1 Corinthians 3.18-23 (Epistle)

18Nimeni să nu se înşele: dacă cineva dintre voi se crede înţelept în felul veacului acestuia, să se facă nebun, ca să ajungă înţelept. 19Căci înţelepciunea lumii acesteia este o nebunie înaintea lui Dumnezeu. De aceea este scris: „El prinde pe cei înţelepţi în viclenia lor.” 20Şi iarăşi: „Domnul cunoaşte gândurile celor înţelepţi. Ştie că sunt deşarte.” 21Nimeni să nu se fălească, dar, cu oameni, căci toate lucrurile sunt ale voastre: 22fie Pavel, fie Apolo, fie Chifa, fie lumea, fie viaţa, fie moartea, fie lucrurile de acum, fie cele viitoare; toate sunt ale voastre,

23şi voi sunteţi ai lui Hristos, iar Hristos este al lui Dumnezeu.

Matthew 13.36-43 (Gospel)

36Atunci Isus a dat drumul noroadelor şi a intrat în casă. Ucenicii Lui s-au apropiat de El şi I-au zis: „Tâlcuieşte-ne pilda cu neghina din ţarină.” 37El le-a răspuns: „Cel ce seamănă sămânţa bună este Fiul omului. 38Ţarina este lumea; sămânţa bună sunt fiii Împărăţiei; neghina sunt fiii celui rău. 39Vrăjmaşul care a semănat-o este diavolul; secerişul este sfârşitul veacului; secerătorii sunt îngerii. 40Deci, cum se smulge neghina şi se arde în foc, aşa va fi şi la sfârşitul veacului. 41Fiul omului va trimite pe îngerii Săi, şi ei vor smulge din Împărăţia Lui toate lucrurile care sunt pricină de păcătuire şi pe cei ce săvârşesc fărădelegea 42şi-i vor arunca în cuptorul aprins; acolo va fi plânsul şi scrâşnirea dinţilor. 43Atunci cei neprihăniţi vor străluci ca soarele în Împărăţia Tatălui lor. Cine are urechi de auzit să audă.

Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel

On this day all the many visitations and miracles of the holy Archangel, recorded in Holy Scripture and ever since, are commemorated. This feast duplicates the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel that is celebrated on March 26, the day after Annunciation; it is thought that it was added to the calendar here some time in the ninth century, so that it could be celebrated more festively outside of Great Lent.

Holy Martyr Golinduc of Persia (6th c.)

She was a Persian noblewoman during the reign of Chosroës II (590-628). Through a vision of an angel, she came to belief in Christ and received holy baptism; her name in baptism was Maria. Her furious husband reported her to King Chosroës, who had her thrown into a foul dungeon known as Oblivion for eighteen years. During these years she was repeatedly told to renounce Christ and was tormented in many ways. She was thrown to venomous snakes, which refused to harm her. Some lawless young men were sent to her cell to defile her, but God made her invisible to them. Many Persians, amazed and inspired by her patient sufferings, accepted Christ. She was finally set free through the visitation of an angel, traveled to Jerusalem and Constantinople, and reposed in peace.

She is commemorated July 12 on the Slavic calendar.

Saint Julian, Bishop of Cenomanis (Le Mans) (1st c.)

He was made bishop by the Apostle Peter and sent to Gaul as a missionary. Some believe that he was Simon the Leper, whom the Lord healed, later named Julian in Baptism. In Gaul, despite great difficulty and privation, he converted many to faith in Christ and worked many miracles — healing the sick, driving out demons, and even raising the dead. In time the local prince, Defenson, was baptised along with many of his subjects. He reposed in peace.

Repose of Photios Kontoglou (1965) (June 30 OC)

He is called “Blessed Photios” by many, but has not yet been officially glorified. In the twentieth century, he almost singlehandedly restored the practice of true Byzantine iconography to the Church. He was born in 1895 in one of the many Greek towns of Asia Minor. He and his family fled to Greece during the “exchange of populations” of 1923, when more than a million Greeks were driven from Turkey and resettled in Greece. He studied to be a secular artist, but was increasingly drawn to Byzantine iconography, the practice of which had almost disappeared: he learned the iconographic ethos and technique by copying ancient models and studying with the few monks on the Holy Mountain who still practiced true iconography. Initially his work was scorned, since secular western standards had come to dominate even the art of the Church. Slowly, through his tireless labors, an understanding of Orthodoxy iconography was restored to the Church, not only in Greece, but throughout the world. Though married, he lived his life in poverty, often donating his work to churches or performing it for nominal fees. His deeply spiritual writings are greatly honored in Greece, though most remain untranslated into English.