The Holy Martyrs Galaction and Epistemis.

Troparia and Kontakia

Troparion, Tone 4: Your holy martyrs, O Lord,* by their passions acquired the crowns of incorruptibility from You, our God.* For possessing Your power they overcame the torturers* and shattered the feeble insolence of demons.* By their supplications, save our souls.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone 2: As bright and unerring stars you appeared to the world* proclaiming with your rays the Sun, that is, Christ, O martyrs,* and you have extinguished all error.* But to us you give light, praying without ceasing for all of us.

Prokeimenon, Tone 4

To the saints who are in His land,* the Lord has made wonderful all His desires in them.

verse: I foresaw the Lord always in my sight, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken. (Psalm 15:3,8)

Epistle

1 Thessalonians 5:1-8

Brothers and Sisters, concerning the times and the seasons, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

Alleluia, Tone 4

verse: The just cried out and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of their afflictions.

verse: The afflictions of the just are many, and out of them all will the Lord deliver them. (Psalm 33:18,20)

Gospel

Luke 11:47-12:1

The Lord said to those who came to him, “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy.”

Communion Hymn

Rejoice in the Lord, O you just;* praise befits the righteous.* Alleluia, alleluia,* alleluia. (Psalm 32:1)