Composite 2 - Proverbs 10, 3, 8 (Vespers)

1The memory of a just man is praised, and the Lord’s blessing is upon his head. Blessed is one who has found wisdom; a mortal who knows understanding. To import her is better than treasures of gold and silver. She is more valuable than precious stones; nothing of value equals her worth. Justice proceeds from her mouth; she bears law and mercy on her tongue. Therefore, my children, listen to me, for I speak weighty things. And blessed is the one who keeps my ways. For my goings out are the goings out of life, and favour is prepared from the Lord. Therefore I exhort you, and utter my voice to the children of humankind. Because I, Wisdom, have prepared counsel, knowledge and understanding. I have called on them. Counsel and sureness are mine; prudence is mine, strength is mine. I love those who are my friends, while those who seek me will find grace. You innocent, then, understand cunning; you untaught, take it to heart. Listen to me, for I will speak weighty things, and I will open right things from my lips. Because my throat will meditate truth; lying lips are abominable before me. All the words of my mouth are with justice, there is nothing crooked in them nor twisted. They are all straight for those who understand, and right for those who find knowledge. For I teach you what is true, that your hope may be in the Lord and that you may be filled with spirit.

Proverbs 10.31-11.12 (Vespers)

31Usta pravednikova iznose mudrost, a jezik opaki istrijebiæe se. 32Usne pravednikove znaju što je milo, a bezbožnièka su usta opaèina.

1Lažna su mjerila mrska Gospodu, a prava mjera ugodna mu je. 2Kad doðe oholost, doðe i sramota; a u smjernijeh je mudrost. 3Pravedne vodi bezazlenost njihova, a bezakonike satire zloæa njihova. 4Neæe pomoæi bogatstvo u dan gnjeva, a pravda izbavlja od smrti. 5Pravda bezazlenoga upravlja put njegov, a bezbožnik pada od svoje bezbožnosti. 6Pravedne izbavlja pravda njihova, a bezakonici hvataju se u svojoj zloæi. 7Kad umire bezbožnik, propada nadanje, i najjaèe uzdanje propada. 8Pravednik se izbavlja iz nevolje, a bezbožnik dolazi na njegovo mjesto. 9Licemjer kvari ustima bližnjega svojega; ali se pravednici izbavljaju znanjem. 10Dobru pravednijeh raduje se grad; a kad propadaju bezbožnici, biva pjevanje. 11Blagoslovima pravednijeh ljudi podiže se grad, a s usta bezbožnièkih raskopava se. 12Bezumnik se ruga bližnjemu svojemu, a razuman èovjek muèi.

Wisdom of Solomon 4.7-15 (Vespers)

John 10.9-16 (Matins Gospel)

9Ja sam vrata; ko uðe kroza me spašæe se, i uæi æe i iziæi æe, i pašu æe naæi. 10Lupež ne dolazi ni za što drugo nego da ukrade i ubije i pogubi; ja doðoh da imaju život i izobilje. 11Ja sam pastir dobri; pastir dobri dušu svoju polaže za ovce, 12A najamnik, koji nije pastir, kome nijesu ovce svoje, vidi vuka gdje ide, i ostavlja ovce, i bježi: i vuk razgrabi ovce i raspudi ih; 13A najamnik bježi, jer je najamnik i ne mari za ovce. 14Ja sam pastir dobri i znam svoje, i moje mene znaju. 15Kao što mene zna otac i ja znam oca; i dušu svoju polažem za ovce. 16I druge ovce imam koje nijesu iz ovoga tora, i one mi valja dovesti; i èuæe glas moj, i biæe jedno stado i jedan pastir.

1 Corinthians 11.8-22 (Epistle)

8Jer nije muž od žene nego žena od muža. 9Jer muž nije sazdan žene radi nego žena muža radi. 10Zato žena treba da ima vlast na glavi, anðela radi. 11Ali niti je muž bez žene ni žena bez muža u Gospodu. 12Jer kako je žena od muža, tako je i muž iz žene; a sve je od Boga. 13Sami meðu sobom sudite je li lijepo da se žena gologlava moli Bogu? 14Ili ne uèi li vas i sama priroda da je mužu sramota ako gaji dugaèku kosu; 15A ženi je slava ako gaji dugaèku kosu? Jer joj je kosa dana mjesto pokrivala. 16Ako li je ko svadljiv, mi takovoga obièaja nemamo, niti crkve Božije. 17Ali ovo zapovijedajuæi ne hvalim da se ne na bolje nego na gore sabirate. 18Prvo dakle kad se sabirate u crkvu, èujem da imaju raspre meðu vama; i nešto vjerujem od ovoga. 19Jer treba i jeresi da budu meðu vama, da se pokažu pošteni koji su meðu vama. 20A kad se skupite na jedno mjesto, ne jede se veèera Gospodnja. 21Jer svaki svoju veèeru uzme najprije i jede, i tako jedan gladuje a drugi se opija. 22Eda li dakle nemate kuæa da jedete i pijete? Ili ne marite za crkvu Božiju, i sramotite one koji nemaju? Šta æu vam reæi? Hoæu li vas pohvaliti za to? Neæu.

Hebrews 7.26-8.2 (Epistle, St Tikhon)

26Jer takov nama trebaše poglavar sveštenièki: svet, bezazlen, èist, odvojen od grješnika, i koji je bio više nebesa; 27Kojemu nije potrebno svaki dan, kao sveštenicima, najprije za svoje grijehe žrtve prinositi, a potom za narodne, jer on ovo uèini jednom, kad sebe prinese. 28Jer zakon postavlja ljude za sveštenike koji imaju slabost; a rijeè zakletve koja je reèena po zakonu, postavi sina vavijek savršena.

1A ovo je glava od toga što govorimo: imamo takovoga poglavara sveštenièkoga koji sjede s desne strane prijestola velièine na nebesima; 2Koji je sluga svetinjama i istinitoj skiniji, koju naèini Gospod, a ne èovjek.

Matthew 17.10-18 (Gospel)

10I zapitaše ih uèenici njegovi govoreæi: zašto dakle književnici kažu da Ilija najprije treba da doðe? 11A Isus odgovarajuæi reèe im: Ilija æe doæi najprije i urediti sve. 12Ali vam kažem da je Ilija veæ došao, i ne poznaše ga; nego uèiniše s njime šta htješe: tako i sin èovjeèij treba da postrada od njih. 13Tada razumješe uèenici da im govori za Jovana krstitelja. 14I kad doðoše k narodu, pristupi k njemu èovjek klanjajuæi mu se 15I govoreæi: Gospode! pomiluj sina mojega; jer o mijeni bjesni i muèi se vrlo; jer mnogo puta pada u vatru, i mnogo puta u vodu. 16I dovedoh ga uèenicima tvojijem, i ne mogoše ga iscijeliti. 17A Isus odgovarajuæi reèe: o rode nevjerni i pokvareni! dokle æu biti s vama? dokle æu vas trpljeti? Dovedite mi ga amo. 18I zaprijeti mu Isus; i ðavo iziðe iz njega; i ozdravi momèe od onoga èasa.

Matthew 5.14-19 (Gospel, St Tikhon)

14Vi ste vidjelo svijetu; ne može se grad sakriti kad na gori stoji. 15Niti se užiže svijeæa i meæe pod sud nego na svijeænjak, te svijetli svima koji su u kuæi. 16Tako da se svijetli vaše vidjelo pred ljudima, da vide vaša dobra djela, i slave oca vašega koji je na nebesima. 17Ne mislite da sam ja došao da pokvarim zakon ili proroke: nijesam došao da pokvarim, nego da ispunim. 18Jer vam zaista kažem: dokle nebo i zemlja stoji, neæe nestati ni najmanjega slovca ili jedne title iz zakona dok se sve ne izvrši. 19Ako ko pokvari jednu od ovijeh najmanjijeh zapovijesti i nauèi tako ljude, najmanji nazvaæe se u carstvu nebeskome; a ko izvrši i nauèi, taj æe se veliki nazvati u carstvu nebeskome.

St Maximos the Confessor (662)

He was from a noble family in Constantinople, and became the private secretary of the Emperor Heraclius and his grandson Constans. But when the Monothelite heresy (that Christ possesses one divine will, rather than a divine and a human will) took hold in the Imperial court, the Saint could not bear to be surrounded by this error and left the court for the Monastery at Chrysopolis, where in time he became the abbot. From the monastery he continued to speak and write in defense of Orthodox belief. The Emperor Constans ordered him either to accept Monothelite belief or to cease speaking against it, but St Maximos would do neither. For this, his tongue was torn out, his right hand was cut off, and he was sent into exile, where he reposed in 662. He is also commemorated on January 21; see that day for a slightly fuller account.

St Tikhon of Zadonsk (1783)

He is one of the best-loved Saints of the Russian people. He was born into a very poor family in Novgorod province and received the baptismal name of Timothy. He went to seminary in Novgorod, where he excelled, later teaching Greek and other subjects. He was tonsured a monk at the age of thirty-four, receiving the monastic name of Tikhon. As his ascesis and wisdom became known, he quickly became eminent in the Church and in 1761 was made a bishop. In 1763 he was consecrated Bishop of Voronezh. After serving as bishop for about seven years, he retired to the monastery of Zadonsk, where he spent the remainder of his life. He devoted his “retirement” to prayer and the writing of books, producing a huge collection of writings that have earned him the name “the Russian Chrysostom.” He reposed in peace in 1783 at the age of fifty-nine. Many miracles were wrought by him after his death, and he was soon proclaimed a Saint by the people. When his body was exhumed in 1845 (over sixty years later) to make way for a new church in Zadonsk, his relics were found to be whole and incorrupt; even his vestments were free from decay. He was officially glorified in 1863; some three hundred thousand pilgrims attended his glorification.

Holy Martyr Hippolytus of Rome and 18 Martyrs with him (258)

He was the pagan jailkeeper who guarded St Laurence (see August 10); seeing his prisoner’s holiness and the wonders wrought by him, Hippolytus was convinced of the truth of the Faith and became a Christian. When St Laurence baptized him, he was granted a vision of heaven and said ‘I see innocent souls in great joy.’ He took Laurence into his own home, and his entire household were baptized, nineteen in all.

When St Laurence was martyred, Hippolytus retrieved his body by night and buried it. He was detected and brought before the Emperor Valerian on the third day after Laurence’s death. Despite severe beatings he would not renounce his faith. The Emperor ordered that he be stripped and flayed but, standing naked before the emperor, Hippolytus said ‘You have not stripped me, but have begun to clothe me.’ Despite all torments, neither Hippolytus nor any of his household would deny Christ. All of his household were slain, one by one, before Hippolytus. Finally Hippolytus himself was bound behind a wild horse and dragged to death.

Our Holy Mother the Empress Irene (Xenia in Monasticism) (12th c.)

She was the pious wife of the Emperor John II Comnenus (reigned 1118-1143), but retired into monastic life. She founded the Monastery of the Pantokrator in Constantinople.