Isaiah 65.8-16 (6th Hour)

8Ovako veli Gospod: kao kad ko naðe vina u grozdu, pa reèe: ne kvari ga, jer je blagoslov u njemu, tako æu uèiniti radi sluga svojih, neæu ih potrti svijeh, 9Jer æu izvesti sjeme iz Jakova i iz Jude našljednika gorama svojim, i naslijediæe ih izbranici moji, i sluge moje naseliæe se ondje. 10A Saron æe biti tor za ovce i dolina Ahorska poèivalište za goveda narodu mojemu koji me traži. 11A vi, koji ostavljate Gospoda, koji zaboravljate svetu goru moju, koji postavljate sto Gadu i ljevate naljev Meniju, 12Vas æu izbrojiti pod maè, i svi æete pripasti na klanje, jer zvah a vi se ne odzivaste, govorih a vi ne slušaste, nego èiniste što je zlo preda mnom i izabraste što meni nije po volji. 13Zato ovako veli Gospod Gospod: gle, sluge æe moje jesti, a vi æete gladovati; gle, sluge æe moje piti, a vi æete biti žedni; gle, sluge æe se moje veseliti, a vi æete se stidjeti. 14Gle, sluge æe moje pjevati od radosti u srcu, a vi æete vikati od žalosti u srcu i ridaæete od tuge u duhu. 15I ostaviæete ime svoje izbranima mojim za uklin; i Gospod æe te Bog ubiti, a sluge æe svoje nazvati drugim imenom. 16Ko se uzblagosilja na zemlji, blagosiljaæe se Bogom istinijem; a ko se uskune na zemlji, kleæe se Bogom istinijem; jer æe se prve nevolje zaboraviti i sakrivene æe biti od oèiju mojih.

Genesis 46.1-7 (Vespers)

1Tada poðe Izrailj sa svijem što imaše, i došav u Virsaveju prinese žrtvu Bogu oca svojega Isaka. 2I Bog reèe Izrailju noæu u utvari: Jakove! Jakove! A on odgovori: evo me. 3I Bog mu reèe: ja sam Bog, Bog oca tvojega; ne boj se otiæi u Misir; jer æu ondje naèiniti od tebe narod velik. 4Ja æu iæi s tobom u Misir, i ja æu te odvesti onamo, i Josif æe metnuti ruku svoju na oèi tvoje. 5I poðe Jakov od Virsaveje; i sinovi Izrailjevi posadiše Jakova oca svojega i djecu svoju i žene svoje na kola koja posla Faraon po nj. 6I uzeše stoku svoju i blago svoje što bijahu stekli u zemlji Hananskoj; i doðoše u Misir Jakov i sva porodica njegova. 7Sinove svoje i sinove sinova svojih, kæeri svoje i kæeri sinova svojih, i svu porodicu svoju dovede sa sobom u Misir.

Proverbs 23.15-24.5 (Vespers)

15Sine moj, ako bude mudro srce tvoje, veseliæe se srce moje u meni; 16I igraæe bubrezi moji kad usne tvoje stanu govoriti što je pravo. 17Srce tvoje neka ne zavidi grješnicima, nego budi u strahu Gospodnjem vazda. 18Jer ima plata, i nadanje tvoje neæe se zatrti. 19Slušaj, sine moj, i budi mudar i upravi putem srce svoje. 20Ne budi meðu pijanicama ni meðu izjelicama. 21Jer pijanica i izjelica osiromašiæe, i spavaè hodiæe u ritama. 22Slušaj oca svojega koji te je rodio, i ne preziri matere svoje kad ostari. 23Kupuj istinu i ne prodaji je; kupuj mudrost, znanje i razum. 24Veoma se raduje otac pravednikov, i roditelj mudroga veseli se s njega. 25Neka se dakle veseli otac tvoj i mati tvoja, i neka se raduje roditeljka tvoja. 26Sine moj, daj mi srce svoje, i oèi tvoje neka paze na moje pute. 27Jer je kurva duboka jama, a tijesan studenac tuða žena. 28Ona i zasjeda kao lupež i umnožava zloèince meðu ljudima. 29Kome: jaoh? kome: kuku? kome svaða? kome vika? kome rane ni za što? kome crven u oèima? 30Koji sjede kod vina, koji idu te traže rastvorena vina. 31Ne gledaj na vino kad se rumeni, kad u èaši pokazuje lice svoje i upravo iskaèe. 32Na pošljedak æe kao zmija ujesti i kao aspida upeæi. 33Oèi æe tvoje gledati na tuðe žene, i srce æe tvoje govoriti opaèine. 34I biæeš kao onaj koji leži usred mora i kao onaj koji spava navrh jedra. 35Reæi æeš: izbiše me, ali me ne zabolje; tukoše me, ali ne osjetih; kad se probudim, iæi æu opet da tražim to.

1Ne zavidi zlijem ljudima niti želi da si s njima. 2Jer o pogibli misli srce njihovo i usne njihove govore o muci. 3Mudrošæu se zida kuæa i razumom utvrðuje se. 4I znanjem se pune klijeti svakoga blaga i dragocjena i mila. 5Mudar je èovjek jak, i razuman je èovjek silan snagom.

Martyrs Terence, Africanus, Maximus, Pompeius and 36 with them, beheaded at Carthage (250)

These African Christians suffered during the persecution of the Church by the emperor Decius, during which a great many Christians denied the faith rather than suffer. These faithful few boldly upheld the Faith and, after many torments, were condemned to death by beheading. The went to their execution singing psalms and hymns of thanksgiving, and received the crown of martyrdom in 250.

In the early centuries of the Church, North Africa, especially the region of Carthage, was one of the centers of the Christian Faith, comparable to Asia Minor.

Six Thousand Holy Martyrs in Georgia (1615)

“In the wilderness of David-Garejeli in Georgia there were twelve monasteries, in which monks had lived the ascetic life for centuries. In 1615, Shah Abbas I invaded Georgia, laid it waste and slew innumerable Christians. One day, while out hunting at dawn on Easter Day intself, he saw the light of many candles shining in the hills. This was the monks of all twelve monasteries in procession all round the Church of the Resurrection, walking with candles in their hands. When the Shah discovered that it was monks, he asked in disbelief: ‘Isn’t the whole of Georgia put to the sword by now?’, and ordered his generals to go and slaughter the monks at once. An angel of God appeared to Abbot Arsenius, and revealed their imminent death to him, and Arsenius informed the brethren. They then all received Communion in the Holy Mysteries and prepared for death. Then the attackers arrived, hacked the abbot to pieces when he came out ahead of the others, and then killed all the rest. They all suffered with honour and were crowned with unfading wreaths in 1615. Thus ended the history of these famous monasteries, which had been like a flame of spiritual enlightenment in Georgia for more than 1,000 years. There remain just two today: St David and St John the Baptist. The King of Georgia, Archil, gathered the remains of all the martyrs and buried them. Their relics are to this day full of myrrh for the healing of those in sickness.” (Prologue)

New Hieromartyr Gregory, Patriarch of Constantinople (1821)

He was born on the Peloponnese, and became Archbishop of Smyrna in 1785. He served at a time when revolutionary feeling and activity was increasing among the Greek people, and witnessed the cruel retribution that the Ottoman Turks visited on any evidence of rebellion among their subject people.

Once in Smyrna, seeing that an action he had taken was causing discord in his dioceses, he came down from the hierarchical throne during a service, prostrated himself before the faithful and asked their forgiveness.

He was elected Patriarch of Constantinople in 1797. Under the Turkokratia, the Patriarch was not only the head of the Greek churches but the secular ruler of the Greek people, bound by oath to respect the authority of the Sultan. This, combined with Gregory’s personal experience of the treatment of Greek rebels, made him a staunch opponent of revolutionary activity among his people. Still, when revolutionaries on the Peloponnese declared Greek independence from Turkey on March 25, 1821, Turkish retribution was harsh: On Pascha, April 10, after serving the Paschal Liturgy, the aged Patriarch was arrested by the Turkish authorities. He was tortured in an effort to have him reveal the names of those heading the revolution, then was offered his freedom if he would convert to Islam. Gregory answered, ‘You ask in vain: the Patriarch of Christians dies a Christian.’ He (along with other clergy and hierarchs) was hanged as a traitor on the gate of the patriarchal compound. An eyewitness, a British clergyman visiting Constantinople, wrote: ‘His body, attenuated by abstinence and emaciated by age, had not sufficient weight to cause immediate death. He continued for a long time in pain which no friendly hand dared abridge, and the darkness of night came on before his final convulsions were over.’ His body was left hanging for three days, then sold by the Turkish authorities to a Jewish mob, who mutilated the body, then weighted it about the neck with a stone and threw it into the sea. Despite this, the body was found floating at sea by a Greek merchant ship captain. When the body was identified as that of the martyred Patriarch, it was secretly taken to Odessa, where Orthodox church leaders took it under their care. Tsar Alexander I ordered a state funeral for the holy hierarch, which was celebrated on June 17 1821 in Odessa.

In 1871 the relics were returned to Greece by Tsar Alexander III. They were incorrupt, though fifty years had passed since his death. Saint Gregory was officially glorified in 1921. His relics may be venerated at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens.