Acts 21.8-14 (Epistle)

8A sjutradan pošavši Pavle i koji bijasmo s njim doðosmo u Æesariju; i ušavši u kuæu Filipa jevanðelista, koji bješe jedan od sedam ðakona, ostasmo u njega. 9I ovaj imaše èetiri kæeri djevojke koje proricahu. 10Stojeæi mi pak ondje mnogo dana, doðe odozgo iz Judeje jedan prorok, po imenu Agav; 11I došavši k nama uze pojas Pavlov i svezavši svoje ruke i noge reèe: tako veli Duh sveti: èovjeka kojega je ovaj pojas, ovako æe ga svezati u Jerusalimu Jevreji, i predaæe ga u ruke neznabožaca. 12I kad èusmo ovo, molismo i mi i ondašnji da ne ide gore u Jerusalim. 13A Pavle odgovori i reèe: šta èinite te plaèete i cijepate mi srce? Jer ja ne samo svezan biti hoæu, nego i umrijeti u Jerusalimu gotov sam za ime Gospoda Isusa. 14A kad ga ne mogasmo odvratiti, umukosmo rekavši: volja Božija neka bude.

John 14.27-15.7 (Gospel)

27Mir vam ostavljam, mir svoj dajem vam: ne dajem vam ga kao što svijet daje, da se ne plaši srce vaše, i da se ne boji. 28Èuste da vam ja kazah: idem, i doæi æu k vama. Kad biste imali ljubav k meni, onda biste se obradovali što rekoh: idem k ocu; jer je otac moj veæi od mene. 29I sad vam kazah, prije dok se nije zbilo, da vjerujete kad se zbude. 30Veæ neæu mnogo govoriti s vama; jer ide knez ovoga svijeta, i u meni nema ništa. 31Nego da vidi svijet da imam ljubav k ocu, i kao što mi zapovjedi otac onako tvorim. Ustanite, hajdemo odavde.

1Ja sam pravi èokot, i otac je moj vinogradar; 2Svaku lozu na meni koja ne raða roda otsjeæi æe je; i svaku koja raða rod oèistiæe je da više roda rodi. 3Vi ste veæ oèišæeni rijeèju koju vam govorih. 4Budite u meni i ja æu u vama. Kao što loza ne može roda roditi sama od sebe ako ne bude na èokotu, tako i vi ako u meni ne budete. 5Ja sam èokot a vi loze: i koji bude u meni i ja u njemu on æe roditi mnogi rod: jer bez mene ne možete èiniti ništa. 6Ko u meni ne ostane izbaciæe se napolje kao loza, i osušiæe se, i skupiæe je, i u oganj baciti, i spaliti. 7Ako ostanete u meni i rijeèi moje u vama ostanu, šta god hoæete ištite, i biæe vam.

Virgin-martyr Theodosia of Tyre (308)

During the persecutions of the Emperor Maximian, the virgin Theodosia came to comfort a group of Christians who were standing before the governor of Caesarea in Palestine. When she encouraged them not to shun martyrdom, she too was brought before the judge, who ordered that a stone be tied around her neck and that she be thrown into the sea; but angels carried her to shore unharmed. The judge then ordered that she be beheaded. The night that the sentence was carried out, Theodosia appeared to her parents, surrounded by heavenly light and accompanied by other virgin martyrs, and said, ‘Do you see how great is the glory and grace of my Christ, of which you wished to deprive me?’ (Her parents, wishing to preserve her from martyrdom, had tried to prevent her from confessing Christ).

Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council (325)

The council was called by the Emperor Constantine the Great and held in Nicea in 325. The teaching of the Alexandrian priest Arius — that Christ is not co-eternal with the Father, but is His divine creation — was attracting many followers throughout the empire, and the Emperor wished for a statement of correct doctrine from the Church. Present at the council were 318 holy hierarchs, including St Nicholas of Myra, St Athanasius the great, and St Spyridon. The council clearly condemned the Arian heresy, formulated the first version of the Symbol of Faith (often called the Nicene Creed), and propounded twenty canons. The Fathers of the Council are commemorated on the Sunday after Ascension.

The Fall of Constantinople (1453); "Blessed Constantine XII, last of the Byzantine emperors, martyred by the Turks (1453)"

On this date in 1453, Constantinople, the capital city of the Christian world, was sacked by the forces of Sultan Mehmet (Mohammed) II, bringing it under Turkish rule, where it remains to this day.

Constantine XII, the last Byzantine Emperor, died defending the city. Sources are sharply divided as to whether he is to be counted as a Christian Martyr. The designation “Blessed Constantine”, above, is from the St Herman Calendar, whose compilers cite Russian martyrologies which list him as a saint. However, the Prologue cites the fall of Constantinople while pointedly omitting any praise of Constantine. He accepted (and never publicly renounced) the false “union” of Florence, and so is counted by some as a heretic. Many Orthodox Christians, including many of the people of Constantinople, saw the city’s fall as divine retribution for the Empire’s acceptance of the union.

Before his death the Emperor donned soldier’s armor and helped to man the ramparts of the City; his body was never found. Though various legends abound, the most likely explanation is that he died with many other defenders and was cast with them into a common grave.