Colossians 1.1-2, 7-11 (Epistle)

1Od Pavla, po volji Božijoj apostola Isusa Hrista i brata Timotija, 2Svetima koji su u Kolosima i vjernoj braæi u Hristu Isusu: blagodat vam i mir od Boga oca našega i Gospoda Isusa Hrista. 7Kao što i doznaste od Epafrasa, ljubaznoga našeg drugara u služenju, koji je za vas vjerni sluga Hristov, 8Koji nam i javi vašu ljubav u duhu. 9Toga radi i mi od onoga dana kako èusmo ne prestajemo za vas moliti se Bogu i iskati da se ispunite poznanjem volje njegove u svakoj premudrosti i razumu duhovnome, 10Da živite pristojno Bogu na svako ugaðanje i u svakome dobrom djelu da budete plodni, i da rastete u poznanju Božijemu, 11Jaèajuæi svakom snagom po sili slave njegove, i u svakom trpljenju i dugom podnošenju s radošæu;

Luke 11.1-10 (Gospel)

1I kad se moljaše Bogu na jednom mjestu pa presta, reèe mu neki od uèenika njegovijeh: Gospode! nauèi nas moliti se Bogu, kao što i Jovan nauèi svoje uèenike. 2A on im reèe: kad se molite Bogu govorite: oèe naš koji si na nebesima, da se sveti ime tvoje; da doðe carstvo tvoje; da bude volja tvoja i na zemlji kao na nebu; 3Hljeb naš potrebni daji nam svaki dan; 4I oprosti nam grijehe naše, jer i mi opraštamo svakome dužniku svojemu; i ne navedi nas u napast; nego nas izbavi oda zla. 5I reèe im: koji od vas ima prijatelja, i otide mu u ponoæi i reèe mu: prijatelju! daj mi tri hljeba u zajam; 6Jer mi doðe prijatelj s puta, i nemam mu šta postaviti; 7A on iznutra odgovarajuæi da reèe: ne uznemiruj me; veæ su vrata zatvorena i djeca su moja sa mnom u postelji, i ne mogu ustati da ti dam. 8I kažem vam: ako i ne ustane da mu da zato što mu je prijatelj, ali za njegovo bezobrazno iskanje ustaæe i daæe mu koliko treba. 9I ja vama kažem: ištite i daæe vam se: tražite i naæi æete; kucajte i otvoriæe vam se. 10Jer svaki koji ište, prima; i koji traži, nalazi; i koji kuca, otvora mu se.

Holy Martyr Arethas and those with him (524)

‘These Martyrs contested for piety’s sake in the year 524 in Najran, a city of Arabia Felix (present-day Yemen). When Dhu Nuwas, ruler of the Himyarite tribe in south Arabia, and a Judaizer, took power, he sought to blot out Christianity, especially at Najran, a Christian city. Against the counsels of Arethas, chief man of Najran, the city surrendered to Dhu Nuwas, who immediately broke the word he had given and sought to compel the city to renounce Christ. Led by Saint Arethas, hundreds of martyrs, including women, children, and babes, valiantly withstood his threats, and were beheaded and burned. After the men had been slain, all the free-born Christian women of Najran were brought before the tyrant and commanded to abjure Christ or die; yet they rebuked the persecutor with such boldness that he said even the men had not insulted him so contemptuously. So great was their faith that not one woman was found to deny Christ in all Najran, although some of them suffered torments more bitter than most of the men. In alliance with Byzantium, the Ethiopian King Elesbaan liberated Najran from Dhu Nuwas soon after and raised up churches in honour of the Martyrs. Najran became a place of pilgrimage until the rise of Islam a century later. At the end of his life King Elesbaan, who was also called Caleb, retired into solitude as a hermit; he sent his crown to Jerusalem as an offering to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He also is commemorated on this day as a saint. Saint Arethas’ name in Arabic, Harith, means “plowman, tiller,” much the same as “George” in Greek.’ (Great Horologion)

Ethiopia is still a Christian nation, surrounded by Islamic states. The late Emperor Haile Selasse’s name means, in Ethiopian, “Power of the Trinity.”