2 Corinthians 3.4-11 (Epistle)

4Avem încrederea aceasta tare în Dumnezeu, prin Hristos. 5Nu că noi, prin noi înşine, suntem în stare să gândim ceva ca venind de la noi. Destoinicia noastră, dimpotrivă, vine de la Dumnezeu, 6care ne-a şi făcut în stare să fim slujitori ai unui legământ nou, nu al slovei, ci al Duhului; căci slova omoară, dar Duhul dă viaţa. 7Acum, dacă slujba aducătoare de moarte, scrisă şi săpată în pietre, era cu atâta slavă, încât fiii lui Israel nu puteau să-şi pironească ochii asupra feţei lui Moise, din pricina strălucirii feţei lui, măcar că strălucirea aceasta era trecătoare, 8cum n-ar fi cu slavă mai degrabă slujba Duhului? 9Dacă slujba aducătoare de osândă a fost slăvită, cu cât mai mult o întrece în slavă slujba aducătoare de neprihănire? 10Şi, în privinţa aceasta, ce a fost slăvit nici n-a fost slăvit, din pricina slavei care o întrece cu mult. 11În adevăr, dacă ce era trecător era cu slavă, cu cât mai mult va rămâne în slavă ce este netrecător!

Matthew 23.29-39 (Gospel)

29Vai de voi, cărturari şi farisei făţarnici! Pentru că voi zidiţi mormintele prorocilor, împodobiţi gropile celor neprihăniţi 30şi ziceţi: „Dacă am fi trăit noi în zilele părinţilor noştri, nu ne-am fi unit cu ei la vărsarea sângelui prorocilor.” 31Prin aceasta mărturisiţi despre voi înşivă că sunteţi fiii celor ce au omorât pe proroci. 32Voi, dar, umpleţi măsura părinţilor voştri! 33Şerpi, pui de năpârci! Cum veţi scăpa de pedeapsa gheenei? 34De aceea, iată, vă trimit proroci, înţelepţi şi cărturari. Pe unii din ei îi veţi omorî şi răstigni, pe alţii îi veţi bate în sinagogile voastre şi-i veţi prigoni din cetate în cetate; 35ca să vină asupra voastră tot sângele nevinovat care a fost vărsat pe pământ, de la sângele neprihănitului Abel până la sângele lui Zaharia, fiul lui Barachia, pe care l-aţi omorât între Templu şi altar. 36Adevărat vă spun că toate acestea vor veni peste neamul acesta. 37Ierusalime, Ierusalime, care omori pe proroci şi ucizi cu pietre pe cei trimişi la tine! De câte ori am vrut să strâng pe copiii tăi cum îşi strânge găina puii sub aripi, şi n-aţi vrut! 38Iată că vi se lasă casa pustie;

39căci vă spun că de acum încolo nu Mă veţi mai vedea până când veţi zice: „Binecuvântat este Cel ce vine în Numele Domnului!”

Sts Isaac, Dalmatus and Faustus, ascetics of the Dalmatian Monastery, Constantinople (5th c.)

St Isaac is also commemorated May 30; see his life there. St Dalmatus was a soldier in the Imperial army, but along with his son Faustus left all to become a monk at the monastery founded by St Isaac. He was present at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in 431; there he labored zealously for the Orthodox faith against Patriarch Nestorius. He was made Archimandrite of all the monasteries in Constantinople, and reposed in peace, having lived for more than eighty years.

Holy Myrrh-bearer Salome

She was the mother of the Apostles James and John, the wife of Zebedee, and the daughter of Joseph the Betrothed, who was a widower when he became betrothed to the Mother of God. She was a disciple of the Lord and one of the Myrrh-bearing women who first brought tidings of the Resurrection to the world.

Our Holy Father Antony the Roman (1148)

He was born in Rome in 1086 to wealthy and pious parents. When the Roman Church broke away from the Orthodox around that time, those who continued to uphold Orthodoxy, Antony among them, were persecuted. Antony gave away his worldly possessions and fled to a small rocky island in the sea, where he spent fourteen months in asceticism. During this time, the island miraculously floated like a ship to Novgorod. There, Archbishop Nikita received the young monk and helped him to build a church to the holy Theotokos, which in time became a monastery. St Anthony served there as abbot for many years, reposing in peace in 1148.

Holy Martyr Razhden the Persian, Protomartyr of Georgia (457)

Razhden was of a noble Persian family, and a Zoroastrian. When the holy King Vakhtang Gorgasali of Georgia married Balendukht, the daughter of the Persian king Hormizd III, she took Razhden with her to Georgia. In Kartli he became a Christian, and King Vakhtang gave him an estate and made him a military adviser and commander. Angered that Vakhtang was a Christian, the Persian king Peroz (reigned 457–484) invaded Georgia with an enormous army, and Razhden fought bravely against him. Peroz ordered him taken captive. He was brought bound before the King, who greeted him with feigned tenderness and asked why he had turned from the faith of his fathers; and Razhden declared without fear that Christianity is the only true faith, and Christ the only true Saviour of mankind. Peroz had him beaten without mercy: his teeth were knocked out, he was dragged across jagged rocks, and he was cast into prison in heavy chains.

When the Georgian nobles heard of his sufferings, they came to Peroz and asked him to set Razhden free. Peroz released him on his vow to return. Razhden went to Mtskheta, took leave of his family and of King Vakhtang and, though those who loved him begged him not to, went back to Peroz. When he still would not return to the religion of his fathers, Peroz sent him to the Persian camp at Tsromi, in central Georgia, and secretly ordered its commander to make him renounce Christ or put him to death. To these appeals Razhden replied: “Your flattery and bribes are insulting to me. With joy I am prepared to endure every suffering for the sake of Christ!” The Persians condemned him with the words “If he hopes in the Crucified One, then he also is fit to suffer crucifixion!” They crucified him and shot him with arrows. His last words were “Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit!” He died on the cross in 457. That night Christians took his body down from the cross and buried it in secret. Some years later King Vakhtang translated his relics from Tsromi to Nikozi and laid them in the cathedral he had built there, and he built churches in his honour at Ujarma and Samgori. He is the first martyr of the Church of Georgia. (Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze, The Lives of the Georgian Saints)