Luke 4.16-22 (Gospel)

16He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, 18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, 19and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

20He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

22All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Ephesians 5.33-6.9 (Epistle)

33Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise: 3“that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.”

4You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

5Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ, 6not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men, 8knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive the same good again from the Lord, whether he is bound or free.

9You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him.

Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishop of Sinope

He was a zealous, wise and wonder-working bishop in his birthplace, Sinope, which lies on the southern shore of the Black Sea. For bringing many idolators to faith in Christ, he was hated by the pagans. He was arrested by the governor Africanus, subjected to various tortures,and finally scalded to death in a bath-house. He contested for the Faith during the reign of the Emperor Trajan.

Venerable Cosmas, desert-dweller of Zographou, Mt Athos (1323)

“Saint Cosmas came from Bulgaria where his devout parents provided him with a good education in Slavonic and Greek. They wanted him to marry but he was drawn by the love of Christ and, unknown to them, made his way to the Holy Mountain of Athos to become a monk at the Bulgarian monastery of Zographou. On the feast of the Annunciation at the Monastery of Vatopedi, he saw a woman among those serving in the Church and in the refectory, and he was grieved at first to observe this breach of the monastic rule, but overjoyed when he realized that it was the Mother of God who had appeared to him in this way.

“He was clothed in the holy angelic Habit and, after some time, was ordained priest. One day, as he was praying before the icon of the Mother of God, asking her with tears how to achieve his salvation, he heard a voice saying, ‘Let my servant withdraw to the desert outside the monastery.’ He was obedient to the will of God and, with the blessing of his Abbot, lived in silence from then on. Some years later, he was found worthy of the grace of discernment of thoughts and of beholding things happening elsewhere, as well as of other spiritual gifts. In the course of many years, he was the spiritual helper of a great number of monks. At the end of his life, Christ appeared to him saying that he would shortly have a great trial to endure from the Devil. Indeed, the prince of demons made his appearance next day with a host of his servants bewailing and bemoaning their inability to annihilate their great enemy Cosmas, who had held them in check for so long and gained possession, by his virtue, of the throne in Heaven that had once been Lucifer’s. Taking a heavy stick, the demon beat the Saint so violently that he left him half-dead. As God allowed, Saint Cosmas died in peace two days later, on 22 September 1323. When the fathers came from the monastery to bury him, the wild animals gathered round. They kept silent until the end of the service, but howled unusually loud as his body was covered with earth. Then having paid their respects, they made off into the wilderness. Forty days later, the monks came to take up the body of Saint Cosmas and translate it to the monastery, but it was no longer in the grave. Where it now is God alone knows.” (Synaxarion)