invite you, saying, ¹² “Come with us; take part in bloodshed, And let us hide a righteous man in the earth unjustly; ¹³ And let us swallow him, just as Hades does the living, And let us take away his remembrance from the earth; ¹⁴ Let us seize his valuable property, And let us fill our houses with spoils; ¹⁵ Cast your lot with us And let us acquire a common bag; Let there be one purse for us.”
¹⁶ Do not walk in the way with them, But turn away your foot from their paths. ¹⁷ For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. ¹⁸ For nets are not spread before birds for no reason, For those who participate in murder store up evils for themselves; And evil is the destruction of lawless men. ¹⁹ These are the ways of all who accomplish lawless things, For they take away their own soul in ungodliness.
²⁰ Wisdom sings in the streets; She moves boldly in the squares.
Orthodox Study Bible Commentary
On Genesis 1:1–13
1:1 — God the Father made heaven and earth. “I believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth” (Creed).
1:2 — The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit. He proceeds from the Father, and is “the Lord and Giver of Life” (Creed). Since He is Lord, He is coequal with the Father, and is His Coworker in making heaven and earth.
1:3 — God the Father spoke to His Word and Only-begotten Son, through whom He made the light. Since the Son, too, is Lord, He is coequal with the Father, and is His Coworker in making heaven and earth. The Holy Fathers teach that the Father made heaven and earth through the Son and in the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Trinity made heaven and earth, and the Church sings: “We glorify the Father, we exalt the Son, and we worship the Holy Spirit—the indivisible Trinity who exists as One—the Light and Lights, the Life and Lives, who grants light and life to the ends of the world” (Canon of Andreas).
1:4–13 — Since the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit made heaven and earth, They also made everything mentioned in these verses. The repeated affirmation “God saw that it was good” underscores the intrinsic goodness of matter and the whole created order. This is the basis for a sacramental worldview — that the created order not only is good, but can be a means of communion with God.
On the first day of Great Lent, the Church calls us back to the very beginning — to remember that we are creatures of a good God, formed from the dust of a creation declared “very good.” Repentance is not hatred of the material world but a return to the original beauty of our nature.
On Isaiah 1:1–20
1:1 — Isaiah in Hebrew means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” His vision is addressed against (not merely concerning) Judah and Jerusalem — a word of judgment and mercy alike.
1:4–6 — The image of Israel is that of an entire body covered with wounds and sores — a body that not only refuses treatment, but will not even recognize that it is sick. How fitting an image for souls entering the Fast.
1:9 — God will not allow His people to be completely wiped out. One good seed will still yield much fruit, and a few will listen to the words of the prophet. The “seed” is the faithful remnant — and ultimately, the Virgin who bore the Seed of salvation.
1:11–15 — God will not forgive false religious piety, but He will accept the sacrifice of “a broken spirit, a broken and humbled heart” (Psalm 50:19). Fasting without justice and mercy is incense that offends rather than pleases.
1:18 — “Come now, and let us reason together” — this is the Lord’s astonishing offer of dialogue with sinners. The Great Fast is exactly this: a holy conversation between the wounded soul and its Physician. “Although your sins are like crimson, I shall make them white like snow.”
Isaiah speaks to us today across three millennia. As we begin the Fast, we hear the voice of the Prophet calling: not empty ritual, but washed hands and changed hearts. Not fasting that leaves neighbors hungry, but the fast God chooses (Isaiah 58): to loose the bonds of wickedness, to let the oppressed go free, to share bread with the hungry.
On Proverbs 1:1–20
1:1–2 — The Book of Proverbs was written that one might know Christ, the Wisdom of God. As St. Paul said, Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). St. Hippolytus wrote: “These are the proverbs of Solomon, that is to say, the Peacemaker, who, in truth, is Christ the Savior.”
1:6 — Proverbs is characterized by parables, hidden sayings, wise words, and riddles. Wisdom illuminates those who know and are taught by Him. Christ, the Wisdom of God, also used parables extensively in the Four Gospels.
1:7–8 — “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” Wisdom begets the fear of God in the simple — those who are beginners on the spiritual path. This fear is not terror but reverent awe, the beginning of godliness and perception. Great Lent is precisely the school of this holy fear.
1:9 — “My son” is a form of address used throughout Proverbs. Wisdom is like a father and a mother to His children, for He has deep love and affection for them. He instructs them out of such parental tenderness.
1:11–19 — When Wisdom became a righteous Man in His Incarnation, He allowed His enemies to crucify Him — to hide a righteous man in the earth unjustly (v. 12) — and to bury Him in a tomb. Their objective was to take away his remembrance from the earth (v. 13); however, He is now remembered all over the world. His enemies are forgotten.
1:20–21 — Wisdom is present everywhere and is in all things. She moves about boldly in the public streets and squares, seeking to draw all to Himself. The Great Fast is Wisdom’s megaphone — calling out in the marketplace of our busy lives.
On this first day of Great Lent, we begin the ancient reading cycle that has formed the Church’s mind for centuries. Genesis reminds us who made us and that it was good. Isaiah confronts us with how far we have wandered. Proverbs invites us into Wisdom’s school. All three converge on the same truth: we are beloved creatures of a holy God who is calling us home.
A Lenten Prayer
From the Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian, prayed throughout Great Lent:
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen.
📖 Scripture: St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint (OSB) © 2008 📚 Commentary: Orthodox Study Bible © 2008, St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology 🕯️ Commemorations: Orthodox Church in America (oca.org)
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