Isaiah 43.9-14 (Vespers)

9Svi narodi neka se skupe, i neka se saberu plemena; ko je izmeðu njih naprijed kazao to ili nam kazao što je bilo prije? Neka dovedu svjedoke svoje i opravdaju se; ili neka èuju, i reku: istina je. 10Vi ste moji svjedoci, veli Gospod, i sluga moj kojega izabrah, da biste znali i vjerovali mi i razumjeli da sam ja; prije mene nije bilo Boga niti æe poslije mene biti. 11Ja sam, ja sam Gospod, i osim mene nema spasitelja. 12Ja objavih, i spasoh, i naprijed kazah, a nikoji tuð bog meðu vama, i vi ste mi svjedoci, veli Gospod, i ja sam Bog. 13Ja sam od prije nego dan posta, i niko ne može izbaviti iz moje ruke; kad radim, ko æe smesti? 14Ovako govori Gospod izbavitelj vaš, svetac Izrailjev: vas radi poslaæu u Vavilon i pobacaæu sve prijevornice, i Haldejce s laðama, kojima se hvale.

Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9 (Vespers)

Wisdom of Solomon 5.15-6.3 (Vespers)

Mark 16.1-8 (2nd Matins Gospel)

1I pošto proðe subota, Marija Magdalina i Marija Jakovljeva i Solomija kupiše mirisa da doðu i da pomažu Isusa. 2I vrlo rano u prvi dan nedjelje doðoše na grob oko sunèanoga roðaja. 3I govorahu meðu sobom: ko æe nam odvaliti kamen od vrata grobnijeh? 4I pogledavši vidješe da kamen bješe odvaljen: jer bješe vrlo veliki. 5I ušavši u grob vidješe mladiæa obuèena u bijelu haljinu gdje sjedi s desne strane; i uplašiše se. 6A on im reèe: ne plašite se, Isusa tražite Nazareæanina raspetoga; usta, nije ovdje, evo mjesto gdje ga metnuše. 7Nego idite kažite uèenicima njegovijem i Petru da pred vama otide u Galileju: tamo æete ga vidjeti, kao što vam reèe. 8I izišavši pobjegoše od groba; jer ih uhvati drhat i strah; i nikom ništa ne kazaše, jer se bojahu.

Romans 2.10-16 (Epistle)

10A slava i èast i mir svakome koji èini dobro, a najprije Jevrejinu i Grku; 11Jer Bog ne gleda ko je ko. 12Jer koji bez zakona sagriješiše, bez zakona æe i izginuti; i koji u zakonu sagriješiše, po zakonu æe se osuditi 13Jer pred Bogom nijesu pravedni oni koji slušaju zakon, nego æe se oni opravdati koji ga tvore; 14Jer kad neznabošci ne imajuæi zakona sami od sebe èine što je po zakonu, oni zakona ne imajuæi sami su sebi zakon: 15Oni dokazuju da je ono napisano u srcima njihovijem što se èini po zakonu, buduæi da im savjest svjedoèi, i misli meðu sobom tuže se ili pravdaju) 16Na dan kad Bog uzasudi tajne ljudske po jevanðelju mojemu preko Isusa Hrista.

Hebrews 11.33-12.2 (Epistle, Saints)

33Koji vjerom pobijediše carstva, uèiniše pravdu, dobiše obeæanja, zatvoriše usta lavovima, 34Ugasiše silu ognjenu, utekoše od oštrica maèa, ojaèaše od nemoæi, postaše jaki u bitkama, rastjeraše vojske tuðe; 35Žene primiše svoje mrtve iz vaskrsenija; a drugi biše pobijeni, ne primivši izbavljenja, da dobiju bolje vaskrsenije; 36A drugi ruganje i boj podnesoše, pa još i okove i tamnice; 37Kamenjem pobijeni biše, pretrveni biše, iskušani biše, od maèa pomriješe; idoše u kožusima i u kozijim kožama, u sirotinji, u nevolji, u sramoti; 38Kojijeh ne bijaše dostojan svijet, po pustinjama potucaše se, i po gorama i po peæinama i po rupama zemaljskijem. 39I ovi svi dobivši svjedoèanstvo vjerom ne primiše obeæanja; 40Jer Bog nešto bolje za nas odredi, da ne prime bez nas savršenstva.

1Zato dakle i mi imajuæi oko sebe toliku gomilu svjedoka, da odbacimo svako breme i grijeh koji je za nas prionuo, i s trpljenjem da trèimo u bitku koja nam je odreðena, 2Gledajuæi na naèelnika vjere i svršitelja Isusa, koji mjesto odreðene sebi radosti pretrplje krst, ne mareæi za sramotu, i sjede s desne strane prijestola Božijega.

Matthew 4.18-23 (Gospel)

18I iduæi pokraj mora Galilejskog vidje dva brata, Simona, koji se zove Petar, i Andriju brata njegova, gdje meæu mreže u more, jer bijahu ribari. 19I reèe im: hajdete za mnom, i uèiniæu vas lovcima ljudskijem. 20A oni taj èas ostaviše mreže i za njim otidoše. 21I otišavši odatle vidje druga dva brata, Jakova Zevedejeva, i Jovana brata njegova, u laði sa Zevedejem ocem njihovijem gdje krpe mreže svoje, i pozva ih. 22A oni taj èas ostaviše laðu i oca svojega i za njim otidoše. 23I prohoðaše po svoj Galileji Isus uèeæi po zbornicama njihovijem, i propovijedajuæi jevanðelje o carstvu, i iscjeljujuæi svaku bolest i svaku nemoæ po ljudima.

Matthew 4.25-5.12 (Gospel, Saints)

25I za njim iðaše naroda mnogo iz Galileje, i iz Deset Gradova, i iz Jerusalima, i Judeje, i ispreko Jordana.

1A kad on vidje narod, pope se na goru, i sjede, i pristupiše mu uèenici njegovi. 2I otvorivši usta svoja uèaše ih govoreæi: 3Blago siromašnima duhom, jer je njihovo carstvo nebesko; 4Blago onima koji plaèu, jer æe se utješiti; 5Blago krotkima, jer æe naslijediti zemlju; 6Blago gladnima i žednima pravde, jer æe se nasititi; 7Blago milostivima, jer æe biti pomilovani; 8Blago onima koji su èistoga srca, jer æe Boga vidjeti; 9Blago onima koji mir grade, jer æe se sinovi Božiji nazvati; 10Blago prognanima pravde radi, jer je njihovo carstvo nebesko. 11Blago vama ako vas uzasramote i usprogone i reku na vas svakojake rðave rijeèi lažuæi, mene radi. 12Radujte se i veselite se, jer je velika plata vaša na nebesima, jer su tako progonili proroke prije vas.

Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia: Tsar Nicholas II, Tsaritsa Alexandra, Crown Prince Alexei, and Grand duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, and those martyred with them (1918).

“Tsar Nicholas II was the son of Alexander III, who had reposed in the arms of St John of Kronstadt. Having been raised in piety, Tsar Nicholas ever sought to rule in a spirit consonant with the precepts of Orthodoxy and the best traditions of his nation. Tsaritsa Alexandra, a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria of England, and a convert from Lutheranism, was noted for her piety and compassion for the poor and suffering. Their five children were beloved of all for their kindness, modesty, and guilelessness.

“Amidst the political turmoil of 1917, Tsar Nicholas selflessly abdicated the throne for what he believed was the good of his country. Although he had abdicated willingly, the revolutionaries put him and his family under house arrest, then sent them under guard to Tobolsk and finally Ekaterinburg. A letter written from Tobolsk by Grand Duchess Olga, the eldest of the children, shows their nobility of soul. She writes, ‘My father asks that I convey to all those who have remained devoted to him… that they should not take vengeance on his account, because he has forgiven everyone and prays for them all. Nor should they avenge themselves. Rather, they should bear in mind that this evil which is now present in the world will become yet stronger, but that evil will not conquer evil, but only love shall do so.’

“After enduring sixteen months of imprisonment, deprivation, and humiliation with a Christian patience which moved even their captors, they and those who were with them gained their crowns of martyrdom when they were shot and stabbed to death in the cellar of the Ipatiev house in Ekaterinburg in 1918.

“Together with them are also commemorated those who faithfully served them, and were either slain with them, or on their account…” (Great Horologion)

St Andrew, archbishop of Crete (720?)

He was born in Damascus to Christian parents. He was mute until the age of seven, when he was given the power of speech upon receiving Holy Communion. Tonsured a monk at the monastery of St Sabbas in the Holy Land, he served the Patriarch of Jerusalem, then became deacon in the Great Church in Constantinople, and finally was made Archbishop of Crete. He was present at the Sixth Ecumenical Council. Accounts of the date of his repose vary from 712 to 740.

He is best known as the composer of the Great Canon, sung during the first and fifth weeks of the Great Fast.

St Martha, mother of St Symeon of the Wonderful Mountain (551)

She was a model of the Christian married life: she rose at midnight for prayer, she gave to the needy without reserve, and she bore and raised the holy Symeon of the Wonderful Mountain (May 24). Having foreseen the hour of her death, she reposed peacefully in 551, and was buried near the pillar of her son Simeon. After her death, she appeared many times to teach and to heal the sick. The Prologue tells the following story. After her funeral, the abbot of St Simeon’s monastic community kept a lamp burning at her grave, intending that it be kept burning perpetually. But after awhile, the monks grew forgetful and allowed the lamp to go out. The abbot became ill, and St Martha appeared to him and said ‘Why are you not lighting the lamp on my grave? Know that the light of your candles is not needful to me, because God has made me worthy of His eternal, heavenly light, but it is needful for you. When you burn a light on my grave, you urge me to pray to the Lord for you.’

St Andrew (Rublev), iconographer (1430)

His “Holy Trinity” icon of the Hospitality of Abraham is sometimes called the most perfectly executed of all icons. See January 29.