Luke 24.36-53 (6th Matins Gospel)

36A kad oni ovo govorahu, i sam Isus stade meðu njima, i reèe im: mir vam. 37A oni se uplašiše, i poplašeni buduæi, mišljahu da vide duha. 38I reèe im: šta se plašite? I zašto takove misli ulaze u srca vaša? 39Vidite ruke moje i noge moje: ja sam glavom; opipajte me i vidite; jer duh tijela i kostiju nema kao što vidite da ja imam. 40I ovo rekavši pokaza im ruke i noge. 41A dok oni još ne vjerovahu od radosti i èuðahu se reèe im: imate li ovdje što za jelo? 42A oni mu daše komad ribe peèene, i meda u satu. 43I uzevši izjede pred njima. 44I reèe im: ovo su rijeèi koje sam vam govorio još dok sam bio s vama, da sve treba da se svrši što je za mene napisano u zakonu Mojsijevu i u prorocima i u psalmima. 45Tada im otvori um da razumiju pismo. 46I reèe im: tako je pisano, i tako je trebalo da Hristos postrada i da ustane iz mrtvijeh treæi dan; 47I da se propovijeda pokajanje u ime njegovo i oproštenje grijeha po svijem narodima poèevši od Jerusalima. 48A vi ste svjedoci ovome. 49I gle, ja æu poslati obeæanje oca svojega na vas; a vi sjedite u gradu Jerusalimskome dok se ne obuèete u silu s visine. 50I izvede ih napolje do Vitanije, i podignuvši ruke svoje blagoslovi ih. 51I kad ih blagosiljaše, otstupi od njih, i uznošaše se na nebo. 52I oni mu se pokloniše, i vratiše se u Jerusalim s velikom radošæu. 53I bijahu jednako u crkvi hvaleæi i blagosiljajuæi Boga. Amin.

2 Corinthians 6.16-7.1 (Epistle)

16Ili kako se udara crkva Božija s idolima? Jer ste vi crkve Boga živoga, kao što reèe Bog: useliæu se u njih, i življeæu u njima, i biæu im Bog, i oni æe biti moj narod. 17Zato iziðite izmeðu njih i odvojte se, govori Gospod, i ne dohvatajte se do neèistote, i ja æu vas primiti, 18I biæu vam otac, i vi æete biti moji sinovi i kæeri, govori Gospod svedržitelj.

1Imajuæi dakle ovaka obeæanja, o ljubazni! da oèistimo sebe od svake poganštine tijela i duha, i da tvorimo svetinju u strahu Božijemu.

Luke 5.1-11 (Gospel)

1Jedanput pak kad narod naleže k njemu da slušaju rijeè Božiju on stajaše kod jezera Genisaretskoga, 2I vidje dvije laðe gdje stoje u kraju, a ribari bijahu izišli iz njih i ispirahu mreže: 3I uljeze u jednu od laði koja bješe Simonova, i zamoli ga da malo odmakne od kraja; i sjedavši uèaše narod iz laðe. 4A kad presta govoriti, reèe Simonu: hajde na dubinu, i bacite mreže svoje te lovite. 5I odgovarajuæi Simon reèe mu: uèitelju! svu noæ smo se trudili, i ništa ne uhvatismo: ali po tvojoj rijeèi baciæu mrežu. 6I uèinivši to uhvatiše veliko mnoštvo riba, i mreže im se prodriješe. 7I namagoše na društvo koje bješe na drugoj laði da doðu da im pomognu; i doðoše, i napuniše obje laðe tako da se gotovo potope. 8A kad vidje Simon Petar, pripade ka koljenima Isusovijem govoreæi: iziði od mene, Gospode! ja sam èovjek griješan. 9Jer bijaše ušao strah u njega i u sve koji bijahu s njim od mnoštva riba koje uhvatiše; 10A tako i u Jakova i Jovana, sinove Zevedejeve, koji bijahu drugovi Simonovi. I reèe Isus Simonu: ne boj se; otsele æeš ljude loviti. 11I izvukavši obje laðe na zemlju ostaviše sve, i otidoše za njim.

Holy Martyr Callistratus and the Forty-nine Martyrs with Him (288/304)

Callistratus was born in Carthage to Christian parents. In time, he joined the army, where he was the only Christian in his regiment. One of his fellow-soldiers saw Callistratus rise during the night to pray, and reported him to their commander. Callistratus was interrogated, then, when he refused to deny his faith or make sacrifice to the idols, was harshly beaten, then tied in a sack and thrown in the sea. But the sack burst open and Callistratus emerged from the sea unharmed. Seeing this, forty-nine of his fellow-soldiers confessed Christ, and were beaten and thrown into prison with Callistratus. In prison, Callistratus instructed the newly-enlightened Christians in the faith. Finally, all of them were beheaded, according to some sources in 288, according to others in 304.

Holy Apostles Mark, Aristarchus and Zenas of the Seventy

St Mark was also called John; according to Acts 12:12, the apostles gathered for prayer in Jerusalem at his mother Mary’s house, and was later bishop in Byblos. St Aristarchus accompanied St Paul in his travels (Acts 16:29) and was later bishop in Syrian Apamea. St Zenas is mentioned as a lawyer in Titus 3:13, and was bishop in Lydda in Palestine.

Our Venerable Father Sabbatius, Founder of the Monastery of Solovki (1435)

He lived for many years as a monk at the Monastery of St Cyril of White Lake, where his ascetic struggles won him the respect of his brethren. To flee from the admiration of men he moved further north to Valaam Monastery. But he still attracted the good opinion of his community, so he secretly headed still further north, planning to reach the uninhabited Solovki Island in the White Sea (a large bay of the Arctic Ocean). When he reached the coast, everyone who might take him tried to dissuade him from living in such a harsh place. He answered ‘My children, I have a Master who has the power to renew the strength of the old and to enfeeble the young if He so wills. He makes the poor rich, clothes the naked, provides for the destitute and satisfies the starving with a measure of food as he fed five thousand men in the desert.’

While waiting for seasonable sailing weather he met St Germanus (July 30) who lived nearby as a hermit. Together they found a fishing boat and, casting all their trust on the Lord, made the dangerous two-day voyage and set up a hermitage on the island. It became known as a holy place, and thenceforth those living in the world knew not to settle on Solovki, or even to set foot there without good reason. After six years, St Germanus departed, and Sabbatius was left alone.

When he was old, he began to fear that he would die without receiving the life-giving Mysteries, of which he had not partaken since he left Valaam. So he returned to the mainland where he met an abbot Nathanael just as he was taking Holy Communion to a sick man. Sabbatius persuaded the abbot to hear his confession and grant him the priceless gift of Holy Communion. He then settled in a nearby chapel and made ready for his departure from this life. A wealthy merchant from Novgorod visited him to ask for his blessing. The Saint said to him, ‘Spend the night here and you will see the grace of God.’ The next morning the merchant came to Sabbatius’ cell and found that he had reposed during the night; his cell was suffused with a beautiful scent.

The following year, St Germanus, along with St Zosimas (April 17), returned to Solovki island and founded a monastery there, which proved to be the nurturing ground of many Saints.

Holy New Martyr Aquilina (1764)

She lived in the village of Zangliverion near Thessalonika. When she was still an infant, her father killed a Turkish neighbor in an argument and, to save his life, denied his Christian faith. To compound his apostasy he promised that when his daughter came of age she too would convert. Aquilina’s mother, however, held fast to her faith in Christ, and brought up her daughter to love her Savior fervently. When Aquilina reached the age of eighteen, her father told her that the time had come to formally embrace Islam; he was dismayed when she replied that she would rather suffer any torment than deny Christ. Fearing for his own life, her father handed her over to the Turkish authorities. When the usual threats and promises had no effect, she was viciously beaten three times. Some pious Christians returned her, dying, to her mother, to whom she said ‘I have done as you told me, and kept the confession of our faith. Surely you didn’t think I would do anything else?’ With this, the holy Martyr died. The Synaxarion relates, ‘As her body was taken to be buried, every place that it passed was filled with a delightful scent, and a brilliant light came forth from her grave during the night.’