The holy bishop martyr Autonomous fled Italy during the Diocletian persecution and settled in Asian Bithynia at a place called Soreoi. There, he converted many to Christianity, and built a church for them dedicated to the holy Archangel Michael. Autonomous lived in the home of a devout Christian, Cornelius, whom he first ordained as a presbyter, and then consecrated to the episcopacy. Not far from Soreoi there was a place called Limnae, inhabited entirely by pagans. St. Autonomous went to this place and soon enlightened many with the Gospel of Christ. This embittered the pagans, and one day they rushed into the Church of the Holy Archangel Michael in Soreoi during the divine service and slew Autonomous in the sanctuary, and killed many other Christians in the church.
The Church calls us to celebrate your holy memory with faith, O splendid and glorious Autonomous, who pleased the Trinity. She rejoices and praises you. Pray for us to God, the only Lover of Mankind.
O most wise one, you worthily offered the Divine Mysteries, You became an acceptable offering, O God-blessed one. You drank from the cup of Christ, O most glorious one, O light of the whole world, pray unceasingly for all of us.
Ephesians 4: 14-19
Brothers and sisters: Let us, then, be children no longer, tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine that originates in human trickery and skill in proposing error. Rather, let us profess the truth in love and grow to the full maturity of Christ the head. Through him the whole body grows, and with the proper functioning of the members joined firmly together by each supporting ligament, builds itself up to love. I declare and solemnly attest in the Lord that you must no longer live as the pagans do–their minds empty, their understanding darkened. They are estranged from a life in God because of their ignorance and their resistance; without remorse they have abandoned themselves to lust and the indulgence of every sort of lewd conduct.
Mark 11: 27-33
At that time Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple precincts the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him, “On what authority are you doing these things? Who has given you the power to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you a question. If you give me an answer, I will tell you on what authority I do the things I do. Tell me, was John’s baptism of divine origin or merely from men?” They thought to themselves, “If we say ‘divine,’ he will ask, “Then why did you not put faith in it?’ But can we say ‘merely human’?” (They had reason to fear the people, who all regarded John as a true prophet.) So their answer to Jesus was, “We do not know.” In turn, Jesus said to them, “Then neither will I tell you on what authority I do the things I do.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Wednesday, September 11 –
