1 Thessalonians 5.14-23 (Epistle)

14Molimo vas pak, braæo, pouèavajte neuredne, utješavajte malodušne, branite slabe, snosite svakoga. 15Gledajte da niko ne vraæa kome zla za zlo; 16Nego svagda idite za dobrom, i meðu sobom, prema svima. 17Radujte se svagda. 18Molite se Bogu bez prestanka. Na svaèemu zahvaljujte; jer je ovo volja Božija u Hristu Isusu od vas. 19Duha ne gasite. Proroštva ne prezirite. 20A sve kušajuæi dobro držite. 21Uklanjajte se od svakoga zla. 22A sam Bog mira da posveti vas cijele u svaèemu; 23I cijel vaš duh i duša i tijelo da se saèuva bez krivice za dolazak Gospoda našega Isusa Hrista.

1 Timothy 3.14-4.5 (Epistle, Saturday before Theophany)

14Ovo ti pišem nadajuæi se da æu skoro doæi k tebi. 15Ako li se zabavim, da znaš kako treba življeti u domu Božijemu, koji je crkva Boga živoga, stup i tvrða istine. 16I, kao što je priznato, velika je tajna pobožnosti: Bog se javi u tijelu, opravda se u Duhu, pokaza se anðelima, propovjedi se neznabošcima, vjerova se na svijetu, uznese se u slavi.

1A Duh razgovijetno govori da æe u pošljednja vremena otstupiti neki od vjere slušajuæi lažne duhove i nauke ðavolske, 2U licemjerju laža, žigosanijeh na svojoj savjesti, 3Koji zabranjuju ženiti se, i zapovijedaju uzdržavati se od jela koja Bog stvori za jelo sa zahvalnošæu vjernima i onima koji poznaše istinu. 4Jer je svako stvorenje Božije dobro i ništa nije na odmet kad se prima sa zahvalnošæu. 5Jer se osveæuje rijeèju Božijom i molitvom.

Luke 18.2-8 (Gospel)

2Govoreæi: u jednome gradu bijaše jedan sudija koji se Boga ne bojaše i ljudi ne stiðaše. 3A u onome gradu bijaše jedna udovica i dolažaše k njemu govoreæi: ne daj me mojemu suparniku. 4I ne šæadijaše zadugo. A najposlije reèe u sebi: ako se i ne bojim Boga i ljudi ne sramim, 5No buduæi da mi dosaðuje ova udovica, odbraniæu je, da mi jednako ne dolazi i ne dosaðuje. 6Tada reèe Gospod: èujte šta govori nepravedni sudija. 7Akamoli Bog neæe odbraniti izbranijeh svojijeh koji ga mole dan i noæ? 8Kažem vam da æe ih odbraniti brzo. Ali sin èovjeèij kad doðe hoæe li naæi vjeru na zemlji?

Matthew 3.1-11 (Gospel, Saturday before Theophany)

1U ono pak doba doðe Jovan krstitelj, i uèaše u pustinji Judejskoj. 2I govoraše: pokajte se, jer se približi carstvo nebesko. 3Jer je to onaj za koga je govorio prorok Isaija gdje kaže: glas onoga što vièe u pustinji: pripravite put Gospodu, i poravnite staze njegove. 4A Jovan imaše haljinu od dlake kamilje i pojas kožan oko sebe; a hrana njegova bijaše skakavci i med divlji. 5Tada izlažaše k njemu Jerusalim i sva Judeja, i sva okolina Jordanska. 6I on ih kršæavaše u Jordanu, i ispovijedahu grijehe svoje. 7A kad vidje Jovan) mnoge fariseje i sadukeje gdje idu da ih krsti, reèe im: porodi aspidini! ko kaza vama da bježite od gnjeva koji ide? 8Rodite dakle rod dostojan pokajanja. 9I ne mislite i ne govorite u sebi: imamo oca Avraama; jer vam kažem da može Bog i od kamenja ovoga podignuti djecu Avraamu. 10Veæ i sjekira kod korijena drvetu stoji; svako dakle drvo koje ne raða dobra roda, sijeèe se i u oganj se baca. 11Ja dakle kršæavam vas vodom za pokajanje; a onaj što ide za mnom, jaèi je od mene; ja nijesam dostojan njemu obuæe ponijeti; on æe vas krstiti Duhom svetijem i ognjem.

Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles.

In addition to the Twelve Apostles, our Lord appointed seventy disciples to go forth and bring the Good News to the world (see Luke ch. 10). Others were later added to this company by the Holy Apostles, so that their number in fact exceeds seventy, though all are still referred to as “of the Seventy.”

On this day we also commemorate the company of those who have been sent forth by the Holy Spirit through the centuries to proclaim the joyous Gospel of Christ.

The Ethiopian Eunuch of Queen Candace

His baptism by the holy Apostle Philip is told in Acts ch. 8. He was already seeking out the things of God — the story shows him reading the Book of Isaiah, and specifies that he was going to Jerusalem to worship. He returned home (“rejoicing”, say the scriptures) and proclaimed the Gospel of Christ in his native land; the ancient Church of Ethiopia traces its beginnings to his mission. He died a martyr’s death.

Venerable Apollinaria (5th c.)

She was a maiden of high rank, the daughter of a magistrate named Anthimus in the city of Rome. Filled with love for Christ, she prevailed on her parents to allow her to travel on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In Jerusalem she dismissed most of her attendants, gave her jewels, fine clothes and money to the poor, and went on to Egypt accompanied only by two trusted servants. Near Alexandria she slipped away from them and fled to a forest, where she lived in ascesis for many years. She then made her way to Sketis, the famous desert monastic colony, and presented herself as a eunuch named Dorotheos. In this guise she was accepted as a monk.

Anthimus, having lost his elder daughter, was visited with another grief: his younger daughter was afflicted by a demon. He sent this daughter to Sketis, asking the holy fathers there to aid her by their prayers. They put her under the care of “Dorotheos”, who after days of constant prayer effected the complete cure of her (unknowing) sister. When the girl got back home it was discovered that she was pregnant, and Anthimus angrily ordered that the monk who had cared for her be sent to him. He was astonished to find that “Dorotheos” was his own daughter Apollinaria, whom he had abandoned hope of seeing again. After some days the holy woman returned to Sketis, still keeping her identity secret from her fellow-monks. Only at her death was her true story discovered.