1 Timothy 5.11-21 (Epistle)

11A mladijeh udovica proði se; jer kad pobjesne protiv Hrista, hoæe da se udaju, 12I imaju grijeh što prvu vjeru odbaciše. 13A k tome i besposlene uèe se skitati po kuæama, ne samo pak besposlene, nego i jeziène i sveznale, pa govore što ne treba. 14Hoæu dakle da se mlade udovice udaju, djecu raðaju, kuæu kuæe, a nikakva uzroka da ne daju protivniku za huljenje. 15Jer se evo neke okrenuše za sotonom. 16Ako koji vjerni ili vjerna ima udovice, neka se stara za njih, i da ne dosaðuju crkvi da one koje su prave udovice može zadovoljiti. 17A sveštenicima koji se dobro staraju da se daje dvoguba èast, a osobito onima koji se trude u rijeèi i u nauci. 18Jer pismo govori: volu koji vrše ne zavezuj usta, i: radin je dostojan svoje plate. 19Na sveštenika ne primaj tužbe, osim kad imaju dva ili tri svjedoka. 20A koji griješe pokaraj ih pred svima, da i drugi imaju strah. 21Zaklinjem te pred Bogom i Gospodom Isusom Hristom i izbranima njegovijem anðelima da ovo držiš bez licemjerja, ne èineæi ništa po hateru.

Luke 21.12-19 (Gospel)

12A prije svega ovoga metnuæe na vas ruke svoje i goniæe vas i predavati u zbornice i u tamnice; vodiæe vas pred careve i kraljeve imena mojega radi. 13A to æe vam se dogoditi za svjedoèanstvo. 14Metnite dakle u srca svoja, da se prije ne pripravljate kako æete odgovarati: 15Jer æu vam ja dati usta i premudrost kojoj se neæe moæi protiviti ni odgovoriti svi vaši protivnici. 16A predavaæe vas i roditelji i braæa i roðaci i prijatelji; i pobiæe neke od vas. 17I svi æe omrznuti na vas imena mojega radi. 18I dlaka s glave vaše neæe poginuti. 19Trpljenjem svojijem spasavajte duše svoje.

Our Venerable Father Patapius (6th or 7th c.)

He was born at Thebes in Egypt, and at a young age left his pious parents, his inheritance and his acquaintances to dwell in the Egyptian desert, devoting himself to ceaseless prayer. After many years, he reputation spread and, despite his desire for solitude, throngs of pilgrims would seek him out for his prayers and counsel. To escape the attentions of men, he did a surprising thing: he abandoned the desert and moved to Constantinople, settling in the Blachernae district, where, amid the bustle of the city, he was able to pass unnoticed, more secure in his solitude than he had been in the caves of Egypt.

As he grew in obedience to the commandments of Christ, the grace of working miracles grew in him, and once again he gradually became known. Once a blind man cast himself before Patapius on the street, and the Saint cured him instantly by calling on the name of Christ. Once he healed a man crippled by dropsy, anointing him with the oil from a vigil lamp and signing him with the Cross.

After blessing the Church for many years with his prayers and miracles, St Patapius fell asleep in peace, and was buried in the church of the Monastery of the Egyptians near Constantinople. In 1904 his precious and incorrupt relics were uncovered in the course of some building at a small monastery near Corinth. From that time the monastery has been dedicated to St Patapius, and many miracles are worked there.

Holy Apostles Sosthenes, Apollos, Tychicus and Epaphroditus, Cephas and Caesar

All of these Apostles are mentioned in the New Testament. Sosthenes was the ruler of the Synagogue in Corinth, and was converted through the preaching of St Paul. After traveling with St Paul for years, he became Bishop of Colophon near Ephesus. Apollos was a Jew from Alexandria, well educated and with a deep knowledge of the Scriptures. He was brought to the fulness of the Christian faith by Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus, and went out preaching the Gospel among the pagans. His eloquence was so admired that for awhile the gentile Church divided into two factions, one for Paul and one for Apollos. Saint Apollos later became Bishop of Caesarea.

(The Synaxarion lists Cephas and Caesar here; but some believe that St Paul’s reference to Cephas in 1 Cor 1:12 refers to the Apostle Peter, not to a separate companion of St Paul; and that “those of Caesar’s household” (Phil. 4:22) refers to Christians in the Emperor’s palace in Rome, not to a Christian named Caesar.)