1 Corinthians 1.3-9 (Epistle)

3Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

4I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Matthew 19.3-12 (Gospel)

3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

10His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 11But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. 12For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Martyr Eusignius of Antioch (362)

He was a soldier in the Imperial army beginning under the pagan Emperor Maximian. He was a general under Constantine, and saw the Cross that appeared to the Emperor. After sixty years of military service, he retired to his home town and devoted himself to prayer, fasting and good works. A townsman, angry with a judgment that Eusignius had made to settle a dispute, denounced him to Julian the Apostate as a Christian. Summoned before Julian, he vigorously rebuked the Emperor for his apostasy from the Faith; for this he was beheaded, in advanced old age, in 362.

Holy Hieromartyr Fabian, Pope of Rome (250)

He was born in Rome and became a humble village priest; but when he was attending the election of a new Pope, a white dove was seen to descend on him and he was chosen to be Pope. Though humble and gentle, he was fearless for the faith, gathering the bodies of the martyrs, giving them burial, and building churches and shrines over their relics. According to the Prologue, he baptized the Emperor Philip and his son, also named Philip, as well as the senator Pontius; thus there were Christian emperors before St Constantine the Great. When Decius became Emperor, the persecution of Christians returned with terrible force, and Fabian was beheaded.

Righteous Nonna (374), Mother of St Gregory the Theologian

In her own lifetime she was a wonderworker through her holy prayers. She brought her husband back from idolatry to Christian faith; he later became bishop of Nazianzus. Her son Gregory’s profound and devout writings bespeak the Christian upbringing she gave him. By her prayers she once saved St Gregory from perishing in a storm. She was a deaconess, and reposed in peace in 374.