The holy martyrs Acepsimas the bishop, Joseph the priest, and Aeithalas the deacon: Acepsimas was eighty years old when the Persian king Sapor began the persecution of Christians in which Acepsimas was seized. He was interrogated, thrown into prison with Joseph and Aeithalas, and were killed when they refused to worship pagan idols in the 4th century.
The dedication of the Church of the holy great martyr George in Lydda, where his relics are kept: This is the anniversary of the translation of the relics of the Great Martyr from Nicomedia to Lydda in Palestine. In the time of the emperor Constantine the Great, a beautiful church was built to house the relics. It remains a place of great pilgrimage.
Your martyrs, O Lord our God, in their struggles received incorruptible crowns from You. With Your strength, they brought down the tyrants and broke the cowardly valor of demons. Through their prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.
O victorious Great martyr George, projector of the poor, liberator of prisoners, physician of the sick, and champion of kings, pray to Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.
O wise one, you offered the Holy Mysteries sinlessly, and you became an acceptable sacrifice, O God-blessed one. Since you gloriously drank from the cup of Christ, holy Acepsimas, together with your companions who suffered with you, pray unceasingly for all of us.
We the faithful hurry to the shelter of your certain and swift protection, and we make this petition to you, O passion-bearer of Christ: Deliver from every assault of the enemy and from dangers and evil those who sing to you. So that we may cry out to you: Rejoice, O martyr George!
Ephesians 2: 14-22
Brothers and sisters: It is [Christ] who is our peace, and who made the two of us one by breaking down the barrier of hostility that kept us apart. In his own flesh he abolished the law with its commands and precepts; to create in himself one new man from us who had been two and to make peace, reconciling both of us to God in one body through his cross, which put that enmity to death. He came and “announced the good news of peace to you who were far off, and to those who were near”; through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
This means that you are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord; in him you are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.
Luke 8: 41-56
At that time a man named Jairus, who was chief of the synagogue, came up and fell at the feet of Jesus, begging that he come to his home because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus went, the crowds almost crushed him. A woman with a hemorrhage of twelve years’ duration, incurable at any doctor’s hands, came up behind him and touched the tassel of his cloak. Immediately her bleeding stopped. Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” Everyone disclaimed doing it, while Peter said, “Lord, the crowds are milling and pressing around you!” Jesus insisted, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone forth from me.” When the woman saw that her act had not gone unnoticed, she came forward trembling. Falling at his feet, she related before the whole assemblage why she had touched him and how she had been instantly cured. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, it is your faith that has cured you. Now go in peace.”
He was still speaking when a man came from the ruler’s house with the announcement, “Your daughter is dead; do not bother the Teacher further.” Jesus heard this, and his response was: “Fear is useless; what is needed is trust and her life will be spared.” Once he had arrived at the house, he permitted no one to enter with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s parents. While everyone wept and lamented her, Jesus said, “ Stop crying for she is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at him, being certain she was dead. Jesus took her by the hand and spoke these words: “Get up, child.” The breath of life returned to her and she got up immediately; whereupon he told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded, but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Saturday, November 2 –
