2 Peter 3.1-18 (Epistle)

1Evo vam, ljubazni, veæ pišem drugu poslanicu u kojima budim napominjanjem vaš èisti razum, 2Da se opominjete rijeèi koje su naprijed kazali sveti proroci, i zapovijesti svojijeh apostola od Gospoda i spasa. 3I ovo znajte najprije da æe u pošljednje dane doæi rugaèi koji æe življeti po svojijem željama, 4I govoriti: gdje je obeæanje dolaska njegova? Jer otkako oci pomriješe sve stoji tako od poèetka stvorenja. 5Jer navalice neæe da znadu da su nebesa bila otprije i zemlja iz vode i usred vode Božijom rijeèi. 6Zato tadašnji svijet bi vodom potopljen i pogibe. 7A sadašnja nebesa i zemlja tom istom rijeèi zadržana su te se èuvaju za dan strašnoga suda i pogibli bezakonijeh ljudi. 8Ali ovo jedno da vam ne bude nepoznato, ljubazni, da je jedan dan pred Gospodom kao hiljada godina, i hiljada godina kao jedan dan. 9Ne docni Gospod s obeæanjem, kao što neki misle da docni, nego nas trpi, jer neæe da ko pogine, nego svi da doðu u pokajanje. 10Ali æe doæi dan Gospodnji kao lupež noæu, u koji æe nebesa s hukom proæi, a stihije æe se od vatre raspasti a zemlja i djela što su na njoj izgorjeæe. 11Kad æe se dakle ovo sve raskopati, kakovijem treba vama biti u svetom življenju i pobožnosti, 12Èekajuæi i želeæi da bude skorije dolazak Božijega dana, kojega æe se radi nebesa spaliti i raskopati, i stihije od vatre rastopiti? 13Ali èekamo po obeæanju njegovu novo nebo i novu zemlju, gdje pravda živi. 14Zato, ljubazni, èekajuæi ovo starajte se da vas on naðe èiste i prave u miru. 15I trpljenje Gospoda našega držite za spasenje; kao što vam i ljubazni naš brat Pavle po danoj mu premudrosti pisa. 16Kao što govori o ovome i u svima svojijem poslanicama, u kojima imaju neke stvari teške razumjeti, koje nenauèeni i neutvrðeni izvræu, kao i ostala pisma, na svoju pogibao. 17A vi dakle, ljubazni, znajuæi naprijed, èuvajte se da prijevarom bezakonika ne budete odvedeni s njima, i ne otpadnete od svoje tvrðe; 18Nego napredujte u blagodati i u poznanju Gospoda našega i spasa Isusa Hrista. Njemu slava i sad i u vjeèna vremena. Amin.

Mark 13.24-31 (Gospel)

24Ali u te dane, poslije te nevolje, sunce æe pomrèati, i mjesec svoju svjetlost izgubiti. 25I zvijezde æe spadati s neba i sile nebeske pokrenuti se. 26I tada æe ugledati sina èovjeèijega gdje ide na oblacima sa silom i slavom velikom. 27I tada æe poslati anðele svoje i sabraæe izbrane svoje od èetiri vjetra, od kraja zemlje do kraja neba. 28A od smokve nauèite se prièi: kad se veæ njezina grana pomladi i stane listati, znate da je blizu ljeto. 29Tako i vi kad vidite ovo da se zbiva, znajte da je blizu kod vrata. 30Zaista vam kažem da ovaj naraštaj neæe proæi dok se ovo sve ne zbude. 31Nebo i zemlja proæi æe, ali rijeèi moje neæe proæi.

Holy Apostle Timothy

This is the Apostle to whom two of St Paul’s Epistles are addressed. He was from Lystra in Lycaonia, born to a pagan Greek father and a Jewish mother. His mother, whose name was Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, brought him up in piety and love of the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul converted the two women during his first missionary visit to Lystra; returning seven years later, he found Timothy full of zeal for Christ, and baptized him. Timothy became his closest disciple: in his epistles, St Paul calls calls him “my dearly beloved son.” So that Timothy would be able to preach the Gospel in the synagogues, St Paul personally circumcised him.

The Apostle Paul consecrated Timothy as the first bishop of Ephesus. As such, he became a disciple and exarch of St John the Evangelist, who supervised all the churches in Asia. In AD 97, he attempted to oppose the celebration of a festival to Artemis; the pagans, enraged, mobbed him and beat him to death. He was buried near the tomb of St John. In 356 his precious relics were translated (along with those of Sts Andrew and Luke) to Constantinople and enshrined in the Church of the Holy Apostles. In 1204 they were stolen by the Latin Crusaders when they pillaged the city.

Holy Martyr Anastasius of Persia (628)

He was a Persian, the son of a Magus, a soldier in the Persian army under Chosroes II, who at that time was making inroads into the Christian Empire. His Persian name was Magundat. Chosroes captured Jerusalem in 614, and carried away the Precious Cross as a trophy. Magundat heard of this, and of all the miracles worked by the Cross; and he wondered why the ruins of an instrument of torture were so revered by the Christians. Seeking out Christian elders to answer his questions, he learned of the Incarnation, life, Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Christ, and with joy embraced the Christian Faith as Truth. He was baptized by St Modestus, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and given the name of Anastasius. At the same time, he took monastic vows. For a time he lived in a monastery in Jerusalem, but then went forth, found some Persian Magi at Caesarea, and chastised them for embracing delusions. Since he was in Persian territory (as he well knew), he was taken to the Persian governor, interrogated, imprisoned, and finally taken with other captives to Persia. There, despite many severe tortures, he refused to return to his former error, and was hanged by one hand, strangled, then beheaded.