John 21.15-25 (11th Matins Gospel)

15A kad objedovaše, reèe Isus Simonu Petru: Simone Jonin! ljubiš li me veæma nego ovi? Reèe mu: da, Gospode! ti znaš da te ljubim. Reèe mu Isus: pasi jaganjce moje. 16Reèe mu opet drugom: Simone Jonin! ljubiš li me? Reèe mu: da, Gospode! ti znaš da te ljubim. Reèe mu Isus: pasi ovce moje. 17Reèe mu treæom: Simone Jonin! ljubiš li me? A Petar posta žalostan što mu reèe treæom: ljubiš li me? i reèe mu: Gospode! ti sve znaš, ti znaš da te ljubim. Reèe mu Isus: pasi ovce moje. 18Zaista, zaista ti kažem: kad si bio mlad, opasivao si se sam i hodio si kuda si htio; a kad ostariš, širiæeš ruke svoje i drugi æe te opasati i odvesti kuda neæeš. 19A ovo reèe pokazujuæi kakom æe smrti proslaviti Boga. I rekavši ovo reèe mu: hajde za mnom. 20A Petar obazrevši se vidje gdje za njim ide onaj uèenik koga Isus ljubljaše, koji i na veèeri leže na prsi njegove i reèe: Gospode! ko je taj koji æe te izdati? 21Vidjevši Petar ovoga reèe Isusu: Gospode! a šta æe ovaj? 22Isus mu reèe: ako hoæu da on ostane dok ja ne doðem, šta je tebi do toga? Ti hajde za mnom. 23Onda iziðe ova rijeè meðu braæom da onaj uèenik neæe umrijeti; ali Isus ne reèe njemu da neæe umrijeti, nego: ako hoæu da ostane dok ja ne doðem, što je tebi do toga? 24Ovo je onaj uèenik koji svjedoèi za ovo, koji i napisa ovo: i znamo da je svjedoèanstvo njegovo istinito. 25A ima i drugo mnogo što uèini Isus, koje kad bi se redom popisalo, ni u sami svijet, mislim, ne bi mogle stati napisane knjige. Amin.

Galatians 6.11-18 (Epistle)

11Vidite koliko vam napisah rukom svojom! 12Koji hoæe da se hvale po tijelu oni vas nagone da se obrezujete, samo da ne budu gonjeni za krst Hristov. 13Jer ni oni sami koji se obrezuju ne drže zakona, nego hoæe da se vi obrezujete da se vašijem tijelom hvale. 14A ja Bože saèuvaj da se èim drugijem hvalim osim krstom Gospoda našega Isusa Hrista, kojega radi razape se meni svijet, i ja svijetu. 15Jer u Hristu Isusu niti što pomaže obrezanje ni neobrezanje, nego nova tvar. 16I koliko ih god po ovome pravilu žive, na njima biæe mir i milost, i na Izrailju Božijemu. 17Više da mi niko ne dosaðuje, jer ja rane Gospoda Isusa na tijelu svojemu nosim. 18Blagodat Gospoda našega Isusa Hrista sa duhom vašijem, braæo. Amin.

Luke 8.26-39 (Gospel)

26I doðoše u okolinu Gadarinsku koja je prema Galileji. 27A kad iziðe on na zemlju, srete ga jedan èovjek iz grada u kome bijahu ðavoli od mnogo godina, i u haljine ne oblaèaše se, i ne življaše u kuæi, nego u grobovima. 28A kad vidje Isusa, povika i pripade k njemu i reèe zdravo: što je tebi do mene, Isuse, sine Boga najvišega? Molim te, ne muèi me. 29Jer Isus zapovjedi duhu neèistome da iziðe iz èovjeka; jer ga muèaše odavno, i metahu ga u verige i u puta da ga èuvaju, i iskida sveze, i tjeraše ga ðavo po pustinji. 30A Isus ga zapita govoreæi: kako ti je ime? A on reèe: legeon; jer mnogi ðavoli bijahu ušli u nj. 31I moljahu ga da im ne zapovjedi da idu u bezdan. 32A ondje pasijaše po gori veliki krd svinja, i moljahu ga da im dopusti da u njih uðu. I dopusti im. 33Tada iziðoše ðavoli iz èovjeka i uðoše u svinje; i navali krd s brijega u jezero, i utopi se. 34A kad vidješe svinjari što bi, pobjegoše i javiše u gradu i po selima. 35I iziðoše ljudi da vide šta je bilo, i doðoše k Isusu, i naðoše èovjeka iz koga ðavoli bijahu izišli a on sjedi obuèen i pametan kod nogu Isusovijeh; i uplašiše se. 36A oni što su vidjeli kazaše im kako se iscijeli bijesni. 37I moli ga sav narod iz okoline Gadarinske da ide od njih; jer se bijahu vrlo uplašili. A on uljeze u laðu i otide natrag. 38Èovjek pak iz koga iziðoše ðavoli moljaše da bi s njim bio; ali ga Isus otpusti govoreæi: 39Vrati se kuæi svojoj, i kazuj šta ti uèini Bog. I otide propovijedajuæi po svemu gradu šta mu Isus uèini.

Holy and Wonderworking Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Asia (3rd c.)

Three pairs of Unmercenary Physicians (Anargyri) named Cosmas and Damian are commemorated (today, on October 17, and on July 1); The two commemorated today lived near Ephesus in Asia. They were of noble birth and well-educated in all the branches of higher learning; but they turned away from worldly knowledge to practice medicine without charge for anyone who sought their help, caring for the rich as well as poor, and even for animals. They used none of the secular tools of medicine, but relied only on the Name of Christ, by which they were enabled to perform countless healings. Both reposed in peace.

Holy New Martyr Helen of Sinope (18th c.)

She was a maiden of fifteen who lived with her parents in the Christian enclave of Sinope in Pontus during the 1700s. One day, as she went to the marketplace, she passed by the house of the local Pasha (governor), who, seeing her beauty, was seized by lust for her. He ordered his servants to bring her to him, and made two attempts to defile her; each time, however, he was prevented by a mysterious power that kept him from her like an invisible wall. Determined to have his way for her, he kept her prisoner in his house; but she was able to slip away and run home to her parents’ house.

Enraged that his prey had escaped, the Pasha called together the leaders of the Christian community and promised that, unless Helen were handed over to him, all the Christians in the town would be massacred. Grief-stricken and fearful, the leaders persuaded Helen’s father to return the girl to the palace. The vile Pasha made several more attempts to rape the Saint, but once again he was restrained as if by an invisible wall as she recited the Six Psalms and all the prayers that she knew by heart. Realizing that he was powerless against her, the Pasha had her thrown in the common jail, then ordered that she be tortured to death. The executioners subjected the maiden to several cruel torments before killing her by driving two nails into her skull and beheading her. They then put her body in a sack and threw it in the Black Sea.

Some Greek sailors followed a heavenly light to the place where the sack had sunk, and divers retrieved the Saint’s relics, which immediately revealed themselves as a source of healing for many. Her body was taken to Russia; her head was placed in the church in Sinope, where it continued to work miracles, especially for those who suffered from headaches. When the Greeks were driven from Sinope in 1924, refugees took the head with them. It is venerated today in a church near Thessalonika.