Acts 10.21-33 (Epistle)

21A Petar sišavši k ljudima poslanijem k sebi od Kornilija reèe: evo ja sam koga tražite; što ste došli? 22A oni rekoše: Kornilije kapetan, èovjek pravedan i bogobojazan, poznat kod svega naroda Jevrejskoga, primio je zapovijest od anðela svetoga da dozove tebe u svoj dom i da èuje rijeèi od tebe. 23Onda ih dozva unutra i ugosti. A sjutradan ustavši Petar poðe s njima, i neki od braæe koja bješe u Jopi poðoše s njim. 24I sjutradan uðoše u Æesariju. A Kornilije èekaše ih sazvavši rodbinu svoju i ljubazne prijatelje. 25A kad Petar šæaše da uðe, srete ga Kornilije, i padnuvši na noge njegove pokloni se. 26I Petar ga podiže govoreæi: ustani, i ja sam èovjek. 27I s njim govoreæi uðe, i naðe mnoge koji se bijahu sabrali. 28I reèe im: vi znate kako je neprilièno èovjeku Jevrejinu družiti se ili dolaziti k tuðinu; ali Bog meni pokaza da nijednoga èovjeka ne zovem pogana ili neèista; 29Zato i bez sumnje doðoh pozvan. Pitam vas dakle zašto poslaste po mene? 30I Kornilije reèe: od èetvrtoga dana do ovoga èasa ja postih, i u deveti sahat moljah se Bogu u svojoj kuæi; i gle, èovjek stade preda mnom u haljini sjajnoj, 31I reèe: Kornilije! uslišena bi molitva tvoja i milostinje tvoje pomenuše se pred Bogom. 32Pošlji dakle u Jopu i dozovi Simona koji se zove Petar: on stoji u kuæi Simona kožara kod mora, koji kad doðe kazaæe ti. 33Onda ja odmah poslah k tebi; i ti si dobro uèinio što si došao. Sad dakle mi svi stojimo pred Bogom da èujemo sve što je tebi od Boga zapovjeðeno.

John 7.1-13 (Gospel)

1I potom hoðaše Isus po Galileji; jer po Judeji ne šæadijaše da hodi, jer gledahu Jevreji da ga ubiju. 2Bijaše pak blizu praznik Jevrejski graðenje sjenica. 3Tada mu rekoše braæa njegova: iziði odavde i idi u Judeju, da i uèenici tvoji vide djela tvoja koja èiniš; 4Jer niko ne èini što tajno a sam traži da je poznat. Ako to èiniš javi sebe svijetu. 5Jer ni braæa njegova ne vjerovahu ga. 6Tada im reèe Isus: vrijeme moje još nije došlo, a vrijeme je vaše svagda gotovo. 7Ne može svijet mrziti na vas: a na mene mrzi, jer ja svjedoèim za nj da su djela njegova zla. 8Vi iziðite na praznik ovaj: ja još neæu iziæi na praznik ovaj, jer se moje vrijeme još nije navršilo. 9Rekavši im ovo osta u Galileji. 10A kad iziðoše braæa njegova na praznik, tada i sam iziðe, ne javno nego kao tajno. 11A Jevreji ga tražahu na praznik i govorahu: gdje je on? 12I bijahu za nj mnoge raspre u narodu: jedni govorahu da je dobar, a drugi: nije, nego vara narod. 13Ali niko ne govoraše javno za nj od straha Jevrejskoga.

Our Fathers among the Saints Epiphanios, bishop of Cyprus (403) and Germanos, Archbishop of Constantinople (740)

Saint Epiphanios was born a Jew in Palestine, but he and his sister came to faith in Christ and were baptized together. Epiphanios gave all his possessions to the poor and became a monk. He knew St Hilarion the great (October 31), and traveled among the monks of Egypt to learn their ways and wisdom. The fame of his virtue spread so widely that several attempts were made to make him bishop, first in Egypt, then in Cyprus. Whenever Epiphanios heard of these plans, he fled the area. He was finally made bishop by means of a storm: told to go to Cyprus, he took ship instead for Gaza, but a contrary wind blew his ship directly to Cyprus, where “Epiphanios fell into the hands of bishops who had come together to elect a successor to the newly-departed Bishop of Constantia, and the venerable Epiphanios was at last constrained to be consecrated, about the year 367.” (Great Horologion). He guarded his flock faithfully for the remainder of his life, working many miracles, defending the Church against the Arian heresy, and composing several books, of which the best-loved is the Panarion (from the Latin for ‘bread-box’), an exposition of the Faith and an examination of eighty heresies. He was sometimes called the ‘Five-tongued’ because he was fluent in Hebrew, Egyptian, Syriac, Greek, and Latin.

Saint Germanos was the son of a prominent family, in Constantinople. He became Metropolitan of Cyzicus, then was elevated to the throne at Constantinople in 715. It was he who baptized the infant Constantine, who for his whole life was nicknamed “Copronymos” because he defecated in the baptismal font (though he was neither the first nor the last infant to do so). At this incident, Patriarch Germanos is said to have prophesied that the child would one day bring some foul heresy upon the Church, which he did, becoming a notorious iconoclast as emperor. Germanos openly opposed the decree of the Emperor Leo the Isaurian which began the persecution of the holy icons. For this he was deposed and driven into exile in 730. He lived the rest of his life in peace. Saint Germanos is the composer of many of the Church’s hymns, notably those for the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple.

These two Saints are always commemorated together.