Hebrews 5.11-6.8 (Epistle)

11Za kojega bismo vam imali mnogo govoriti što je teško iskazati; jer ste postali slabi na slušanju. 12Jer vi koji bi valjalo da ste uèitelji po godinama, opet trebujete da uèite koje su prva slova rijeèi Božije; i postadoste da trebate mlijeka, a ne jake hrane. 13Jer koji se god hrani mlijekom, ne razumije rijeèi pravde, jer je dijete. 14A savršenijeh je tvrda hrana, koji imaju osjeæanja dugijem uèenjem obuèena za razlikovanje i dobra i zla.

1Zato da ostavimo poèetak Hristove nauke i da se damo na savršenstvo: da ne postavljamo opet temelja pokajanja od mrtvijeh djela, i vjere u Boga, 2Nauke krštenja, i metanja ruku, i vaskrsenija mrtvijeh, i suda vjeènoga. 3I ovo æemo uèiniti ako Bog dopusti. 4Jer nije moguæe one koji su jednom prosvijetljeni, i okusili dara nebeskoga, postali zajednièari Duha svetoga, 5I okusili dobre rijeèi Božije, i sile onoga svijeta, i otpali, 6Opet obnoviti na pokajanje, jer sami sebi nanovo raspinju i ruže sina Božijega. 7Jer zemlja koja pije dažd što èesto na nju pada, i koja raða povræe dobro onima koji je rade, prima blagoslov od Boga; 8A koja iznosi trnje i èièak, nepotrebna je i kletve blizu, koja se najposlije sažeže.

Luke 21.5-7, 10-11, 20-24 (Gospel)

5I kad neki govorahu za crkvu da je ukrašena lijepijem kamenjem i zakladima, reèe: 6Doæi æe dani u koje od svega što vidite neæe ostati ni kamen na kamenu koji se neæe razmetnuti. 7Zapitaše ga pak govoreæi: uèitelju! a kad æe to biti? i kakav je znak kad æe se to dogoditi? 10Tada im reèe: ustaæe narod na narod i carstvo na carstvo; 11I zemlja æe se tresti vrlo po svijetu, i biæe gladi i pomori i strahote i veliki znaci biæe na nebu. 20A kad vidite da Jerusalim opkoli vojska onda znajte da se približilo vrijeme da opusti. 21Tada koji budu u Judeji neka bježe u gore, i koji budu u gradu neka izlaze napolje; i koji su napolju neka ne ulaze u njega: 22Jer su ovo dani osvete, da se izvrši sve što je napisano. 23Ali teško trudnima i dojilicama u te dane! Jer æe biti velika nevolja na zemlji, i gnjev na ovom narodu. 24I pašæe od oštrica maèa, i odvešæe se u ropstvo po svijem narodima; i Jerusalim æe gaziti neznabošci dok se ne izvrše vremena neznabožaca.

Our Venerable Mother Domnica (Domnina) (ca. 474)

She was born in Rome and reared in the love of Christ. She secretly left her parents’ house and traveled by ship to Alexandria, where she found lodging with four virtuous pagan maidens. By her example and counsel these four were in time led to abandon idolatry and embrace Domnica’s faith. The five then sailed to Constantinople, where it is said that the Patriarch Nectarius (October 11) was notified of their coming by an angel and met them at the dock. The Patriarch baptized the four maidens himself, giving them the names Dorothea, Evanthia, Nonna and Timothea, then settled them and Domnica in a monastery.

Soon the fame of Domnica’s pure life, wise teaching, and wondrous healings spread throughout the city, and even the Emperor Theodosius, with the Empress and his court, came to see her. Soon the crowds made it impossible for her and her sisters to live the heavenly life for which they had entered the monastery; so they relocated the monastery to a remote, demon-haunted location where executions had once commonly been performed, since everyone avoided the area. Here a new monastery was built by order of the Emperor, and the sisters found peace.

Saint Domnica’s fame continued, and she became not only a healer but an oracle for the city of Constantinople, prophesying the death of the Emperor Theodosius and the unrest which followed it. She reposed in peace, having first entrusted the care of the monastery to Dorothea. At the moment of her death, the whole monastery was shaken, and those present saw Saint Domnica dressed as a bride, being borne heavenward escorted by a company of white-clad monks and nuns.

Saint Atticus, Patriarch of Constantinople (425)

Born in Sebaste in Armenia, he was reared by monks who held to the heresy of Macedonius, which denied the uncreated divinity of the Holy Spirit; but when he came of age he rejected this error and embraced the Orthodox faith. He settled in Constantinople and became a priest in the Great Church. Though he had little formal education, his amazing memory, his zeal for Christ, and his powerful sermons recommended him to all, and he was elected Patriarch in 406, during the reign of the Emperor Arcadius. He served as shepherd to the Church for twenty years, ruling always with wisdom and moderation. Though he was unbending in upholding the Faith exactly, he took a conciliatory, persuasive approach to heretics and schismatics; in this way he was able to restore many to the Church rather than driving them away. His best-known single act is his restoration of the name of St John Chrysostom to the diptychs. Saint John had been unjustly denied commemoration in the Patriarchate since his exile, which had led to a schism; restoration of his commemoration not only corrected a grave injustice but healed a schism. Saint Atticus also presided over the rededication of the Agia Sophia, which had been burned in 404 in the rioting that followed St John Chrysostom’s exile. He reposed in peace in 425.

Saint Severinus (482)

St. Severinus came to the borderland of present-day Gemany and Austria from the east — possibly the Egyptian desert — to care for the Roman Christians who were endangered by invading barbarians during the collapse of the Roman Empire. He remained there until the end of his life. While he was there he advised both common people and kings to put eternal life first, and taught them to be generous to one another and to lead a true Christian life. He built a monastery and protected from harm those who gathered around him. As he foretold, the monks and other Christians who had followed him escaped to safety in Italy, taking St. Severinus’ incorrupt relics with them. His relics are still honored in Frattamaggiore, Italy (near Naples).

—from the 2006 Saint Herman Calendar