Readings and saints

Saturday, November 8, 2025

October 26 on the Old Calendar

Synaxis of Archangel Michael and the Bodiless Powers

Saturday of the 22nd week after Pentecost

Byzantine miniature: the Archangel Michael holding a staff between rocky hills. — Michael and the Bodiless Powers

Fasting: No fast today.
Tone: Tone 4This week’s Resurrection hymns are sung in the fourth of the Church’s eight tones.

The readings

TranslationTraditionalModernSide by side

Traditional: the King James Version (1611) for the New Testament. The Old Testament is Brenton’s English Septuagint (1844), from the Greek Old Testament the Church reads, in both settings; some of its verse numbers differ from other Bibles. Underlined words are explained in Words of Prayer.

Modern: the World English Bible for the New Testament. The Old Testament stays Brenton’s Septuagint (1844): there is no modern English translation of the Greek Old Testament that is free to publish. Your choice is remembered on this device.

Vespers3 readings

Old Testament reading 1 of 3

Joshua 5:13-15

¹³And it came to pass when Joshua was in Jericho, that he looked up with his eyes and saw a man standing before him, and there was a drawn sword in his hand; and Joshua drew near and said to him, Art thou for us or on the side of our enemies? ¹⁴And he said to him, I am now come, the chief captain of the host of the Lord. And Joshua fell on his face upon the earth, and said to him, Lord, what commandest thou thy servant? ¹⁵And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, Loose thy shoe off thy feet, for the place whereon thou now standest is holy.

Old Testament reading 2 of 3

Judges 6:2, 7, 11-24

²And the hand of Madiam prevailed against Israel: and the children of Israel made for themselves because of Madiam the caves in the mountains, and the dens, and the holes in the rocks.

⁷And the children of Israel cried to the Lord because of Madiam.

¹¹And an angel of the Lord came, and sat down under the fir tree, which was in Ephratha in the land of Joas father of Esdri; and Gedeon his son was threshing wheat in a wine-press in order to escape from the face of Madiam. ¹²And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty in strength. ¹³And Gedeon said to him, Be gracious with me, my Lord: but if the Lord is with us, why have these evils found us? and where are all his miracles, which our fathers have related to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? and now he has cast us out, and given us into the hand of Madiam. ¹⁴And the angel of the Lord turned to him, and said, Go in this thy strength, and thou shalt save Israel out of the hand of Madiam: behold, I have sent thee. ¹⁵And Gedeon said to him, Be gracious with me, my Lord: whereby shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is weakened in Manasse, and I am the least in my father's house. ¹⁶And the angel of the Lord said to him, The Lord shall be with thee, and thou shalt smite Madiam as one man. ¹⁷And Gedeon said to him, If now I have found mercy in thine eyes, and thou wilt do this day for me all that thou hast spoken of with me, ¹⁸depart not hence until I come to thee, and I will bring forth an offering and offer it before thee: and he said, I will remain until thou return.

¹⁹And Gedeon went in, and prepared a kid of the goats, and an ephah of fine flour unleavened; and he put the flesh in the basket, and poured the broth into the pot, and brought them forth to him under the turpentine tree, and drew nigh. ²⁰And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and put them on that rock, and pour out the broth close by: and he did so. ²¹And the angel of the Lord stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened bread; and fire came up out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened bread, and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

²²And Gedeon saw that he was an angel of the Lord; and Gedeon said, Ah, ah, Lord my God! for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face. ²³And the Lord said to him, Peace be to thee, fear not, thou shalt not die.

²⁴And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it The peace of the Lord, until this day, as it is still in Ephratha of the father of Esdri.

Old Testament reading 3 of 3

Isaiah 14:7-20

⁷All the earth cries aloud with joy: ⁸the trees also of Libanus rejoice against thee, and the cedar of Libanus, saying, From the time that thou hast been laid low, no one has come up to cut us down. ⁹Hell from beneath is provoked to meet thee: all the great ones that have ruled over the earth have risen up together against thee, they that have raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. ¹⁰All shall answer and say to thee, Thou also hast been taken, even as we; and thou art numbered amongst us. ¹¹Thy glory has come down to Hades, and thy great mirth: under thee they shall spread corruption, and the worm shall be thy covering. ¹²How has Lucifer, that rose in the morning, fallen from heaven! He that sent orders to all the nations is crushed to the earth. ¹³But thou saidst in thine heart, I will go up to heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven: I will sit on a lofty mount, on the lofty mountains toward the north: ¹⁴I will go up above the clouds; I will be like the Most High. ¹⁵But now thou shalt go down to hell, even to the foundations of the earth. ¹⁶They that see thee shall wonder at thee, and say, This is the man that troubled the earth, that made kings to shake; ¹⁷that made the whole world desolate, and destroyed its cities; he loosed not those who were in captivity. ¹⁸All the kings of the nations lie in honour, every man in his house. ¹⁹But thou shalt be cast forth on the mountains, as a loathed carcase, with many dead who have been pierced with swords, going down to the grave. ²⁰As a garment defiled with blood shall not be pure, so neither shalt thou be pure; because thou hast destroyed my land, and hast slain my people: thou shalt not endure for ever,— thou an evil seed.

Matins1 reading

Matins Gospel

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Traditional

²⁴Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: ²⁵But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. ²⁶But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. ²⁷So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? ²⁸He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? ²⁹But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. ³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. ³⁷He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; ³⁸The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; ³⁹The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. ⁴¹The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; ⁴²And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Modern

²⁴He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also. ²⁷The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’ ²⁸“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹“But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” ³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.” ³⁷He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. ³⁹The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity, ⁴²and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

The Divine Liturgy4 readings

Epistle

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Traditional

¹For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: ³If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. ⁴For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. ⁵Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. ⁶Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: ⁷(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) ⁸We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. ⁹Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Modern

¹For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. ²For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, ³if indeed being clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit. ⁶Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord; ⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. ⁹Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him. ¹⁰For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Epistle for Angels

Hebrews 2:2-10

Traditional

²For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; ³How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; ⁴God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

⁵For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. ⁶But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? ⁷Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: ⁸Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. ⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. ¹⁰For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Modern

²For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, ³how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation — which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard, ⁴God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?

⁵For he didn’t subject the world to come, of which we speak, to angels. ⁶But one has somewhere testified, saying, “What is man, that you think of him? Or the son of man, that you care for him? ⁷You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor. ⁸You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we don’t yet see all things subjected to him. ⁹But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone. ¹⁰For it became him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Gospel

Luke 9:1-6

Traditional

¹Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. ²And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. ³And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. ⁴And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. ⁵And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. ⁶And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Modern

¹He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. ²He sent them out to preach God’s Kingdom and to heal the sick. ³He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey — no staffs, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money. Don’t have two tunics each. ⁴Into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there. ⁵As many as don’t receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.” ⁶They departed and went throughout the villages, preaching the Good News and healing everywhere.

Gospel for Angels

Luke 10:16-21

Traditional

¹⁶He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

¹⁷And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. ¹⁸And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. ²⁰Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

²¹In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Modern

¹⁶Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

¹⁷The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will in any way hurt you. ²⁰Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

²¹In that same hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.”

Remembered on this day

Michael and the Bodiless Powers

This feast gathers the Church to honor Michael and all the holy angels. Bodiless powers means the spiritual beings who serve God; it does not mean human beings who have died. Scripture shows angels bringing God’s messages, praising Him, and helping His people. Michael is remembered as a leader among them. We ask their prayers and protection while worshiping God, whom they serve. Their feast reminds us that the life of prayer joins us to a worship greater than what we can see.

Michael and the Bodiless Powers: the full page

Calendar: Orthocal, following the Revised Julian (New) Calendar of the Orthodox Church in America. Parishes on the Old Calendar keep each day 13 days later. Check your own parish calendar.