Acts 13.13-24 (Epistle)

13Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. 14But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. 15After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.”

16Paul stood up, and gesturing with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen. 17The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it. 18For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. 19When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years. 20After these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ 23From this man’s offspring, God has brought salvation to Israel according to his promise, 24before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel.

John 6.5-14 (Gospel)

5Jesus therefore, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

7Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may receive a little.”

8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”

10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11Jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down, likewise also of the fish as much as they desired. 12When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.” 13So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. 14When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.”

Ven. Isaac, Founder of Dalmatian Monastery

While a hermit in the east, Isaac heard that the Arians, supported by the Emperor Valens, were persecuting Orthodoxy. Leaving his seclusion, he traveled to Constantinople, where he lived in a small hut. He confronted the Emperor, telling him that if he did not cease his persecutions and embrace the true Faith, disaster would befall him. The Emperor ignored his words, and shortly thereafter was killed in a battle with the Goths. The Emperor Theodosius the Great then came to the throne, restoring peace to the Church. Hearing of Isaac and his prophecy, the Emperor sent for Isaac and prostrated before him. Isaac wished to return to the desert, but was persuaded to remain as a monk in Constantinople. He took part in the Second Ecumenical Council, where he shone in zeal for the Faith; the Third Ecumenical Council made him archimandrite over all the monasteries in the City. (Some say that the monastery founded by him is called the Dalmatian Monastery because it was built by Dalmatus, a wealthy nobleman of the City; others say that it was founded by St Isaac himself and later took its name from Abbot Dalmatus, who succeeded Isaac). In his own lifetime St Isaac was known far and wide as a wonderworker and one endowed with the gift of prophecy.

Saint Isaac is also commemorated in August 3, along with Dalmatus and his son Faustus.

St Macrina, grandmother of St Basil the Great (4th c.)

“The grandmother of St Basil the Great, she was outstanding for her intellect and piety. She was a disciple of St Gregory the Wonder-worker of Neocaesarea. In the reign of Diocletian, she abandoned her home and hid in the forests and desert places with her husband, Basil. Although their home was confiscated, they felt no pangs of regret. Stripped of everything except their love for God, they settled in an ancient forest and spent seven years there. By God’s providence, goats would come down from the mountains and provide them with food. They both died peacefully in the fourth century, after great sufferings for the Christian faith.” (Prologue)