1 Corinthians 10.12-22 (Epistle)

12Jer koji misli da stoji neka se èuva da ne padne. 13Drugo iskušenje ne doðe na vas osim èovjeèijega; ali je vjeran Bog koji vas neæe pustiti da se iskušate veæma nego što možete, nego æe uèiniti s iskušanjem i kraj, da možete podnijeti. 14Zato, ljubazna braæo moja, bjegajte od idolopoklonstva. 15Kao mudrima govorim; sudite vi šta govorim. 16Èaša blagoslova koju blagosiljamo nije li zajednica krvi Hristove? Hljeb koji lomimo nije li zajednica tijela Hristova? 17Jer smo jedan hljeb, jedno tijelo mnogi; jer svi u jednome hljebu imamo zajednicu. 18Gledajte Izrailja po tijelu: koji jedu žrtve nijesu li zajednièari oltara? 19Šta dakle govorim? da je idol što? ili idolska žrtva da je što? 20Nije; nego što žrtvuju neznabošci, da ðavolima žrtvuju, a ne Bogu; a ja neæu da ste vi zajednièari s ðavolima. 21Ne možete piti èaše Gospodnje i èaše ðavolske; ne možete imati zajednice u trpezi Gospodnjoj i u trpezi ðavolskoj. 22Ili da prkosimo Gospodu? Eda li smo mi jaèi od njega?

Matthew 16.20-24 (Gospel)

20Tada zaprijeti Isus uèenicima svojijem da nikom ne kazuju da je on Hristos. 21Od tada poèe Isus kazivati uèenicima svojijem da njemu valja iæi u Jerusalim, i mnogo postradati od starješina i od glavara sveštenièkijeh i književnika, i da æe ga ubiti, i treæi dan da æe ustati. 22I uzevši ga Petar poèe ga odvraæati govoreæi: Bože saèuvaj! to neæe biti od tebe. 23A on se obrnuvši reèe Petru: idi od mene sotono; ti si mi sablazan; jer ne misliš što je Božije nego ljudsko. 24Tada Isus reèe uèenicima svojijem: ako ko hoæe za mnom iæi, neka se odreèe sebe, i uzme krst svoj i ide za mnom.

Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel

On this day all the many visitations and miracles of the holy Archangel, recorded in Holy Scripture and ever since, are commemorated. This feast duplicates the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel that is celebrated on March 26, the day after Annunciation; it is thought that it was added to the calendar here some time in the ninth century, so that it could be celebrated more festively outside of Great Lent.

Holy Martyr Golinduc of Persia (6th c.)

She was a Persian noblewoman during the reign of Chosroës II (590-628). Through a vision of an angel, she came to belief in Christ and received holy baptism; her name in baptism was Maria. Her furious husband reported her to King Chosroës, who had her thrown into a foul dungeon known as Oblivion for eighteen years. During these years she was repeatedly told to renounce Christ and was tormented in many ways. She was thrown to venomous snakes, which refused to harm her. Some lawless young men were sent to her cell to defile her, but God made her invisible to them. Many Persians, amazed and inspired by her patient sufferings, accepted Christ. She was finally set free through the visitation of an angel, traveled to Jerusalem and Constantinople, and reposed in peace.

She is commemorated July 12 on the Slavic calendar.

Saint Julian, Bishop of Cenomanis (Le Mans) (1st c.)

He was made bishop by the Apostle Peter and sent to Gaul as a missionary. Some believe that he was Simon the Leper, whom the Lord healed, later named Julian in Baptism. In Gaul, despite great difficulty and privation, he converted many to faith in Christ and worked many miracles — healing the sick, driving out demons, and even raising the dead. In time the local prince, Defenson, was baptised along with many of his subjects. He reposed in peace.

Repose of Photios Kontoglou (1965) (June 30 OC)

He is called “Blessed Photios” by many, but has not yet been officially glorified. In the twentieth century, he almost singlehandedly restored the practice of true Byzantine iconography to the Church. He was born in 1895 in one of the many Greek towns of Asia Minor. He and his family fled to Greece during the “exchange of populations” of 1923, when more than a million Greeks were driven from Turkey and resettled in Greece. He studied to be a secular artist, but was increasingly drawn to Byzantine iconography, the practice of which had almost disappeared: he learned the iconographic ethos and technique by copying ancient models and studying with the few monks on the Holy Mountain who still practiced true iconography. Initially his work was scorned, since secular western standards had come to dominate even the art of the Church. Slowly, through his tireless labors, an understanding of Orthodoxy iconography was restored to the Church, not only in Greece, but throughout the world. Though married, he lived his life in poverty, often donating his work to churches or performing it for nominal fees. His deeply spiritual writings are greatly honored in Greece, though most remain untranslated into English.