Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries, 869, 885

The Collect:

Rite I:
Almighty and everlasting God, who by the power of the Holy Spirit didst move thy servants Cyril and Methodius to bring the light of the Gospel to a hostile and divided people: Overcome, we pray thee, by the love of Christ, all bitterness and contention among us, and make us one united family under the banner of the Prince of Peace; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Almighty and everlasting God, who by the power of the Holy Spirit moved your servants Cyril and Methodius to bring the light of the Gospel to a hostile and divided people: Overcome all bitterness and strife among us by the love of Christ, and make us one united family under the banner of the Prince of Peace; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Philippians 1:15–26

¹⁵Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. ¹⁶These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defence of the gospel; ¹⁷the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will result in my deliverance. ²⁰It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. ²³I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; ²⁴but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. ²⁵Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, ²⁶so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

Psalm: Psalm 96:1–7

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song; *
       sing to the Lord, all the whole earth.
² Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; *
       proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
³ Declare his glory among the nations *
       and his wonders among all peoples.
⁴ For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; *
       he is more to be feared than all gods.
⁵ As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; *
       but it is the Lord who made the heavens.
⁶ Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence! *
       Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary!
⁷ Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; *
       ascribe to the Lord honor and power.

Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

¹⁵And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. ¹⁶The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’

¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

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