1 Thessalonians 4.1-12 (Epistle)

1Dalje, braæo, molimo vas i svjetujemo u Hristu Isusu, kao što primiste od nas, kako vam treba življeti i ugaðati Bogu, kao što živite, da bivate sve izobilniji. 2Jer znate kakve vam zapovijesti dadosmo kroz Gospoda Isusa. 3Jer je ovo volja Božija, svetost vaša, da se èuvate od kurvarstva, 4I svaki od vas da zna držati svoj sud u svetinji i u èasti, 5A ne u slasti želja, kao i neznabošci, koji ne poznaju Boga; 6I da ne prestupate i zakidate u stvari brata svojega; jer æe Gospod pokajati sve to, kao što vam i prije kazasmo i posvjedoèismo. 7Jer Bog nas ne dozva na neèistotu, nego u svetost. 8Koji dakle odbacuje, ne odbacuje èovjeka nego Boga, koji je dao svetoga Duha svojega u vas. 9A za bratoljublje ne trebujete da vam se piše, jer ste sami od Boga nauèeni da se ljubite meðu sobom, 10Jer to èinite sa svom braæom po cijeloj Maæedoniji. Ali vas molimo, braæo, da još izobilnije èinite, 11I da se ljubazno starate da ste mirni, i da gledate svoj posao, i da radite svojijem rukama, kao što vam zapovjedismo; 12Da se vladate pošteno prema onima što su napolju, i da od njih ništa ne potrebujete.

Luke 12.48-59 (Gospel)

48A koji ne zna pa zasluži boj, biæe malo bijen. Kome je god mnogo dano mnogo æe se iskati od njega; a kome predaše najviše najviše æe iskati od njega. 49Ja sam došao da bacim oganj na zemlju; i kako bi mi se htjelo da se veæ zapalio! 50Ali se meni valja krstiti krštenjem, i kako mi je teško dok se ne svrši! 51Mislite li da sam ja došao da dam mir na zemlju? Ne, kažem vam, nego razdor. 52Jer æe otsele pet u jednoj kuæi biti razdijeljeni, ustaæe tri na dva, i dva na tri. 53Ustaæe otac na sina i sin na oca; mati na kæer i kæi na mater; svekrva na snahu svoju i snaha na svekrvu svoju. 54A narodu govoraše: kad vidite oblak gdje se diže od zapada odmah kažete: biæe dažd; i biva tako. 55I kad vidite jug gdje duva kažete: biæe vruæina; i biva. 56Licemjeri! lice neba i zemlje umijete poznavati, a vremena ovoga kako ne poznajete? 57Zašto pak i sami od sebe ne sudite pravedno? 58Jer kad ideš sa svojijem suparnikom knezu, gledaj ne bi li se na putu s njim poravnao da te ne pritegne sudiji, i sudija da te ne preda sluzi, i sluga da te ne baci u tamnicu. 59Kažem ti: neæeš odande iziæi dok ne daš i pošljednjega dinara.

Paul the Confessor, Archbishop of Constantinople (ca. 350)

A native of Thessalonica, he rose from secretary to Alexander, Patriarch of Constantinople (commemorated August 30), to deacon, then succeeded St Alexander as Patriarch around 337. For his virtue and his zeal for Orthodoxy he was hated by the Arians, who were still powerful in the Empire. The Arian Emperor Constantius, learning of Paul’s election, exiled him and made the Arian Eusebius Patriarch in his place. St Paul went to Rome, where he joined St Athanasius the Great in exile. Furnished with letters from Pope Julius, he was able to ascend the Patriarchal throne once again upon the death of Eusebius. But once again the Arians were able to put one of their party on the Patriarchal throne: Macedonius, who even went beyond the Arian heresy and denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Once again the legitimate, Orthodox Patriarch found himself in exile in Rome. In succeeding years St Paul stood firm for Orthodoxy while complex political and military intrigues swirled around him, with the Orthodox Constans, Emperor of the West (and Constantius’ brother) supporting him while Constantius continued to oppose him. For a time Constans was able to enforce Paul’s place on the Patriarchal throne, but when he died, Constantius banished St Paul to Cucusus on the Black Sea. There, while he was celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the house where he was kept prisoner, the Arians strangled him with his own omophorion. His relics were brought back to Constantinople by the Emperor Theodosius the Great.

Saint Germanus, Archbishop of Kazan (1568)

He was born in Tver to a princely family. Drawn to a life of holiness from his earliest childhood, he became a monk at the age of twenty-five, at the Monastery of St Joseph of Volokolamsk. In time he became Archimandrite of the Monastery of the Dormition at Staritsk; but after a few years he returned to Volokolamsk to live in solitude. When his teacher St Gurias (October 4), first Archbishop of Kazan, reposed, Germanus succeeded him as Archbishop, but continued to live as ascetically as when he was a hermit. He was offered the office of Metropolitan of Moscow, but refused. As a faithful shepherd of his church, he fearlessly confronted Tsar Ivan the Terrible for his many and various cruelties; for this he was killed in 1568 by the Tsar’s assassins.

Note: Recently, a bizarre movement has arisen among some nationalist sectarians in Russia to canonize Ivan the Terrible. Among the many obvious reasons against such an action (which has been firmly rejected by the Patriarch of Moscow), we could list the Tsar’s murder of some of the Church’s own Saints, Germanus among them.