Romans 5.10-16 (Epistle)

10Jer kad smo se pomirili s Bogom smræu sina njegova dok smo još bili neprijatelji, mnogo æemo se veæma spasti u životu njegovu kad smo se pomirili. 11Ne samo pak to, nego se hvalimo i Bogom kroz Gospoda svojega Isusa Hrista, kroz kojega sad primismo pomirenje. 12Zato kao što kroz jednoga èovjeka doðe na svijet grijeh, i kroz grijeh smrt, i tako smrt uðe u sve ljude, jer svi sagriješiše. 13Jer grijeh bješe na svijetu do zakona; ali se grijeh ne primaše kad ne bješe zakona; 14Nego carova smrt od Adama tja do Mojsija i nad onima koji nijesu sagriješili prestupivši kao Adam, koji je prilika onoga koji šæadijaše doæi. 15Ali dar nije tako kao grijeh; jer kad kroz grijeh jednoga pomriješe mnogi, mnogo se veæa blagodat Božija i dar izli izobilno na mnoge blagodaæu jednoga èovjeka Isusa Hrista. 16I dar nije kao grijeh jednoga: jer za grijeh jednoga bi osuðenje, a dar od mnogijeh grijehova opravdanje.

Matthew 8.23-27 (Gospel)

23I kad uðe u laðu, za njim uðoše uèenici njegovi. 24I gle, oluja velika postade na moru da se laða pokri valovima; a on spavaše. 25I prikuèivši se uèenici njegovi probudiše ga govoreæi: Gospode! izbavi nas, izgibosmo. 26I reèe im: zašto ste strašljivi, malovjerni? Tada ustavši zaprijeti vjetrovima i moru, i postade tišina velika. 27A ljudi èudiše se govoreæi: ko je ovaj da ga slušaju i vjetrovi i more?

Virgin-martyr Theodosia of Tyre (308)

During the persecutions of the Emperor Maximian, the virgin Theodosia came to comfort a group of Christians who were standing before the governor of Caesarea in Palestine. When she encouraged them not to shun martyrdom, she too was brought before the judge, who ordered that a stone be tied around her neck and that she be thrown into the sea; but angels carried her to shore unharmed. The judge then ordered that she be beheaded. The night that the sentence was carried out, Theodosia appeared to her parents, surrounded by heavenly light and accompanied by other virgin martyrs, and said, ‘Do you see how great is the glory and grace of my Christ, of which you wished to deprive me?’ (Her parents, wishing to preserve her from martyrdom, had tried to prevent her from confessing Christ).

Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council (325)

The council was called by the Emperor Constantine the Great and held in Nicea in 325. The teaching of the Alexandrian priest Arius — that Christ is not co-eternal with the Father, but is His divine creation — was attracting many followers throughout the empire, and the Emperor wished for a statement of correct doctrine from the Church. Present at the council were 318 holy hierarchs, including St Nicholas of Myra, St Athanasius the great, and St Spyridon. The council clearly condemned the Arian heresy, formulated the first version of the Symbol of Faith (often called the Nicene Creed), and propounded twenty canons. The Fathers of the Council are commemorated on the Sunday after Ascension.

The Fall of Constantinople (1453); "Blessed Constantine XII, last of the Byzantine emperors, martyred by the Turks (1453)"

On this date in 1453, Constantinople, the capital city of the Christian world, was sacked by the forces of Sultan Mehmet (Mohammed) II, bringing it under Turkish rule, where it remains to this day.

Constantine XII, the last Byzantine Emperor, died defending the city. Sources are sharply divided as to whether he is to be counted as a Christian Martyr. The designation “Blessed Constantine”, above, is from the St Herman Calendar, whose compilers cite Russian martyrologies which list him as a saint. However, the Prologue cites the fall of Constantinople while pointedly omitting any praise of Constantine. He accepted (and never publicly renounced) the false “union” of Florence, and so is counted by some as a heretic. Many Orthodox Christians, including many of the people of Constantinople, saw the city’s fall as divine retribution for the Empire’s acceptance of the union.

Before his death the Emperor donned soldier’s armor and helped to man the ramparts of the City; his body was never found. Though various legends abound, the most likely explanation is that he died with many other defenders and was cast with them into a common grave.