The Holy Martyrs Pamphilus the Priest (c. 309) and Porphyrius and Their Companions
Great Fast Day 2
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 1:19-2:3; Vespers – Genesis 1:14-23; Proverbs 1:20-33
Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Read Isaiah 1:19-2:3
During this first week of the Great Fast, the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is sung the first four evenings (and again on the Thursday of the fifth week of the Great Fast). In between singing the refrain “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,” we are invited to listen to various troparia which point to the various ways we turn away from God and turn to sin. Often, these are juxtaposed with troparia that show us examples of repentance, urging us to imitate these examples and stay away from sin.
The majority of the troparia speak of sinfulness with the minority giving us examples of repentance. This is not to show that sin should dominate over righteousness, but rather, it shows us how easily we fall into sin. The few examples of repentance point to the challenge of coming out from our sinfulness through repentance. Even the most faithful among us can quickly fall into sin through the promptings of the evil one. Overcoming this can only be done with obedience to the Lord by continually turning to Him in repentance, singing “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.”