Matthew 21.18-43 (Gospel, Bridegroom)

18Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry.

19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

20When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree immediately wither away?”

21Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done. 22All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

23When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?”

24Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”

27They answered Jesus, and said, “We don’t know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. 28But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ 29He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went. 30He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go.

31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. When you saw it, you didn’t even repent afterward, that you might believe him.

33“Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country. 34When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit. 35The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they treated them the same way. 37But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, then killed him. 40When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

41They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruit in its season.”

42Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes’?

43“Therefore I tell you, God’s Kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a nation producing its fruit.

Ezekiel 1.1-20 (6th Hour)

1Now it came to pass in the thirties year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, that I was in the midst of the captivity by the river of Chobar; and the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2On the fifth day of the month; this was the fifth year of the captivity of king Joakim. 3And the word of the Lord came to Jezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river of Chobar; and the hand of the Lord was upon me. 4And I looked, and, behold, a sweeping wind came from the north, and a great cloud on it, and there was brightness round about it, and gleaming fire, and in the midst of it as it were the appearance of amber in the midst of the fire, and brightness in it. 5And in the midst as it were the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; the likeness of a man was upon them. 6And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7And their legs were straight; and their feet were winged, and there were sparks, like gleaming brass, and their wings were light. 8And the hand of a man was under their wings on their four sides. 9And the faces of them four turned not when they went; they went everyone straight forward. 10And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right of the four; and the face of a calf on the left of the four; and the face of an eagle to the four. 11And the four had their wings spread out above; each one had two joined to one another, and two covered their bodies. 12And each one went straight forward: wherever the spirit was going they went, and turned not back. 13And in the midst of the living creatures there was an appearance as of burning coals of fire, as an appearance of lamps turning among the living creatures; and the brightness of fire, and out of the fire came forth lightning. 15And I looked, and, behold, the four had each one wheel on the ground near the living creatures. 16And the appearance of the wheels was as the appearance of beryl: and the four had one likeness: and their work was as it were a wheel in a wheel. 17They went on their four sides: they turned not as they went; 18neither did their backs turn: and they were high: and I saw them, and the backs of them four were full of eyes round about. 19And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures lifted themselves off the earth, the wheels were lifted off. 20Wherever the cloud happened to be, there was the spirit ready to go: the wheels went and were lifted up with them; because the spirit of life was in the wheels.

Exodus 1.1-20 (Vespers)

1These are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt together with Jacob their father; they came in each with their whole family. 2Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judas, 3Issachar, Zabulon, Benjamin, 4Dan and Nephthalim, Gad and Aser. 5But Joseph was in Egypt. And all the souls born of Jacob were seventy-five. 6And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7And the children of Israel increased and multiplied, and became numerous and grew exceedingly strong, and the land multiplied them. 8And there arose up another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. 9And he said to his nation, Behold, the race of the children of Israel is a great multitude, and is stronger than we: 10come then, let us deal craftily with them, lest at any time they be increased, and whenever war shall happen to us, these also shall be added to our enemies, and having prevailed against us in war, they will depart out of the land. 11And he set over them taskmasters, who should afflict them in their works; and they built strong cities for Pharao, both Pitho, and Ramesses, and On, which is Heliopolis. 12But as they humbled them, by so much they multiplied, and grew exceedingly strong; and the Egyptians greatly abhorred the children of Israel. 13And the Egyptians tyrannized over the children of Israel by force. 14And they embittered their life by hard labors, in the clay and in brick-making, and all the works in the plains, according to all the works, wherein they caused them to serve with violence. 15And the king of the Egyptians spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews; the name of the one was, Sepphora; and the name of the second, Phua. 16And he said, When you⌃ do the office of midwives to the Hebrew women, and they are about to be delivered, if it be a male, kill it; but if a female, save it. 17But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt appointed them; and they saved the male children alive. 18And the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, Why is it that you⌃ have done this thing, and saved the male children alive? 19And the midwives said to Pharao, The Hebrew women are not as the women of Egypt, for they are delivered before the midwives go in to them. So they bore children. 20And God did well to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very strong.

Job 1.1-12 (Vespers)

1There was a certain man in the land of Ausis, whose name was Job; and that man was true, blameless, righteous, and godly, abstaining from everything evil. 2And he had seven sons and three daughters. 3And his cattle consisted of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses in the pastures, and a very great household, and he had a great husbandry on the earth; and that man was most noble of the men of the east. 4And his sons visiting one another prepared a banquet every day, taking with them also their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5And when the days of the banquet were completed, Job sent and purified them, having risen up in the morning, and offered sacrifices for them, according to their number, and one calf for a sin-offering for their souls: for Job said, Lest perhaps my sons have thought evil in their minds against God. Thus, then Job did continually. 6And it came to pass on a day, that behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them. 7And the Lord said to the devil, Whence are you come? And the devil answered the Lord, and said, I am come from compassing the earth, and walking up and down in the world. 8And the Lord said to him, Have you diligently considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a man blameless, true, godly, abstaining from everything evil? 9Then the devil answered, and said before the Lord, Does Job worship the Lord for nothing? 10Have you not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about? and have you not blessed the works of his hands, and multiplied his cattle upon the land? 11But put forth your hand, and touch all that he has: verily he will bless you to your face. 12Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give into your hand all that he has, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord.

Matthew 24.3-35 (Gospel, Presanctified)

3As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. 8But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

9“Then they will deliver you up to oppression and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. 10Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. 11Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray. 12Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. 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.

29“But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; 30and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

32“Now from the fig tree learn this parable: When its branch has now become tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near. 33Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that he is near, even at the doors. 34Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Martyrs Terence, Pompeius, Africanus and Companions

These African Christians suffered during the persecution of the Church by the emperor Decius, during which a great many Christians denied the faith rather than suffer. These faithful few boldly upheld the Faith and, after many torments, were condemned to death by beheading. The went to their execution singing psalms and hymns of thanksgiving, and received the crown of martyrdom in 250.

In the early centuries of the Church, North Africa, especially the region of Carthage, was one of the centers of the Christian Faith, comparable to Asia Minor.

Six Thousand Holy Martyrs in Georgia (1615)

“In the wilderness of David-Garejeli in Georgia there were twelve monasteries, in which monks had lived the ascetic life for centuries. In 1615, Shah Abbas I invaded Georgia, laid it waste and slew innumerable Christians. One day, while out hunting at dawn on Easter Day intself, he saw the light of many candles shining in the hills. This was the monks of all twelve monasteries in procession all round the Church of the Resurrection, walking with candles in their hands. When the Shah discovered that it was monks, he asked in disbelief: ‘Isn’t the whole of Georgia put to the sword by now?’, and ordered his generals to go and slaughter the monks at once. An angel of God appeared to Abbot Arsenius, and revealed their imminent death to him, and Arsenius informed the brethren. They then all received Communion in the Holy Mysteries and prepared for death. Then the attackers arrived, hacked the abbot to pieces when he came out ahead of the others, and then killed all the rest. They all suffered with honour and were crowned with unfading wreaths in 1615. Thus ended the history of these famous monasteries, which had been like a flame of spiritual enlightenment in Georgia for more than 1,000 years. There remain just two today: St David and St John the Baptist. The King of Georgia, Archil, gathered the remains of all the martyrs and buried them. Their relics are to this day full of myrrh for the healing of those in sickness.” (Prologue)

New Hieromartyr Gregory, Patriarch of Constantinople (1821)

He was born on the Peloponnese, and became Archbishop of Smyrna in 1785. He served at a time when revolutionary feeling and activity was increasing among the Greek people, and witnessed the cruel retribution that the Ottoman Turks visited on any evidence of rebellion among their subject people.

Once in Smyrna, seeing that an action he had taken was causing discord in his dioceses, he came down from the hierarchical throne during a service, prostrated himself before the faithful and asked their forgiveness.

He was elected Patriarch of Constantinople in 1797. Under the Turkokratia, the Patriarch was not only the head of the Greek churches but the secular ruler of the Greek people, bound by oath to respect the authority of the Sultan. This, combined with Gregory’s personal experience of the treatment of Greek rebels, made him a staunch opponent of revolutionary activity among his people. Still, when revolutionaries on the Peloponnese declared Greek independence from Turkey on March 25, 1821, Turkish retribution was harsh: On Pascha, April 10, after serving the Paschal Liturgy, the aged Patriarch was arrested by the Turkish authorities. He was tortured in an effort to have him reveal the names of those heading the revolution, then was offered his freedom if he would convert to Islam. Gregory answered, ‘You ask in vain: the Patriarch of Christians dies a Christian.’ He (along with other clergy and hierarchs) was hanged as a traitor on the gate of the patriarchal compound. An eyewitness, a British clergyman visiting Constantinople, wrote: ‘His body, attenuated by abstinence and emaciated by age, had not sufficient weight to cause immediate death. He continued for a long time in pain which no friendly hand dared abridge, and the darkness of night came on before his final convulsions were over.’ His body was left hanging for three days, then sold by the Turkish authorities to a Jewish mob, who mutilated the body, then weighted it about the neck with a stone and threw it into the sea. Despite this, the body was found floating at sea by a Greek merchant ship captain. When the body was identified as that of the martyred Patriarch, it was secretly taken to Odessa, where Orthodox church leaders took it under their care. Tsar Alexander I ordered a state funeral for the holy hierarch, which was celebrated on June 17 1821 in Odessa.

In 1871 the relics were returned to Greece by Tsar Alexander III. They were incorrupt, though fifty years had passed since his death. Saint Gregory was officially glorified in 1921. His relics may be venerated at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens.