2 Corinthians 4.1-6 (Epistle)

1Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint. 2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying, 4in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them. 5For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake, 6seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 24.13-28 (Gospel)

13But he who endures to the end will be saved. 14This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house. 18Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes. 19But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days! 20Pray that your flight will not be in the winter nor on a Sabbath, 21for then there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be. 22Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.

23“Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it. 24For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

25“Behold, I have told you beforehand.

26“If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it. 27For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures gather together.

Martyr Dometius of Persia

“Born a pagan in Persia in the time of the Emperor Constantine, he came to know the Christian faith as a young man, forsook his paganism and received baptism. He was so enchanted with the true Faith that he left all worldly things and became a monk in a monastery near the town of Nisibis. He lived among the brethren for some time, then withdrew into silence, going to Archimandrite Urbel, of whom it is said that, for sixty years, he never ate anything cooked. Urbel made him a deacon, but, when he wanted to make him a priest, Dometius fled to a distant mountain and settled in a cave there. He attained such perfection through fasting, prayer, vigils and meditation that he was able to heal the sick. When Julian the Apostate came to that place, he heard of Dometius and sent men to wall him up alive in the came, with two of his disciples. Thus died this saint of God, in 363, and went to the Kingdom of God.” (Prologue). The Great Horologion says that Dometius and his disciples were stoned to death.

Holy Martyrs Marinus the Soldier and Asterius the Senator (260)

Marinus was a soldier in the Roman army, serving in Caesarea in Palestine. During a persecution under the Emperor Gallienus, he was arrested and beheaded for his Christian faith. The senator Asterius, also a Christian, was present at his execution. Asterius took off his senatorial toga, wrapped the martyr’s body in it, and carried the holy body away to bury it. For this he too was beheaded.

Our Holy Father Or (Horus) of the Thebaid (390)

He was a native of Egypt; his name is that of one of the Egyptian gods. He fled to the desert to live as a hermit, but after many years he became a well-known spiritual guide and founded several monastic communities. A first-hand account of him, by Rufinus, says ‘In appearance he is like an angel of God; an old man of ninety with a long snow-white beard. The impression left by his presence is delightful. His gaze is imbued with more-than-human radiance.’ He received communion every day. So detached was he from the world that his disciples once had to remind him that Pascha had come. Hearing this, he went outside, raised his hands to heaven and prayed without ceasing for three days. When he had done he said to his disciples ‘This is the monk’s celebration of Pascha: the lifting up of the mind to unity with God.’ He reposed in peace at a great age.

Our Holy Father Pimen the Much-Ailing (1110)

“He was sickly from his youth, and from his youth desired monasticism. Brought to the Monastery of the Caves for healing, he remained there till his death. He prayed more for sickness than for health. One night, angels appeared to him and tonsured him as a monk, telling him at the same time that he would be sick until his death, and would be healed at that moment. And so it was; he lay sick for twenty years, working wonders even during his lifetime and being possessed of a rare gift of discernment. At the time of his death, he got up from his bed completely healed, immediately prepared his grave and entered into rest in the Lord, in the year 1110.” (Prologue)