Isaiah 65.8-16 (6th Hour)

8Ovako veli Gospod: kao kad ko naðe vina u grozdu, pa reèe: ne kvari ga, jer je blagoslov u njemu, tako æu uèiniti radi sluga svojih, neæu ih potrti svijeh, 9Jer æu izvesti sjeme iz Jakova i iz Jude našljednika gorama svojim, i naslijediæe ih izbranici moji, i sluge moje naseliæe se ondje. 10A Saron æe biti tor za ovce i dolina Ahorska poèivalište za goveda narodu mojemu koji me traži. 11A vi, koji ostavljate Gospoda, koji zaboravljate svetu goru moju, koji postavljate sto Gadu i ljevate naljev Meniju, 12Vas æu izbrojiti pod maè, i svi æete pripasti na klanje, jer zvah a vi se ne odzivaste, govorih a vi ne slušaste, nego èiniste što je zlo preda mnom i izabraste što meni nije po volji. 13Zato ovako veli Gospod Gospod: gle, sluge æe moje jesti, a vi æete gladovati; gle, sluge æe moje piti, a vi æete biti žedni; gle, sluge æe se moje veseliti, a vi æete se stidjeti. 14Gle, sluge æe moje pjevati od radosti u srcu, a vi æete vikati od žalosti u srcu i ridaæete od tuge u duhu. 15I ostaviæete ime svoje izbranima mojim za uklin; i Gospod æe te Bog ubiti, a sluge æe svoje nazvati drugim imenom. 16Ko se uzblagosilja na zemlji, blagosiljaæe se Bogom istinijem; a ko se uskune na zemlji, kleæe se Bogom istinijem; jer æe se prve nevolje zaboraviti i sakrivene æe biti od oèiju mojih.

Genesis 46.1-7 (Vespers)

1Tada poðe Izrailj sa svijem što imaše, i došav u Virsaveju prinese žrtvu Bogu oca svojega Isaka. 2I Bog reèe Izrailju noæu u utvari: Jakove! Jakove! A on odgovori: evo me. 3I Bog mu reèe: ja sam Bog, Bog oca tvojega; ne boj se otiæi u Misir; jer æu ondje naèiniti od tebe narod velik. 4Ja æu iæi s tobom u Misir, i ja æu te odvesti onamo, i Josif æe metnuti ruku svoju na oèi tvoje. 5I poðe Jakov od Virsaveje; i sinovi Izrailjevi posadiše Jakova oca svojega i djecu svoju i žene svoje na kola koja posla Faraon po nj. 6I uzeše stoku svoju i blago svoje što bijahu stekli u zemlji Hananskoj; i doðoše u Misir Jakov i sva porodica njegova. 7Sinove svoje i sinove sinova svojih, kæeri svoje i kæeri sinova svojih, i svu porodicu svoju dovede sa sobom u Misir.

Proverbs 23.15-24.5 (Vespers)

15Sine moj, ako bude mudro srce tvoje, veseliæe se srce moje u meni; 16I igraæe bubrezi moji kad usne tvoje stanu govoriti što je pravo. 17Srce tvoje neka ne zavidi grješnicima, nego budi u strahu Gospodnjem vazda. 18Jer ima plata, i nadanje tvoje neæe se zatrti. 19Slušaj, sine moj, i budi mudar i upravi putem srce svoje. 20Ne budi meðu pijanicama ni meðu izjelicama. 21Jer pijanica i izjelica osiromašiæe, i spavaè hodiæe u ritama. 22Slušaj oca svojega koji te je rodio, i ne preziri matere svoje kad ostari. 23Kupuj istinu i ne prodaji je; kupuj mudrost, znanje i razum. 24Veoma se raduje otac pravednikov, i roditelj mudroga veseli se s njega. 25Neka se dakle veseli otac tvoj i mati tvoja, i neka se raduje roditeljka tvoja. 26Sine moj, daj mi srce svoje, i oèi tvoje neka paze na moje pute. 27Jer je kurva duboka jama, a tijesan studenac tuða žena. 28Ona i zasjeda kao lupež i umnožava zloèince meðu ljudima. 29Kome: jaoh? kome: kuku? kome svaða? kome vika? kome rane ni za što? kome crven u oèima? 30Koji sjede kod vina, koji idu te traže rastvorena vina. 31Ne gledaj na vino kad se rumeni, kad u èaši pokazuje lice svoje i upravo iskaèe. 32Na pošljedak æe kao zmija ujesti i kao aspida upeæi. 33Oèi æe tvoje gledati na tuðe žene, i srce æe tvoje govoriti opaèine. 34I biæeš kao onaj koji leži usred mora i kao onaj koji spava navrh jedra. 35Reæi æeš: izbiše me, ali me ne zabolje; tukoše me, ali ne osjetih; kad se probudim, iæi æu opet da tražim to.

1Ne zavidi zlijem ljudima niti želi da si s njima. 2Jer o pogibli misli srce njihovo i usne njihove govore o muci. 3Mudrošæu se zida kuæa i razumom utvrðuje se. 4I znanjem se pune klijeti svakoga blaga i dragocjena i mila. 5Mudar je èovjek jak, i razuman je èovjek silan snagom.

Our righteous Fathers martyred at the Monastery of St Sabbas the Sanctified (633? 796?)

The holy Monastery of St Sabbas is still in existence today, by the providence of God, though several times in its history it has been plundered and left empty. At one time it was attacked by Arab raiders. The monks considered fleeing, but their abbot, Thomas, said, ‘We have fled from the world into this wilderness for the love of Christ; it would be shameful for us now to flee from the wilderness for fear of men. If we are killed here, we shall be killed through love for Christ, for whose sake we have come here to live.’ So the monks agreed with one mind to wait their attackers unarmed. The Arabs killed some with arrows, and shut some in the cave of St Sabbas, lighting a fire at the entrance to suffocate them with smoke. The whole company of monks were thus privileged to give their lives for Christ’s sake.

Accounts of the date differ substantially: the Great Horologion says that they died during the reign of the Emperor Heraclius, when St Modestus was Patriarch of Jerusalem (632-634); the Prologue that they died in 796 during the reign of Constantine and Irene, when Elias was Patriarch of Jerusalem.

St Photine the Samaritan Woman (66)

See her commemoration on February 26.

St Cuthbert the Wonderworker, Bishop of Lindisfarne (687)

‘Saint Cuthbert was born in Britain about the year 635, and became a monk in his youth at the monastery of Melrose by the River Tweed. After many years of struggle as a true priest of Christ, in the service both of his own brethren and of the neglected Christians of isolated country villages, he became a solitary on Farne Island in 676. After eight years as a hermit, he was constrained to leave his quiet to become Bishop of Lindisfarne, in which office he served for almost two years. He returned to his hermitage two months before he reposed in peace in 687.

‘Because of the miracles he wrought both during his life and at his tomb after death, he is called the “Wonderworker of Britain.” The whole English people honoured him, and kings were both benefactors to his shrine and suppliants of his prayers. Eleven years after his death, his holy relics were revealed to be incorrupt; when his body was translated from Lindisfarne to Durham Cathedral in August of 1104, his body was still found to be untouched by decay, giving off “an odour of the sweetest fragrancy,” and “from the flexibility of its joints representing a person asleep rather than dead.” Finally, when the most impious Henry VIII desecrated his shrine, opening it to despoil it of its valuables, his body was again found incorrupt, and was buried in 1542. It is believed that after this the holy relics of Saint Cuthbert were hidden to preserve them from further desecration.’ (Great Horologion)