Our venerable father Joannicus the Great left the military after more than twenty years in arms to live as a monk and pursue solitary life in different forests of Mt. Olympus. He was accustomed to end his prayer with these words: “God my hope, Christ my refuge, Holy Spirit my protector. He fell asleep in the Lord in the coenobium of the Antidium in Bithynia in the year 846. 

The holy martyr Nicander, bishop of Myra, and the priest Hermas were both ordained by the Apostle Titus. They were distinguished by a great zeal for the Faith and for their great labors in winning pagans for Christ. Because of this, they were tortured in various ways and eventually were buried alive during the first century.

Troparion – Joannicus

You fought like a brave soldier against the hostile flesh, and you battled spiritual enemies by deep fasting. You vanquished legions of devils by humility and in the end have shown yourself a great conqueror. You received power to work wonders from God. O venerable Joannicus, now pray to Him to save our souls.

Troparion – Martyrs

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. 

Kontakion – Joannius

You became a brilliant star over the earth, guiding those in the fog of passions. You became the mightiest physician, for you received the grace to heal. Grant the grace of healing to us who petition you, that we may ever sing to you: Rejoice, O Father Joannicus.

Kontakion – Martyrs

You were enlightened with the anointing of truth, and you were illumined by the blood of martyrdom. With joy you have taken up your place among the angels, O glorious ones. Therefore, we celebrate your precious memory today O holy ones, praying to obtain purification through your prayers. 

Epistle

Colossians 4: 10-18

    Brothers and sisters: Aristarchus, who is a prisoner along with me, sends you greetings. So does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about him: if he comes to you, make him welcome. Jesus known also as Justus sends greetings. These are the only circumcised ones among those who are working with me for the kingdom of God. They have been a great comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, sends greetings. He is a servant of Christ Jesus who is always pleading earnestly in prayer that you stand firm, that you be perfect and have full conviction about whatever pertains to God’s will. I can certainly testify how solicitous he is for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. Luke, our dear physician, sends greetings. So does Demas.

    Give our best wishes to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nymphas and the assembly that meets at his house. Once this letter has been read to you, see that it is read in the assembly of the Laodiceans as well, and that you yourselves read the letter that is coming from Laodicea. To Archippus say, “Take care to discharge the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

    This greeting is from Paul – in my own hand! Remember my chains. Grace be with you. 

Gospel

Luke 12: 2-12

    The Lord said to his disciples: “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nothing hidden that will not be made known. Everything you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight; what you have whispered in locked rooms will be proclaimed from the rooftops. I say to you who are my friends: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and can do no more. I will show you whom you ought to fear. Fear him who has power to cast into Gehenna after he has killed. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for a few pennies? Yet not one of them is neglected by God. In very truth, even the hairs of your head are counted! Fear nothing, then. You are worth more than a flock of sparrows. 

    “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men–the Son of Man will acknowledge him before the angels of God. But the man who has disowned me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of the angels of God. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. When they bring you before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say. The Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment all that should be said.” 

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

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. 

Troparion – Martyrs

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. 

Troparion – George

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.

Kontakion – Martyrs

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.

Kontakion – George

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!

Epistle

Colossians 4: 2-9

    Brothers and sisters: Pray perseveringly, be attentive to prayer, and pray in a spirit of thanksgiving. Pray for us, too, that God may provide us with an opening to proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am a prisoner. Pray that I may speak it clearly, as I must. Be prudent in dealing with outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your speech be always gracious and in good taste, and strive to respond properly to all who address you. 

    Tychicus, our dear brother, our faithful minister and fellow slave in the Lord, will give you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this purpose, and to comfort your hearts. With him is Onesimus, our dear and faithful brother, who is one of you. They will tell you all that has happened here.

Gospel

Luke 11: 47-54

    The Lord said to the lawyers: “Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets, but it was your fathers who murdered them. You show that you stand behind the deeds of your fathers: they committed the murders and you erect the tombs. That is why the wisdom of God has said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of these they will persecute and kill’; so that this generation will have to account for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world. Their guilt stretches from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who met his death between the altar and the sanctuary! Yes, I tell you, this generation will have to account for it. Woe to you lawyers! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not gained access, yet you have stopped those who wished to enter!” After he had left this gathering, the scribes and Pharisees began to manifest fierce hostility to him and to make him speak on a multitude of questions, setting traps to catch him in his speech.

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

The holy apostles Stachys, Amplius, and their companions were members of the Seventy Apostles. Stachys was the helper of St. Andrew the First Called, who made him bishop of Byzantium. Amplius and Urban were also fellow-workers with St. Andrew, and were made bishops of Lydda and Macedonia, respectively. Narcissus was made Bishop of Athens by the Apostle Philip, and Apelles was made Bishop of Heraklion in Trachius. 

The holy martyr Epimachus of Alexandria was a native of Egypt. For a long time he lived in seclusion on Mt. Pelusium. During a persecution against Christians in Alexandria (about the year 250), St. Epimachus in his fervent zeal came into the city, destroyed pagan idols, and fearlessly confessed Christ. For this the saint was put to torture. Among the people watching the torture was a woman who was blind in one eye. A drop of blood from the martyr healed her infirmity. After fierce torture, the saint was beheaded by the sword. 

Troparion

O holy apostles, intercede with the merciful God that He may grant our souls forgiveness of sins.

Troparion – Martyr

O Lord our God, Your holy martyr Epimachus has deserved the crown of immortality on account of his good fight. Armed with Your strength, he has vanquished his persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through his supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.

Kontakion

Let us properly praise the pure vessels of the All-Holy Spirit, and glorious rays of the sun, the wise apostles Amplius, Urban, Aristobulus, Apelles, Narcissus, and Stachys, who the grace of our God has joined together.

Kontakion – Martyr

You were an inspired pillar and a witness to the truth. You conquered the bodiless foe through bodily torment and received the crown from Christ. Thus, O blessed one, we cry out to you: pray unceasingly, O glorious one, to grant us great mercy. 

Epistle

Colossians 2: 13-21

    Brothers and sisters: Even when you were dead in sin and your flesh was uncircumcised, God gave you new life in company with Christ. He pardoned all our sins. He canceled the bond that stood against us with all its claims, snatching it up and nailing it to the cross. Thus did God disarm the principalities and powers. He made a public show of them and, leading them off captive, triumphed in the person of Christ. 

    No one is free, therefore, to pass judgment on you in terms of what you eat or drink or what you do on yearly or monthly feasts, or on the sabbath. All these were but a shadow of things to come; the reality is the body of Christ. Let no one rob you of your prize by insisting on servility in the workshop of angels. Such a one takes his stand on his own experience; he is inflated with empty pride by his human reflections when he should be in close touch with the head. The whole body, mutually supported and upheld by joints and sinews, achieves a growth from this source which comes from God.

    If with Christ you have died to cosmic forces, why should you be bound by rules that say, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” as though you were still living a life bounded by this world?

Gospel

Luke 11: 29-33

    At that time while the crowds pressed around him, Jesus began to speak to them in these words: “This is an evil age. It seeks a sign. But no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was a sign for the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be a sign for the present age. The queen of the South will rise at the judgment along with the men of this generation, and she will condemn them. She came from the farthest corner of the world to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, but you have a great Solomon here. At the judgment, the citizens of Nineveh will rise along with the present generation, and they will condemn it. For at the preaching of Jonah they reformed, but you have a greater than Jonah here. One who lights a lamp does not put it in the cellar or under a bushel basket, but rather on a lampstand, so that they who come in may see the light.”

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com

The holy venerable martyr Anastasia was born in Rome to wealthy parents, but she was left as an orphan at the age of three. She was taken to a women’s monastery to live, under the guidance of Hegumena Sophia. When she was seventeen, the pagan governor summoned her to defend herself, which she did with great eloquence. She was stripped, tortured, and finally mutilated by the guards. This was during the persecution of the emperor Decius (249-251). 

Our venerable father Abraham the hermit married under pressure from his parents, but then he fled into the desert to live as a hermit. For fifty years he did so, faithfully keeping to the ascetic life which had called him. He died at the age of seventy in 360 at Edessa in Osrhoene in Mesopotamia. St. Ephraem the deacon recorded the deeds of this remarkable man. 

Troparion – Anastasia

Your lamb Anastasia, O Jesus, cries out in a loud voice: I love you, my Bridegroom; I seek You with painful longing; I am crucified with You; in Your baptism, I am buried with You; I suffer for You that I may reign with You; and I die for You that I may live with You. Receive me as a spotless sacrifice immolated with love for You. by her prayers, O merciful One, save our souls.

Troparion – Abraham

In you, O father, the divine image was strictly preserved; taking up your cross, you followed Christ. You taught us by example how to spurn the flesh, for it passes away, and how to care for the soul, which is immortal. Therefore, O venerable Abraham, your soul rejoices with the angels. 

Kontakion – Anastasia

O venerable Anastasia, you were purified by the waters of virginity and washed by the blood of your martyrdom. Wherefore you grant healing to those who suffer from sickness, and salvation to those who come to you with love, for it is Christ who bestows upon you this power, Christ ever-generous with His grace.

Kontakion – Abraham

In the body, you were like an angel on earth; and by your asceticism, you were like a tree well-planted: you grew in beauty, being watered with self-renunciation. Father Abraham, you exorcised the devil by your tears; wherefore you resembled a vessel of the Holy Spirit. 

Epistle

2 Corinthians 3: 12-18

    Brothers and sisters: Our hope being [the glory that endures], we act with full confidence. We are not like Moses, who used to hide his face with a veil so that the Israelites could not see the final fading of that glory. Their minds, or course, were dulled. To this very day, when the old covenant is read the veil remains unlifted; it is only in Christ that it is taken away. Even now, when Moses is read a veil covers their understanding. “But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil will be removed.” The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image by the Lord who is the Spirit. 

Gospel

Luke 8: 16-21

    The Lord said, “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket or under a bed; he puts it on a lampstand so that whoever comes in can see it. There is nothing hidden that will not be exposed, nothing concealed that will not be known and brought to light. Take heed, therefore, how you hear: to the man who has, more will be given; and he who has not, will lose even the little he thinks he has.”

    His mother and brothers came to be with him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He told them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act upon it.”

Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com