Acts 5.21-33 (Epistle)

21A kad oni èuše, uðoše ujutru u crkvu, i uèahu. A kad doðe poglavar sveštenièki i koji bijahu s njim, sazvaše sabor i sve starješine od sinova Izrailjevijeh, i poslaše u tamnicu da ih dovedu. 22A kad sluge otidoše, ne naðoše ih u tamnici; onda se vratiše i javiše im 23Govoreæi: tamnicu naðosmo zakljuèanu sa svakom tvrðom i èuvare gdje stoje pred vratima; ali kad otvorismo, unutra nijednoga ne naðosmo. 24A kad èuše ove rijeèi poglavar sveštenièki i vojvoda crkveni i ostali glavari sveštenièki, ne mogahu im se naèuditi šta bi to sad bilo. 25A neko doðe i javi im govoreæi: eno oni ljudi što ih baciste u tamnicu, stoje u crkvi i uèe narod. 26Tada otide vojvoda s momcima i dovede ih ne na silu: jer se bojahu naroda da ih ne pobije kamenjem. 27A kad ih dovedoše, postaviše ih pred sabor, i zapita ih poglavar sveštenièki govoreæi: 28Ne zaprijetismo li vam oštro da ne uèite u ovo ime? i gle, napuniste Jerusalim svojom naukom, i hoæete da bacite na nas krv ovoga èovjeka. 29A Petar i apostoli odgovarajuæi rekoše: veæma se treba Bogu pokoravati negoli ljudima. 30Bog otaca našijeh podiže Isusa, kojega vi ubiste objesivši na drvo. 31Ovoga Bog desnicom svojom uzvisi za poglavara i spasa, da da Izrailju pokajanje i oproštenje grijeha. 32I mi smo njegovi svjedoci ovijeh rijeèi i Duh sveti kojega Bog dade onima koji se njemu pokoravaju. 33A kad oni èuše vrlo se rasrdiše, i mišljahu da ih pobiju.

John 6.14-27 (Gospel)

14A ljudi vidjevši èudo koje uèini Isus govorahu: ovo je zaista onaj prorok koji treba da doðe na svijet. 15A kad razumje Isus da hoæe da doðu da ga uhvate i da ga uèine carem, otide opet u goru sam. 16A kad bi uveèe siðoše uèenici njegovi na more, 17I uðoše u laðu, i poðoše preko mora u Kapernaum. I veæ se bijaše smrklo, a Isus ne bješe došao k njima. 18A more se podizaše od velikoga vjetra. 19Vozivši pak oko dvadeset i pet ili trideset potrkališta ugledaše Isusa gdje ide po moru i došao blizu do laðe, i uplašiše se. 20A on im reèe: ja sam; ne bojte se. 21Onda ga s radošæu uzeše u laðu; i odmah laða bi na zemlji u koju iðahu. 22Sjutradan pak narod koji stajaše preko mora kad vidje da laðe druge ne bješe ondje osim one jedne što u nju uðoše uèenici njegovi, i da ne uðe Isus s uèenicima svojijem u laðu nego sami uèenici njegovi otidoše, 23A druge laðe iz Tiverijade doðoše blizu onog mjesta gdje jedoše hljeb kad Gospod dade hvalu, 24Kad vidje narod da Isusa ne bješe ondje ni uèenika njegovijeh, uðoše i oni u laðe, i doðoše u Kapernaum da traže Isusa. 25I našavši ga preko mora rekoše mu: Ravi! kad si došao ovamo? 26Isus im odgovori i reèe: zaista, zaista vam kažem: ne tražite me što èudesa vidjeste, nego što jedoste hljeba i nasitiste se. 27Starajte se ne za jelo koje prolazi, nego za jelo koje ostaje za vjeèni život, koje æe vam dati sin èovjeèij, jer ovoga potvrdi otac Bog.

St Pachomius the Great, founder of cenobitic monasticism (346)

His name in his native Coptic, Pachom, means “eagle.” He was an Egyptian pagan who entered the Roman army at a young age. While quartered at Thebes, he was amazed at the kindness of the local Christians, who brought food and drink to the soldiers. Learning who they were, he believed in Christ and vowed, once released from the army, to serve him for the rest of his life. At the end of his military service, he was baptised and became the disciple of the hermit Palamon, with whom he lived for ten years.

At a place called Tabennisis an angel appeared to him dressed in the robes of a monk and gave him a tablet on which was written a rule for a cenobitic monastery — one in which the brethren live communally rather than as hermits, something that had not been seen before among Christians. The angel commanded him to found such a monastery. Pachomius set to work, building many cells though there was no one to live there but himself and his brother John. When John questioned the unnecessary building, Pachomius only said that he was following God’s command, without saying who would live there or when.

But soon men began to assemble there, and in time so many came to be his disciples that he eventually founded nine monasteries housing thousands of monks. The rule that he gave (or had been given) for these monasteries became the model for all communal Christian monasticism thereafter. St Pachomius reposed in 346, before his great Egyptian fellow-strugglers St Anthony the Great and St Athanasius the Great.

Entertaining angels unawares: Christian believers’ simple acts of kindness toward their pagan oppressors may have seemed foolish to many, but it was such acts that opened the eyes of Pachomius to the light of Christ, and which bore incalculably great fruit: the founding of the monastic life which is still the backbone of Christ’s Church.

Our Father among the Saints Achillius, Bishop of Larissa (330)

He was born in Cappadocia, and was one of the 318 God-bearing Fathers who attended the First Ecumenical Council. At the council, Achillius took up a stone and said to the Arians, ‘If Christ is a creature of God, as you say, tell oil to flow from this stone.’ When the heretics kept silent, Achilleus went on, ‘And if the Son of God is equal to the Father, as we believe, let oil flow from this stone,’ at which oil flowed out. Returning to Larissa, the holy bishop cast down many pagan temples, built many churches, cast out many demons, and reposed in peace.