Galatians 4.28-5.10 (Epistle)

28Şi voi, fraţilor, ca şi Isaac, voi sunteţi copii ai făgăduinţei. 29Şi, cum s-a întâmplat atunci, că cel ce se născuse în chip firesc prigonea pe cel ce se născuse prin Duhul, tot aşa se întâmplă şi acum. 30Dar ce zice Scriptura? „Izgoneşte pe roabă şi pe fiul ei; căci fiul roabei nu va moşteni împreună cu fiul femeii slobode.”

31De aceea, fraţilor, noi nu suntem copiii celei roabe, ci ai femeii slobode. Hristos ne-a izbăvit ca să fim slobozi. 1Rămâneţi, dar, tari şi nu vă plecaţi iarăşi sub jugul robiei. 2Iată, eu, Pavel, vă spun că, dacă vă veţi tăia împrejur, Hristos nu vă va folosi la nimic. 3Şi mărturisesc iarăşi, încă o dată, oricărui om care primeşte tăierea împrejur, că este dator să împlinească toată Legea. 4Voi, care voiţi să fiţi socotiţi neprihăniţi prin Lege, v-aţi despărţit de Hristos; aţi căzut din har. 5Căci noi, prin Duhul, aşteptăm prin credinţă nădejdea neprihănirii. 6Căci, în Isus Hristos, nici tăierea împrejur, nici netăierea împrejur n-au vreun preţ, ci credinţa care lucrează prin dragoste. 7Voi alergaţi bine: cine v-a tăiat calea, ca să n-ascultaţi de adevăr? 8Înduplecarea aceasta nu vine de la Cel ce v-a chemat. 9Puţin aluat face să se dospească toată plămădeala. 10Eu, cu privire la voi, am în Domnul încrederea că nu gândiţi altfel. Dar cel ce vă tulbură va purta osânda, oricine ar fi el.

Luke 3.19-22 (Gospel)

19Dar cârmuitorul Irod, care era mustrat de Ioan pentru Irodiada, nevasta fratelui său Filip, şi pentru toate relele pe care le făcuse, 20a mai adăugat la toate celelalte rele şi pe acela că a închis pe Ioan în temniţă. 21După ce a fost botezat tot norodul, a fost botezat şi Isus; şi pe când Se ruga, s-a deschis cerul, 22şi Duhul Sfânt S-a coborât peste El în chip trupesc, ca un porumbel. Şi din cer s-a auzit un glas care zicea: „Tu eşti Fiul Meu preaiubit: în Tine Îmi găsesc toată plăcerea Mea!”

Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishop of Sinope (102)

He was a zealous, wise and wonder-working bishop in his birthplace, Sinope, which lies on the southern shore of the Black Sea. For bringing many idolators to faith in Christ, he was hated by the pagans. He was arrested by the governor Africanus, subjected to various tortures,and finally scalded to death in a bath-house. He contested for the Faith during the reign of the Emperor Trajan.

Venerable Cosmas, desert-dweller of Zographou, Mt Athos (1323)

“Saint Cosmas came from Bulgaria where his devout parents provided him with a good education in Slavonic and Greek. They wanted him to marry but he was drawn by the love of Christ and, unknown to them, made his way to the Holy Mountain of Athos to become a monk at the Bulgarian monastery of Zographou. On the feast of the Annunciation at the Monastery of Vatopedi, he saw a woman among those serving in the Church and in the refectory, and he was grieved at first to observe this breach of the monastic rule, but overjoyed when he realized that it was the Mother of God who had appeared to him in this way.

“He was clothed in the holy angelic Habit and, after some time, was ordained priest. One day, as he was praying before the icon of the Mother of God, asking her with tears how to achieve his salvation, he heard a voice saying, ‘Let my servant withdraw to the desert outside the monastery.’ He was obedient to the will of God and, with the blessing of his Abbot, lived in silence from then on. Some years later, he was found worthy of the grace of discernment of thoughts and of beholding things happening elsewhere, as well as of other spiritual gifts. In the course of many years, he was the spiritual helper of a great number of monks. At the end of his life, Christ appeared to him saying that he would shortly have a great trial to endure from the Devil. Indeed, the prince of demons made his appearance next day with a host of his servants bewailing and bemoaning their inability to annihilate their great enemy Cosmas, who had held them in check for so long and gained possession, by his virtue, of the throne in Heaven that had once been Lucifer’s. Taking a heavy stick, the demon beat the Saint so violently that he left him half-dead. As God allowed, Saint Cosmas died in peace two days later, on 22 September 1323. When the fathers came from the monastery to bury him, the wild animals gathered round. They kept silent until the end of the service, but howled unusually loud as his body was covered with earth. Then having paid their respects, they made off into the wilderness. Forty days later, the monks came to take up the body of Saint Cosmas and translate it to the monastery, but it was no longer in the grave. Where it now is God alone knows.” (Synaxarion)