Acts 4.13-22 (Epistle)

13A kad vidješe slobodu Petrovu i Jovanovu, i znajuæi da su ljudi neknjiževni i prosti, divljahu se, a znadijahu ih da bijahu s Isusom. 14A videæi iscijeljenoga èovjeka gdje s njima stoji ne mogahu ništa protivu reæi. 15Onda im zapovjediše da iziðu napolje iz savjeta, pa pitahu jedan drugoga 16Govoreæi: šta æete èiniti ovijem ljudima? Jer veliki znak što uèiniše oni poznat je svima koji žive u Jerusalimu, i ne možemo odreæi; 17Ali da se dalje ne razilazi po narodu, da im oštro zaprijetimo da više ne govore za ime ovo nikome. 18I dozvavši ih zapovjediše im da ništa ne spominju niti uèe u ime Isusovo. 19Petar i Jovan odgovarajuæi rekoše im: sudite je li pravo pred Bogom da vas veæma slušamo negoli Boga? 20Jer mi ne možemo ne govoriti što vidjesmo i èusmo. 21A oni zaprijetivši im pustiše ih, ne našavši ništa kako bi ih muèili, naroda radi; jer svi hvaljahu Boga za ono što se bješe dogodilo. 22Jer onome èovjeku bješe više od èetrdeset godina na kom se dogodi ovo èudo zdravlja.

John 5.17-24 (Gospel)

17A Isus im odgovaraše: otac moj doslije èini, i ja èinim. 18I zato još više gledahu Jevreji da ga ubiju što ne samo kvaraše subotu nego i ocem svojijem nazivaše Boga i graðaše se jednak Bogu. 19A Isus odgovarajuæi reèe im: zaista, zaista vam kažem: sin ne može ništa èiniti sam od sebe nego što vidi da otac èini; jer što on èini ono i sin èini onako; 20Jer otac sina ljubi, i sve mu pokazuje što sam èini; i pokazaæe mu veæa djela od ovijeh da se vi èudite. 21Jer kako što otac podiže mrtve i oživljuje, tako i sin koje hoæe oživljuje. 22Jer otac ne sudi nikome, nego sav sud dade sinu, 23Da svi poštuju sina kao što oca poštuju. Ko ne poštuje sina ne poštuje oca koji ga je poslao. 24Zaista, zaista vam kažem: ko moju rijeè sluša i vjeruje onome koji je mene poslao, ima život vjeèni, i ne dolazi na sud, nego je prešao iz smrti u život.

Our Fathers among the Saints Epiphanios, bishop of Cyprus (403) and Germanos, Archbishop of Constantinople (740)

Saint Epiphanios was born a Jew in Palestine, but he and his sister came to faith in Christ and were baptized together. Epiphanios gave all his possessions to the poor and became a monk. He knew St Hilarion the great (October 31), and traveled among the monks of Egypt to learn their ways and wisdom. The fame of his virtue spread so widely that several attempts were made to make him bishop, first in Egypt, then in Cyprus. Whenever Epiphanios heard of these plans, he fled the area. He was finally made bishop by means of a storm: told to go to Cyprus, he took ship instead for Gaza, but a contrary wind blew his ship directly to Cyprus, where “Epiphanios fell into the hands of bishops who had come together to elect a successor to the newly-departed Bishop of Constantia, and the venerable Epiphanios was at last constrained to be consecrated, about the year 367.” (Great Horologion). He guarded his flock faithfully for the remainder of his life, working many miracles, defending the Church against the Arian heresy, and composing several books, of which the best-loved is the Panarion (from the Latin for ‘bread-box’), an exposition of the Faith and an examination of eighty heresies. He was sometimes called the ‘Five-tongued’ because he was fluent in Hebrew, Egyptian, Syriac, Greek, and Latin.

Saint Germanos was the son of a prominent family, in Constantinople. He became Metropolitan of Cyzicus, then was elevated to the throne at Constantinople in 715. It was he who baptized the infant Constantine, who for his whole life was nicknamed “Copronymos” because he defecated in the baptismal font (though he was neither the first nor the last infant to do so). At this incident, Patriarch Germanos is said to have prophesied that the child would one day bring some foul heresy upon the Church, which he did, becoming a notorious iconoclast as emperor. Germanos openly opposed the decree of the Emperor Leo the Isaurian which began the persecution of the holy icons. For this he was deposed and driven into exile in 730. He lived the rest of his life in peace. Saint Germanos is the composer of many of the Church’s hymns, notably those for the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple.

These two Saints are always commemorated together.