Acts 8.26-39 (Epistle)

26Then an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”

27He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship. 28He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.”

30Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31He said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He begged Philip to come up and sit with him. 32Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he doesn’t open his mouth. 33In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”

34The eunuch answered Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?”

35Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus. 36As they went on the way, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”

37 38He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

John 6.40-44 (Gospel)

40This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.” 42They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”

43Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up in the last day.

Martyr Basiliscus, Bishop of Comana

He was from Amasea on the Black Sea, and was a nephew of St Theodore the Tyro (February 17). He was a fellow-martyr of Eutropius and Cleonicus (March 3), but is commemorated because, after they were crucified, he was shut in prison. A new governor replaced the one who had killed Basiliscus’ companions, and Basiliscus prayed in tears that he not be deprived of a martyr’s death. The Lord Jesus appeared to him, promised that his prayer would be answered, and told him to go to his village to say farewell to his mother and brothers. The new governor, Agrippa, sent soldiers to the village and had Basiliscus brought back to him. On the way to Amasea, many wonders were worked throught the Saint, and many were brought to Christ. Brought before the governor, Basiliscus again refused to worship the idols or deny Christ: he was beheaded in Comana and his body thrown into the river. Upon the holy Saint’s execution, Agrippa instantly went mad, remaining so until he smeared himself with some of the Martyr’s blood, which immediately healed him. Convinced by this wonder of the truth of the Faith, Agrippa was baptised. All of this happened during the reign of Diocletian.

Righteous Melchizedek, king of Salem.

He was a “priest of the most high God” (Genesis 14:18-20), who blessed our Forefather Abraham and “brought forth bread and wine,” prefiguring the Holy Eucharist, centuries before the Law was given to Moses or Christ became incarnate. The Epistle to the Hebrews (ch. 7) reveals Melchizedek, the Priest-King, to be a type of Christ.

Commemoration of the Second Ecumenical Council (381).

The council was called by the Emperor Theodosius the Great, primarily to clarify the Church’s teaching on the Holy Spirit. Macedonius, bishop of Constantinople, had falsely taught that the Spirit is a creature rather than a Divine Person “Who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.” Partly to correct this error, the council revised and expanded the text of the Nicene Creed into the form that we know today.