Matthew 28.16-20 (1st Matins Gospel)

16But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. 17When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted. 18Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

1 Corinthians 15.1-11 (Epistle)

1Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. 9For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.

Matthew 19.16-26 (Gospel)

16Behold, one came to him and said, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”

17He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

18He said to him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not offer false testimony.’ 19‘Honor your father and your mother.’ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

20The young man said to him, “All these things I have observed from my youth. What do I still lack?”

21Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.

23Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”

25When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

26Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

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)