Greatmartyr Artemius at Antioch; St Gerasimus the New, ascetic of Cephalonia (1579); St Jonah, Bishop of Manchuria (1925) (October 7 OC)

You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²The things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit the same things to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. ⁵Also, if anyone competes in athletics, he isn’t crowned unless he has competed by the rules. ⁶The farmer who labors must be the first to get a share of the crops. ⁷Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the offspring of David, according to my Good News, ⁹in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God’s word isn’t chained. ¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the chosen ones’ sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

As he was praying alone, the disciples were near him, and he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?”

¹⁹They answered, “‘John the Baptizer,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others, that one of the old prophets has risen again.”

²⁰He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

²¹But he warned them and commanded them to tell this to no one, ²²saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”