3[1] Kings 8.22-23, 27-30 (Vespers)

22And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: 23And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: 27But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? 28Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: 29That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. 30And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

Proverbs 3.19-34 (Vespers)

19The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 20By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

21My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

27Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. 29Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

31Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 32For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

33The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. 34Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

Proverbs 9.1-11 (Vespers)

1Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: 2She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. 3She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, 4Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 5Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. 6Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. 7He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. 8Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 11For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

2 Corinthians 8.7-15 (Epistle)

7Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. 8I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. 9For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 10And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. 11Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. 12For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. 13For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: 14But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: 15As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

Hebrews 3.1-4 (Epistle, Church)

1Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; 2Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. 3For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. 4For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

Mark 3.6-12 (Gospel)

6And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. 7But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judæa, 8And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. 9And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. 10For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. 11And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 12And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

Matthew 16.13-18 (Gospel, Church)

13When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Commemoration of the Founding of the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulchre) at Jerusalem (335)

The Church is located on Golgotha, where our Lord was crucified and buried. The true Cross and the place of the Resurrection were covered over by those hostile to Christ and His Apostles, and in the reign of Hadrian a temple to Aphrodite was built over the holy sites. St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, personally commanded and oversaw the excavations that restored the site and recovered the Cross itself. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was begun at the Empress Helena’s command, but she reposed before it could be completed. The Church was completed by Constantine and consecrated on this date in 335. Makarios archbishop of Jerusalem, presided at the consecration and also exalted the precious Cross (September 14). It is at this church that the miracle of the Holy Fire occurs every Pascha.

Holy Hieromartyr Cornelius the Centurion (1st c. )

This is the Cornelius who received St Peter into his household in Caesarea (Acts ch.10). He was then instructed in the Faith and baptised by St Peter, though he had been a pagan and a Gentile: a great turning point in the growth of the Church, for before this time many (including St Peter) had believed that the Church was meant only for the Jews. Tradition holds that St Cornelius later became a bishop and died a martyr.

Holy Great Martyr Ketevan, Queen of Georgia (1624)

In the seventeenth century, the Kingdom of Georgia was cruelly pressed by the Ottoman Empire on one side and Persia, under Shah Abbas the Great, on the other. King Theimuraz was taken captive by the Persians during an invasion and held captive in the fortress of Shiraz until, after many tortures, he was strangled.

The King’s mother, Queen Ketevan, travelled to the Persian court at Shiraz along with her grandsons Levan and Alexander, to plead with the Shah to spare the Kingdom. The Shah agreed, but the three were kept as hostages, where all were cruelly tortured.

Queen Ketevan endured ten years of captivity, throughout which the Shah attempted to convert her to Islam, first by persuasion and threats, then by torture. The Queen refused every effort to drive her into apostasy, and before each new torture would make the sign of the Cross and say ‘In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ At the end a brazier of burning coals was fixed to her head and, in the midst of her extreme torment, she was strangled with a bow-string on September 13 1624. After her glorious martyrdom a divine light surrounded her tomb.