Acts 3.11-16 (Epistle)

11A kad se iscijeljeni hromi držaše Petra i Jovana, navališe k njima svi ljudi u trijem, koji se zvaše Solomunov, i èuðahu se. 12A kad vidje Petar, odgovaraše ljudima: ljudi Izrailjci! što se èudite ovome? Ili šta gledate na nas, kao da smo svojom silom ili pobožnošæu uèinili da on ide? 13Bog Avraamov i Isakov i Jakovljev, Bog otaca našijeh, proslavi sina svojega Isusa, kojega vi predadoste i odrekoste ga se pred licem Pilatovijem kad on sudi da ga pusti. 14A vi sveca i pravednika odrekoste se, i isprosiste èovjeka krvnika da vam pokloni; 15A naèelnika života ubiste, kojega Bog vaskrse iz mrtvijeh, èemu smo mi svjedoci. 16I za vjeru imena njegova ovoga, koga vidite i poznajete, utvrdi ime njegovo; i vjera koja je kroza nj dade mu cijelo zdravlje ovo pred svima vama.

John 3.22-33 (Gospel)

22A potom doðe Isus i uèenici njegovi u Judejsku zemlju, i ondje življaše s njima i kršæavaše. 23A Jovan kršæavaše u Enonu blizu Salima, jer ondje bješe mnogo vode; i dolažahu te ih kršæavaše. 24Jer još ne bijaše Jovan baèen u tamnicu. 25Tada postade raspra meðu uèenicima Jovanovijem i Jevrejima oko èišæenja. 26I doðoše k Jovanu i rekoše mu: Ravi! onaj što bješe s tobom preko Jordana, za koga si ti svjedoèio, evo on kršæava, i svi idu k njemu. 27Jovan odgovori i reèe: ne može èovjek ništa primati ako mu ne bude dano s neba. 28Vi sami meni svjedoèite da rekoh: ja nijesam Hristos, nego sam poslan pred njim. 29Ko ima nevjestu ženik je, a prijatelj ženikov stoji i sluša ga, i radošæu raduje se glasu ženikovu. Ova dakle radost moja ispuni se. 30Onaj treba da raste, a ja da se umaljujem. 31Koji odozgo dolazi nad svima je; koji je sa zemlje od zemlje je, i govori od zemlje; koji dolazi s neba nad svima je. 32I što vidje i èu ono svjedoèi; i svjedoèanstva njegova niko ne prima. 33Koji primi njegovo svjedoèanstvo, potvrdi da je Bog istinit.

Holy Martyrs Agathopous and Theodoulos (303)

Agathopous was a deacon, very old, and Theodoulos a reader, very young, in the church in Thessalonica. During Diocletian’s persecution the two were summoned to trial. They went joyfully, holding one another by the hand and exclaiming to all, ‘We are Christians!’ After flattery, cajolery, threats, imprisonment and starvation had failed to make them deny Christ, they were condemned to death by drowning. They were bound and a large stone tied to their necks; as they were about to be thrown into the sea, Agathopous cried, ‘Behold, by a second baptism we are washed from our sins, and will go cleansed to Christ Jesus!’ Their drowned bodies were soon washed ashore, and Christians gave them honorable burial. Not long afterward, Theodoulos appeared to his brethren in the form of a shining angel and told them to give all his goods to the poor.

Our Holy Father Mark of Trache (ca. 400)

He is also called ‘Mark the Athenian’ because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God’s providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.

Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain ‘Get up and cast yourself into the sea,’ and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.

On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark’s soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.