The Orthodox Church assigns specific Scripture passages to be read every single day of the year. These daily readings follow the Church’s liturgical calendar, which means they’re tied to feast days, fasting seasons, and the commemoration of saints rather than just marching through the Bible cover to cover.
How It Works
Each day has its own Epistle and Gospel reading. The Epistle comes from Acts, one of Paul’s letters, or the Catholic Epistles (James, Peter, John, Jude). The Gospel comes from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. On certain feast days and at Vespers, you’ll also hear Old Testament readings. Psalms are woven throughout the daily services in ways that would take a separate article to explain.
This isn’t a multi-year cycle like some churches use. Orthodox daily readings follow a one-year pattern shaped by Pascha (Easter), which moves around the calendar. So the readings for a Tuesday in June depend on where we are in relation to Pascha that year. Sundays have their own set of readings focused on the Resurrection, while weekdays follow a different track tied to saints’ days and the liturgical season.
If you grew up Baptist or Methodist, this probably sounds complicated. It is, at first. But there’s something freeing about it once you get used to it. You don’t have to decide what to read today. The Church has been reading these particular passages on these particular days for centuries. You’re joining a conversation that’s already in progress.
Where to Find Them
The Antiochian Archdiocese posts the daily readings on antiochian.org. Look for “Orthodox Daily Readings” or “Liturgic Day” in their menu. It’ll show you the Epistle and Gospel for any date, along with which saints are commemorated and whether it’s a fast day.
The OCA website (oca.org) has a similar daily readings page that’s clean and easy to use. Both sites work fine. Some people prefer one interface over the other.
Ancient Faith (ancientfaith.com) publishes reflections and devotional content based on the daily readings, though they don’t maintain a standalone lectionary page the way the archdiocese sites do. If you want someone to walk you through what a passage means, Ancient Faith is a good place to look.
Most Orthodox parishes also post the daily readings on their own websites. St. Michael’s does. It’s the same readings everywhere because we’re all following the same liturgical calendar, though you might see slight variations between jurisdictions on a few feast days.
Why Daily Readings Matter
Here’s the thing: these readings aren’t just for personal devotions, though you can certainly use them that way. They’re the readings appointed for the daily services. When the priest serves Liturgy on a Wednesday morning, he reads that day’s Epistle and Gospel. If you’re praying at home, you’re praying in sync with the whole Church.
A lot of folks in Southeast Texas work rotating shifts at the plants. You can’t always make it to a weekday Liturgy. But you can read the same Scriptures the Church is reading that day, maybe in the break room at 2 a.m. or in your truck before your shift starts. You’re still connected.
The daily readings also mean you hear Scripture in context. The Church doesn’t just pick inspiring verses. On the feast of a martyr, you’ll read about endurance and suffering. During a fast, you’ll read about repentance. Before Pascha, you’ll hear Christ predicting his death. The readings work with the liturgical season, not against it.
Getting Started
If you’re new to this, don’t feel like you have to read every appointed passage every day or you’ve failed. That’s not the Orthodox way. Start by checking the daily readings a couple times a week. See what the Church is reading. Notice how the Epistle and Gospel often speak to each other.
When you come to Liturgy on Sunday, you’ll start recognizing patterns. You’ll hear echoes of what you read on Thursday. The Bible stops being a collection of isolated verses and starts being a unified story about God becoming man so we can become like God.
That’s what the daily readings are for. Not to check a box, but to immerse you in Scripture the way the Church has always read it, as a living word that changes depending on whether it’s Lent or Bright Week, whether we’re remembering St. John Chrysostom or the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. Same Bible, but the Church knows which parts to emphasize when.
