Ephesians 5.25-33 (Epistle)

25Muževi! ljubite svoje žene kao što i Hristos ljubi crkvu, i sebe predade za nju, 26Da je osveti oèistivši je kupanjem vodenijem u rijeèi; 27Da je metne preda se slavnu crkvu, koja nema mane ni mrštine, ili takoga èega, nego da bude sveta i bez mane. 28Tako su dužni muževi ljubiti svoje žene kao svoja tjelesa; jer koji ljubi svoju ženu, sebe samoga ljubi. 29Jer niko ne omrznu kad na svoje tijelo, nego ga hrani i grije, kao i Gospod crkvu. 30Jer smo udi tijela njegova, od mesa njegova, i od kostiju njegovijeh. 31Toga radi ostaviæe èovjek oca svojega i mater, i prilijepiæe se k ženi svojoj, i biæe dvoje jedno tijelo. 32Tajna je ovo velika; a ja govorim za Hrista i za crkvu. 33Ali i vi svaki da ljubi onako svoju ženu kao i sebe samoga; a žena da se boji svojega muža.

Luke 9.44-50 (Gospel)

44Metnite vi u uši svoje ove rijeèi: jer sin èovjeèij treba da se preda u ruke èovjeèije. 45A oni ne razumješe rijeèi ove; jer bješe sakrivena od njih da je ne mogoše razumjeti; i bojahu se da ga zapitaju za ovu rijeè. 46A uðe misao u njih ko bi najveæi bio meðu njima. 47A Isus znajuæi pomisli srca njihovijeh uze dijete i metnu ga preda se, 48I reèe im: koji primi ovo dijete u ime moje, mene prima; i koji mene prima, prima onoga koji me je poslao; jer koji je najmanji meðu vama on je veliki. 49A Jovan odgovarajuæi reèe: uèitelju! vidjesmo jednoga gdje imenom tvojijem izgoni ðavole, i zabranismo mu, jer ne ide s nama za tobom. 50I reèe mu Isus: ne branite; jer ko nije protiv vas s vama je.

Holy Great Martyr Artemius (362)

He came from a noble family, and was appointed military Governor of Alexandria and Egypt by the Emperor Constantine the Great. Some years later, the Emperor Julian the Apostate strove to restore pagan idolatry as the official religion of the Empire. He also entered into a war with Persia, and established Antioch as his headquarters for pursuing the war. In Alexandria, Artemius received an order to come to Antioch with the military forces under his command. Artemius reported to the apostate Emperor just in time to see him ordering the cruel execution of two pious Christians, Eugenius and Macarius. Fearlessly, St Artemius immediately denounced the Emperor, telling him to his face that his anti-Christian policy was of demonic origin. The enraged Emperor instantly had Artemius stripped of all official rank and thrown into prison. The following day, he had Artemius brought before him and promised him high Imperial office if he would only renounce Christ and worship the idols. When Artemius forcefully refused to do this, he was publicly tortured to death. A pious noblewoman secretly recovered the Saint’s relics and took them to Constantinople, where they were venerated and wrought many miracles for several centuries.

St Gerasimus the New, ascetic of Cephalonia (1579)

He was born in southern Greece. As a young man he left home and, after traveling to seek out guides in the ascetic life, he came to Mt Athos, where he was tonsured as a monk. Some years later he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and there was ordained to the priesthood by Patriarch Germanus of Jerusalem. Once, while living in Jerusalem, he went into the Jordanian desert for forty days of fasting and prayer, in imitation of the Lord. After more travels through Sinai and Egypt, he came to the Greek island of Zakynthos, where he lived alone in an isolated cave, sustaining himself only on vegetables. But his holiness soon attracted many of the faithful, who came to him for blessing and counsel. Mindful of the advice that nothing is more harmful to a monk as the praise of men, he fled to the island of Cephalonia, where he again took up life in a secluded cave. But once again he became known, and even more pilgrims gathered around him in search of spiritual nurture. This time, God made known to him that he must leave his beloved solitude in order to minister to others; so he founded a monastery called New Jerusalem on the island. St Gerasimus lived to a great age, and was granted foreknowledge of the day of his death. His relics are preserved on Cephalonia, “complete and incorrupt, as if he were asleep,” according to the Synaxarion.

St Jonah, Bishop of Manchuria (1925) (October 7 OC)

Note: St Jonah’s commemoration is October 7 on the Old Calendar, which falls on this day of the New Calendar.

He was orphaned in Russia at a young age, and, after attending the seminary in his home town of Kaluga, was tonsured as a monk at Optina Monastery. He was later ordained a priest, and taught in Kazan. In his thirtieth year (1918) the Bolsheviks seized power and he was forced to flee. After many persecutions and sufferings, he joined a large party of Russians who fled across Turkestan and the Gobi Desert into China. There he was made Bishop, and immediately began working tirelessly to encourage his flock and to provide for their material needs (most had arrived in China with only the clothes on their backs). He established churches, opened soup kitchens and an orphanage, cared personally for the sick, and in every way personified a true Minister of Christ.

When his death approached (from an infection acquired while caring for the sick) he donned his epitrachelion, read the Canon for the Departure of the Soul, lay down on his bed and said ‘God’s will be done. Now I shall die.’ Within minutes he was dead. On the night of his funeral the Bishop appeared to a paralyzed ten-year-old boy, who was miraculously healed.