1When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”
4for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back.
5Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed.
6He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him!
7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’”
8They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.
1 Corinthians 16.13-24 (Epistle)
13Watch! Stand firm in the faith! Be courageous! Be strong!
14Let all that you do be done in love.
15Now I beg you, brothers—you know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have set themselves to serve the saints—
16that you also be in subjection to such, and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.
17I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus; for that which was lacking on your part, they supplied.
18For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge those who are like that.
19The assemblies of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, together with the assembly that is in their house.
20All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21This greeting is by me, Paul, with my own hand.
22If any man doesn’t love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed. Come, Lord!
23The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
24My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Matthew 21.33-42 (Gospel)
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’?
Commemorations
Martyr Agathonicus and Companions
He lived in Nicomedia, where he turned many pagans from their idolatry to faith in Christ. For this he and several companions were seized, beaten, bound, and taken to Byzantium. On the way, several of Agathonicus’ companions died from their harsh treatment. The survivors, including Agathonicus himself, were taken to Selyvria in Thrace, where they were tortured before the Emperor himself, then beheaded.
Holy Martyr Eulalia of Barcelona (303)
She was born of Christian parents in Barcelona, and dedicated herself to a life of holiness, taking Christ as her bridegroom. When the persecutor Dacian came to Barcelona, Eulalia secretly left her parents’ house by night and came before Dacian, denouncing him in front of many witnesses as a murderer of the innocent, and publicly confessing her faith in Christ. The wicked Dacian had her stripped and beaten, then tied to a tree in the form of a cross, and ordered that her flesh be burned with torches. When her torturer mockingly asked ‘Where is your Christ to save you?’ she answered ‘He is here with me; you cannot see Him because of your impurity.’ When the holy Eulalia died at last under torture, the people saw a white dove fly from her mouth. An unseasonable snowstorm then covered her naked body like a white garment.
Holy New Martyr Gorazd, Bishop of Slovakia and the Czech Lands (1942) (August 22 OC)
He was born in 1879 in Moravia and given the name Matthew Pavlik. He became a Roman Catholic priest, active in a movement for reform within the Roman Catholic Church. When Czechoslovakia became an independent state in 1919, about 800,000 Christians, including Fr Matthew, approached Bishop Dositheus of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Serbia, asking to be received into the Orthodox faith. Father Matthew was received into the Church in 1920; a year later was made Bishop of the Orthodox of Moravia and Silesia by Patriarch Demetrius of Serbia, and was named for St Gorazd, a disciple of St Methodius (July 27). Though many of the original ‘reform’ leaders turned back, finding the demands of Orthodoxy too difficult, Bishop Gorazd labored mightily for the restoration of Orthodoxy in Czechoslovakia: he established eleven parishes, translated the divine services into Czech, and published a Czech Prayer Book.
During the Second World War, two priests of the Orthodox Cathedral in Prague were arrested because some of the Czech resistance had taken refuge in the Cathedral. It was clear that the Nazis were planning retaliation against the entire Orthodox Church. Bishop Gorazd presented himself to the Nazis and, to save his priests, took full responsibility for the events in the Cathedral. He was arrested, tortured and finally shot on September 4 1942 (August 22 OC). Despite his selfless sacrifice, the Orthodox Church was severely persecuted by the Nazis: all the churches were closed and the priests sent to concentration camps in Germany.
Saint Gorazd was glorified by the Church of Serbia in 1961 and by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1987.