Romans 10.11-11.2 (Epistle)

11Jer pismo govori: koji ga god vjeruje neæe se postidjeti. 12Jer nema razlike meðu Jevrejinom i Grkom: jer je on Bog sviju, i bogat za sve koji ga prizivlju. 13Jer koji god prizove ime Gospodnje spašæe se. 14Kako æe dakle prizvati koga ne vjerovaše? A kako æe vjerovati koga ne èuše? A kako æe èuti bez propovjednika? 15A kako æe propovijedati ako ne budu poslani? Kao što stoji napisano: kako su krasne noge onijeh koji donose glas za mir, koji donose glas za dobro! 16Ali svi ne poslušaše jevanðelja: jer Isaija govori: Gospode! ko vjerova našemu propovijedanju? 17Tako dakle vjera biva od propovijedanja, a propovijedanje rijeèju Božijom. 18Nego velim: zar ne èuše? Još otide po svoj zemlji glas njihov, i po krajevima vasionoga svijeta rijeèi njihove. 19Nego velim: zar ne razumje Izrailj? Prvi Mojsije govori: ja æu vas razdražiti, ne svojijem narodom, nerazumnijem narodom rasrdiæu vas. 20A Isaija govori slobodno: naðoše me koji me ne traže; i javih se onima koji za me ne pitaju. 21A k Izrailju govori: vas dan pružah ruke svoje k narodu koji ne da da mu se kaže i odgovara nasuprot.

1Govorim dakle: eda li Bog odbaci narod svoj? Bože saèuvaj! Jer sam i ja Izrailjac od sjemena Avraamova od koljena Venijaminova. 2Ne odbaci Bog naroda svojega, koji naprijed pozna. Ili ne znate šta govori pismo za Iliju kako se tuži Bogu na Izrailja govoreæi:

Matthew 11.16-20 (Gospel)

16Ali kakav æu kazati da je ovaj rod? On je kao djeca koja sjede po ulicama i vièu svojijem drugovima, 17I govore: svirasmo vam, i ne igraste; žalismo vam se, i ne jaukaste. 18Jer Jovan doðe, koji ni jede ni pije, a oni kažu: ðavo je u njemu. 19Doðe sin èovjeèij, koji i jede i pije, a oni kažu: gle èovjeka izjelice i pijanice, druga carinicima i grješnicima. I opravdaše premudrost djeca njezina. 20Tada poèe Isus vikati na gradove u kojima su se dogodila najveæa èudesa njegova, pa se nijesu pokajali:

Hieromartyr Timothy, bishop of Prusa (362)

“For his great spiritual purity, God gave him the gift of wonderworking, and he healed all manner of diseases and pains among the people. During the reign of the evil Emperor Julian, who had renounced Christ, holy Timothy was thrown into prison. The faithful visited him there to listen to the wise teaching of their bishop. When this came to the Emperor’s ears, he commanded that the executioner behead the Saint in the prison. This was in 362, and his soul entered into Paradise while his relics remained, full of miraculous power, to help the people and declare the power of the Lord.” (Prologue [adapted])

Holy Martyrs Alexander and Antonina (313)

In Alexandria, the virgin Antonina was brought before Festus, the Governor, tortured for her faith in Christ, then thrown into prison. A Christian soldier named Alexander, who had never before seen or heard of Antonina, was commanded by an angel of God to go to her. Finding her, he gave her his military cloak, wrapping it about her head and body; and thus, with her head lowered, she was able to walk out of the prison while Alexander remained in her place. Alexander was brought before Festus, where he too confessed his faith in Christ. Antonina, learning of this, voluntarily came before the judge, who put both of them to hideous tortures, mutilating them in many ways before having them cast into a fire and burned alive.

A slightly different account says that Festus placed Antonina under guard in a brothel rather than a prison, so that her virginity might be defiled, and that it was from there that Alexander rescued her.

Festus, the Governor, was struck mute at the time of the holy martyrs’ death, and was tormented by an evil spirit for seven days, at the end of which he died.

Hieromartyr Metrophanes, first Chinese priest, and the Chinese New Martyrs of the Boxer Uprising (1900)

“The Holy Martyrs of China were native Chinese Orthodox Christians brought up in piety at the Russian Orthodox Mission in Peking, which had been founded in 1685. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 against the foreign powers occupying China, native Chinese Christians were commanded by the Boxers to renounce Christianity or be tortured to death. Two hundred and twenty-two members of the Peking Mission, led by their priest Metrophanes Tsi-Chung and his family, refused to deny Christ, and were deemed worthy of a martyric death.” ( Great Horologion)