Acts 10.44-11.10 (Epistle)

44A dok još Petar govoraše ove rijeèi, siðe Duh sveti na sve koji slušahu rijeè. 45I udiviše se vjerni iz obrezanja koji bijahu došli s Petrom, videæi da se i na neznabošce izli dar Duha svetoga. 46Jer ih slušahu gdje govorahu jezike, i velièahu Boga. Tada odgovori Petar: 47Eda može ko vodu zabraniti da se ne krste oni koji primiše Duha svetoga kao i mi? 48I zapovjedi im da se krste u ime Isusa Hrista. Tada ga moliše da ostane kod njih nekoliko dana.

1A èuše i apostoli i braæa koji bijahu u Judeji da i neznabošci primiše rijeè Božiju. 2I kad iziðe Petar u Jerusalim, prepirahu se s njim koji bijahu iz obrezanja, 3Govoreæi: ušao si k ljudima koji nijesu obrezani, i jeo si s njima. 4A Petar poèevši kazivaše im redom govoreæi: 5Ja bijah u gradu Jopi na molitvi, i došavši izvan sebe vidjeh utvaru, gdje silazi sud nekakav kao veliko platno na èetiri roglja i spušta se s neba, i doðe do preda me. 6Pogledavši u nj opazih i vidjeh èetvoronožna zemaljska, i zvjerinje i bubine i ptice nebeske. 7A èuh glas koji mi govori: ustani, Petre! pokolji i pojedi. 8A ja rekoh: nipošto, Gospode! jer ništa pogano i neèisto nikad ne uðe u usta moja. 9A glas mi odgovori drugom s neba govoreæi: što je Bog oèistio ti ne pogani. 10A ovo bi triput; i uze se opet sve na nebo.

John 8.21-30 (Gospel)

21A Isus im opet reèe: ja idem, i tražiæete me; i pomrijeæete u svojemu grijehu; kud ja idem vi ne možete doæi. 22Tada rekoše Jevreji: da se neæe sam ubiti, što govori: kud ja idem vi ne možete doæi? 23I reèe im: vi ste od nižijeh, ja sam od višijeh; vi ste od ovoga svijeta, ja nijesam od ovoga svijeta. 24Tako vam kazah da æete pomrijeti u grijesima svojima; jer ako ne uzvjerujete da sam ja, pomrijeæete u grijesima svojima. 25Tada mu govorahu: ko si ti? I reèe im Isus: poèetak, kako vam i kažem. 26Mnogo imam za vas govoriti i suditi; ali onaj koji me posla istinit je, i ja ono govorim svijetu što èuh od njega. 27Ne razumješe dakle da im govoraše za oca. 28A Isus im reèe: kad podignete sina èovjeèijega, onda æete doznati da sam ja, i da ništa sam od sebe ne èinim; nego kako me nauèi otac moj onako govorim. 29I onaj koji me posla sa mnom je. Ne ostavi otac mene sama; jer ja svagda èinim što je njemu ugodno. 30Kad ovo govoraše, mnogi ga vjerovaše.

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.