Saint Euthymius the New of Thessalonica and Mt Athos, in the world was named Nicetas, and he was a native of the city of Ancyra in Galatia. His parents, Epiphanius and Anna, led virtuous Christian lives, and from childhood their son was meek, pious and obedient. At age seven he was left fatherless and he soon became the sole support of his mother in all matters. Having entered military service, Nicetas married, on the insistence of his mother. After the birth of a daughter, he secretly left home in order to enter a monastery. For fifteen years the venerable Euthymius lived the ascetic life on Mount Olympus, where he learned monastic deeds from the Elders.

The monk went to resettle on Mount Athos. On the way he learned that his mother and wife were in good health. He informed them that he had become a monk, and he sent them a cross, calling on them to follow his example. On Mt Athos he was tonsured into the Great Schema and lived for three years in a cave in total silence, struggling with temptations. Saint Euthymius also lived for a long time as a stylite, not far from Thessalonica, instructing those coming to him for advice and healing the sick.

The monk cleansed his mind and heart to such an extent that he was granted divine visions and revelations. At the command of the Lord, Saint Euthymius founded two monasteries in 863 on Mount Peristeros, not far from Thessalonica, which he guided for 14 years, with the rank of deacon. In one of these his wife and mother received monastic tonsure. Before his death he settled on Hiera, an island of Mt Athos, where he reposed in 898. His relics were transferred to Thessalonica. Saint Euthymius is called “the New” to distinguish him from Saint Euthymius the Great (January 20).

The Hieromartyr Lucian, Presbyter of Antioch, was born in the Syrian city of Samosata. At twelve years of age he was left orphaned. Lucian distributed his possessions to the poor, and went to the city of Edessa to the confessor Macarius, under the guidance of whom he diligently read Holy Scripture and learned the ascetic life. For his pious and zealous spreading of Christianity among the Jews and pagans, Lucian was made a presbyter.

In Antioch Saint Lucian opened a school where many students gathered. He taught them how to understand the Holy Scriptures, and how to live a virtuous life. Saint Lucian occupied himself with teaching, and he corrected the Greek text of the Septuagint, which had been corrupted in many places by copyists and by heretics who deliberately distorted it in order to support their false teachings. The entire Greek text of the Bible which he corrected was hidden in a wall at the time of his confession of Christ, and it was found during the lifetime of Saint Constantine the Great.

During the persecution of Diocletian, Saint Lucian was arrested and was sent to prison in Nicomedia, where for nine years he encouraged other Christians with him to remain steadfast in their confession of Christ, urging them not to fear tortures or death.

Saint Lucian died in prison from many terrible tortures and from hunger. Before his death, he wished to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ on the Feast of Theophany. Certain Christians who visited him brought bread and wine for the Eucharist. The hieromartyr, bound by chains and lying on a bed of sharp potsherds, was compelled to offer the Bloodless Sacrifice upon his chest, and all the Christians there in prison received Communion. The next day the emperor sent people to see if the saint was still alive. Saint Lucian said three times, “I am a Christian,” then surrendered his soul to God. The body of the holy martyr was thrown into the sea, but after thirty days dolphins brought it to shore. Believers reverently buried the body of the much-suffering Saint Lucian.

Saint Lucian was originally commemorated on January 7, the day of his death. Later, when the celebration of the Synaxis of Saint John the Baptist was appointed for this day, the feast of Saint Lucian was transferred to October 15.

The October date may be associated with the dedication of a church which was built in Antioch by Saint Helen (May 21) over Saint Lucian’s holy relics.

Although he was only a priest, sometimes Saint Lucian is depicted in the vestments of a bishop. The Stroganov Guide for Iconographers was published in Russia in 1869, based on a 1606 manuscript. There Saint Lucian is depicted wearing a phelonion and holding a Gospel. He does not wear the omophorion of a bishop, however. Another handbook, the Litsevoy Podlinnik, states that Saint Lucian is to be depicted with the omophorion.

It may be that the Russians thought of Saint Lucian as a bishop because of his importance to the Church, and so that is how they depicted him. Similarly, Saint Charalampus (February 10) is depicted as a priest in Greek icons, and as a bishop in Russian icons.

Saint John, Bishop of Suzdal, entered one of the monasteries of Suzdal while a youth. For his virtuous and humble life, the saint was made the first Bishop of Suzdal and Nizhegorod in 1350. Bishop John merited a great mercy of God: Prince Boris of Suzdal saw how an angel of God attended the saint during the Divine Liturgy.

Saint John was known for his love towards the destitute and the sick; he interceded for the poor before the princes to lower their taxes. He also built poor houses and hospices for the sick. The saint was very concerned about enlightening the pagan Mordvians with the Christian Faith. After the annexation of Suzdal to the Moscow Diocese, Saint John took the monastic schema and withdrew to the Bogoliub monastery. He lived there in seclusion and died in peace. Numerous miracles took place at his grave.

Saint Lucian the Presbyter lived in the XIII century, and suffered martyrdom under Batu around 1243. Nothing else is known about him.

Saint Lucian's relics are in the Far Caves of Saint Theodosios, and his Feast Day is on October 15, because of his Patron Saint, Hieromartyr Lucian, the Presbyter of Antioch. He is also commemorated on August 28 (Synaxis of the Saints of the Kiev Caves, whose relics repose in the Far Caves of Saint Theodosios); and again on the second Sunday of Great Lent (Synaxis of all the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves Monastery).

The Holy Martyrs Sarbelus and Bebaia (Barbea) of Edessa were brother and sister, suffering in the second century under the emperor Trajan for confessing Christianity. Saint Sarbelus was a priest of the idols at Edessa, but was converted to Christ by a certain bishop, then he and his sister were baptized. Pagans tortured the saints for a long while, and then beheaded them.

These saints are also commemorated on January 29. Saint Sarbelus may be the same one who is commemorated on September 5.

Saint Sabinus, Bishop of Catania in Sicily, fervently desiring to serve the Lord, withdrew into the wilderness. Here he led a strict ascetic life and received from the Lord gifts of wonderworking and discernment.

The Icon of the Mother of God, the “Multiplier of Wheat”, was painted at the blessing of the Elder Ambrose (October 10) of the Visitation Optina wilderness monastery. Saint Ambrose, a great Russian ascetic of the nineteenth century, was ardent with a childlike faith towards the Mother of God. In particular, he revered all the Feastdays of the Mother of God, and on these days he redoubled his prayer. With the icon, “Multiplier of Wheat,” Saint Ambrose blessed the Shamordino women’s monastery established in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which he had founded not far from the Optina monastery.

On this icon, the Mother of God is depicted sitting upon the clouds, and Her hands are extended in blessing. Beneath her is a compressed field, and on it amidst the grass and flowers stand and lay sheaves of rye. Elder Ambrose himself decreed the day of celebration, October 15, and called the icon “Multiplier of Wheat”, indicating by this, that the Most Holy Theotokos “is a Helper for people in their labors for the acquiring of their daily bread.”

Before his blessed repose, Saint Ambrose ordered many copies of this icon and sent them to his spiritual children. For the Akathist to this icon, the Elder composed a particular response, “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with You! Grant unto us unworthy ones the dew of Your grace and the showing forth of Your mercy!”

Saint Ambrose’s burial took place on October 15, the Feastday of the icon. The first miracle from the holy icon was witnessed in 1891, when throughout Russia there was a famine because of crop failure. In the Kaluga district and on the fields of the Shamordino monastery, however, grain was produced. In 1892, already after the death of Saint Ambrose, his attendant John Cherepanov sent a copy of the icon to the Pyatnitsa women’s monastery in Voronezh district. In this locale there was a threat of drought and famine, but soon after a Molieben was celebrated before the icon “The Multiplier of Wheat”, rain fell and ended the drought.

The Holy Martyrs Nazarius, Gervasius, Protasius and Celsus of Milan suffered during the reign of the emperor Nero (54-68). Saint Nazarius (son of the Christian Perpetua and the Jew Africanus) was born at Rome and was baptized by Bishop Linus. From his youth Nazarius decided to devote his life to preaching Christ and to aid wandering Christians. With this intent he left Rome and arrived in Mediolanum (Milan).

Saints Protasius and Gervasius were twin brothers from Mediolanum (Milan), the sons of wealthy Roman citizens, Vitalius and Valeria. When they received their inheritance from their parents, they distributed the money to the poor, freed their slaves, and occupied themselves with fasting and prayer. The pagans locked them up in prison because they were Christians. Saint Nazarius met Protasius and Gervasius when he was visiting Christians in the Mediolanum prison. He so loved the twins that he wanted to suffer and die with them. The ruler heard that he was visiting the prisoners, so he had Saint Nazarius beaten with rods, then driven from the city.

Saint Nazarius proceeded to Gaul (modern France), and there he successfully preached Christianity and converted many pagans. In the city of Kimel he baptized Celsus, the son of a Christian woman who entrusted her child to the saint. Nazarius raised the boy in piety, and acquired a faithful disciple and coworker in his missionary labors.

The pagans threw the saints to wild animals to be eaten, but the beasts would not touch them. Afterwards, they tried to drown the martyrs in the sea, but they walked upon the water as if on dry land. The soldiers who carried out the orders were so amazed that they themselves accepted Christianity and released the holy martyrs.

Saints Nazarius and Celsus went to Milan and visited Gervasius and Protasius in prison. For this, they were brought before Nero, who ordered that Saints Nazarius and Celsus be beheaded. Soon after this the holy brothers Gervasius and Protasius were also executed. The relics of all four martyrs were stolen by a Christian named Philip, and were buried in his house.

Many years later, during the reign of the holy Emperor Theodosius (408-450), Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (December 7), discovered the relics of Saints Gervasius and Protasius through a revelation from God.

In the reign of Arcadius and Honorius, Saint Ambrose also discovered the relics of Saints Nazarius and Celsus. The holy relics, glorified by many healings, were solemnly transferred to the Milan cathedral.

Saint Paraskevḗ the New was born into a pious family, living during the eleventh century in the village of Epivato, between Silistra and Constantinople. Her older brother Euthymius became a monk, and later he was consecrated as Bishop of Matidia. One day, while attending the divine services, the words of the Lord pierced her heart like an arrow, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself” (Mt. 16:24). From that time she began to distribute her clothing to the needy, for which reason she endured much grief from her family.

Upon the death of her parents, the saint was tonsured into monasticism at the age of fifteen. She withdrew to the Jordanian desert where she lived the ascetic life until she reached the age of twenty-five. An angel of the Lord ordered her to return to her homeland, so she stayed at Epivato for two years.

Saint Paraskevḗ departed to the Lord at the age of twenty-seven, and was buried near the sea. Because of the many miracles which took place at her grave, her relics were uncovered and found to be incorrupt. They were placed in the church of the Holy Apostles at Epivato, where they remained for about 175 years.

Saint Paraskevḗ’s relics were moved to Trnovo, Bulgaria in 1223 and placed in the cathedral. Patriarch Euthymius wrote her Life and established the day of her commemoration as October 14. The Turks occupied Bulgaria in 1391, and her relics were given to Mircea the Elder, Prince of the Romanian Land (one of the districts of Romania). In 1394 the relics were given to Princess Angelina of Serbia (July 30), who brought them to Belgrade. For 120 years Saint Paraskevḗ’s relics rested in Constantinople in the patriarchal cathedral.

On June 13, 1641, her incorrupt relics were transferred to the monastery of the Three Hierarchs at Jassy in Rumania, where many healings took place. On December 26, 1888, after being rescued from a fire, Saint Paraskevḗ’s relics were moved again. This time they were placed in the new cathedral at Jassy, where they remain until the present day.

Saint Nicholas Sviatosha, Prince of Chernigov, and Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves, was a great-grandson of Great Prince Yaroslav the Wise and son of Prince David Svyatoslavich of Chernigov (+ 1123). Nicholas was the Prince of Lutsk, and he had a wife and children (his daughter was later married to the Novgorod prince Saint Vsevolod-Gabriel (February 11).

On February 17, 1106 the holy prince left his family and was tonsured at the Kiev Caves monastery. Nicholas Sviatosha carried out his obediences with great humility. For three years he worked in the kitchen, for which he chopped wood and carried water. For the next three years, he was gatekeeper at the monastery. The saint had a garden around his cell. Out of his own means he built at the monastery the temple of the Holy Trinity and the infirmary church in the name of Saint Nicholas, his patron saint.

Saint Nicholas was the first of the Russian princes to accept monasticism, patiently enduring the reproaches of his brothers for his decision to lead a life of humble obedience. The saint’s doctor, Peter, pointed out to the royal ascetic that such exploits of obedience had injured his health. But suddenly the doctor himself fell sick, and was healed only by the prayer of Saint Nicholas. Then Peter himself was tonsured.

After he had progressed through various obediences, Saint Nicholas took upon himself the vow of silence. When the saint received money, he used it to beautify the church and to procure books (because he loved reading), or he distributed it to the poor. Saint Nicholas was a zealous peacemaker; in 1142 he reconciled the Prince of Chernigov with the Great Prince Vsevolod.

Soon after the death of the saint, his brother Prince Izyaslav fell grievously ill. The igumen of the monastery sent the sick man the saint’s hairshirt. Izyaslav put it on and was healed.

The Holy Hieromartyr Silvanus of Gaza was a native of the city of Gaza. He was first a soldier, then a priest. He was falsely accused of a crime and sentenced to labor in the copper mines. In spite of many tribulations, the saint did not renounce Christ. In his old age, he was beheaded together with forty other Christians.

The Yakhrom Icon of the Mother of God appeared to the holy youth Cosmas (February 18), while he was accompanying his master, a sick landowner. Cosmas had stopped at the bank of the Yakhrom River, not far from Vladimir, and the sick man fell asleep. Cosmas suddenly saw a bright light coming from a nearby tree, and heard a voice, “Attend and understand the words of life. Live a God-pleasing life and seek the joy of the righteous, and then you will delight in eternal blessings.” The light had come from an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Saint Cosmas (February 18) took the icon and placed it on his master, who was immediately healed. After this, Cosmas’s term of servitude expired, so he went to the Kiev Caves monastery. After he was tonsured, he amazed even the experienced monks by his own spiritual efforts.

Years later, Saint Cosmas was told by an angel to return to the place where he had found the icon. He took the wonderworking icon with him to the bank of the Yakhrom River where he had found the icon. At once, the place was again filled with light. Saint Cosmas built a monastery in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and placed the Yakhrom Icon within it.

The Martyrs Carpus, Papylus, Agathodorus and Agathonike suffered at Pergamum during the persecution of Decius in the third century.

The governor of the district where the saints lived discovered that Carpus and Papylus did not celebrate the pagan festivals. He ordered that the transgressors be arrested and persuaded to accept the Roman pagan religion. The saints replied that they would never worship false gods. The judge then ordered them to be bound in iron chains and led through the city, and then to be tied to horses and dragged to the nearby city of Sardis.

Agathodorus and Agathonike voluntarily followed after Carpus and Papylus. Saint Agathonike was choked to death with ox sinews and Saints Carpus, Papylus and Agathodorus were beheaded in Sardis.

During his life Saint Papylus was known for his gift of curing the sick. Since his martyrdom, he has granted healing to all who pray to him with faith.

Saint Benjamin of the Kiev Caves, Far Caves lived during the fourteenth century and before accepting monasticism was “an important merchant.” Once at the time of divine services Saint Benjamin felt deeply in his heart the words of the Savior: a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of God (Mt. 19:23). After distributing his wealth to the needy, Saint Benjamin became a monk, “pleasing the Lord by fasting and prayers even unto death.” He was buried in the Caves of Saint Theodosius. His memory is also celebrated on August 28 and the second Sunday of Great Lent.

The Martyr Florentius was a native of Thessalonica. Zealous for the glory of God, he fearlessly unmasked the darkness of idolatry and led many to the light of true knowledge of God. He taught faith in Christ and fulfilled the will of God. For this the pagans subjected him to cruel tortures, and then burned him.

The Martyr Benjamin the Deacon of Persia converted many pagan Persians to Christianity, and for his zeal and evangelic preaching he suffered in Persia during the fifth century.

Saint Nikḗtas the Confessor of Paphlagonia was a patrician at the imperial court during the reigns of the empress Irene and her son Constantine. He represented the empress Irene at the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787, though his name does not appear in the Acts of the Council. He also assisted at the transfer of the relics of Saint Euphemia (September 16).

Renouncing all positions and honors, Nikḗtas decided to become a monk. At the request of the emperor, he did not go into the wilderness, but rather remained in a monastery in the capital. When the Iconoclast Theophilus occupied the imperial throne, the venerable Nikḗtas was banished from the monastery by the heretics for opposing the heresy. He wandered for a long time throughout the country.

Saint Nikḗtas died at the age of seventy-five about the year 838. During his life and after his death he worked many miracles.

The Holy Virgin Martyr Zlata, that “golden vessel of virginity, and undefiled bride of Christ,” was born in the village of Slatena, in the Meglena diocese, on the border of Bulgaria and Serbia, when Bulgaria was under the Turkish Yoke. Her father was poor and he had four daughters. Saint Zlata was beautiful in appearance, and her soul was beautiful as well. From childhood she displayed an unusually strong character, and an unshakeable faith in Christ.

A certain Turk became obsessed with her, and kidnapped her one day as she was gathering wood with some other women. He brought her to his house, and repeatedly tried to seduce the maiden, and persuade her to convert to Islam, saying that he would make her his wife. Zlata, however, resisted and asserted: "I know only Christ as my Bridegroom, Whom I shall not deny, even if you tear me to to shreds."

Since persuasion and flattery proved unsuccessful, the Turk began to threaten her with grievous torments. The glorious martyr was not frightened by these threats, however. For six months the impious Hagarenes¹ tried to make Zlata accept their religion, but she remained steadfast. Then they ordered the saint’s parents and sisters to convince her to become a Moslem. Otherwise, they would kill Zlata and torture them.

The Saint's parents and sisters wept and urged her to deny Christ “just for the sake of appearances,” so that they might be spared torture and death. Saint Zlata was unmoved by their pleas, and replied, “You who now urge me to deny Christ are no longer my parents and sisters. Instead, I have the Lord Jesus Christ as my father, the Lady Theotokos as my mother, and the Saints of our Church as my brothers and sisters!”

When the Moslems saw that they could not weaken the Saint's resolve, they tortured her for three months, beating her with clubs. Later, they peeled strips of skin from her body so that the earth was reddened by her blood. Then they heated a skewer and passed it through her ears.

Standing nearby was her Spiritual Father, Hieromonk Timothy of Stavronikḗta Monastery on Mount Athos, She sent word to him to pray that she would persevere until the end. It was he who recorded her martyrdom.

Finally, the Moslems fell into a rage at having been defeated by a woman, so they tied her to a tree and cut her virginal body to pieces with their knives. Her pure soul was received by Christ, Who bestowed on her the double crowns of virginity and martyrdom. Certain Christians gathered her relics secretly and buried them with great reverence. Saint Zlata suffered for Christ on October 13, 1795.

¹ The descendants of Hagar, the concubine of the Old Testament Patriarch Abraham.

The Ivḗron Icon of the Mother of God, located on Mount Athos, has been glorified by many miracles. Accounts of the wonderworking image were spread throughout Russia by pilgrims. His Holiness Patriarch Nikon (then still Abbot of the Novospasky monastery) asked Abbot Pachomius of the Ivḗron Monastery on Mt Athos, (who was in Moscow collecting alms for the Athonite monasteries) to supply a copy of the wonderworking Ivḗron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The Athonite monk Iamblichos painted the copy of the Ivḗron Icon, and after a year the icon was taken to Moscow, accompanied by monks of Athos. On October 13, 1648 it was solemnly greeted by a multitude of the people. The Ivḗron Icon of the Russian Orthodox Church was also glorified by the Lord with many miracles (February 12).

The Ivḗron Icon is also commemorated on February 12, March 31, and Bright Tuesday.

The Seven Lakes Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Ustiug near Kazan on October 13, 1615 by the monk Euthymius, founder of the Seven Lakes Mother of God monastery. He blessed the place of the future monastery with this icon.

Feastdays of the Seven Lakes Icon were established in memory of its transfer from Ustiug, in memory of the deliverance of Kazan from a plague epidemic in 1654 and 1655 (June 26), and again from pestilence in 1771 (July 28).

Saint Anthony of Chqondidi was born to the family of Otia Dadiani, the prince of Egrisi (now Samegrelo). Anthony’s mother, Gulkan, was the daughter of the prince Shoshita III of Racha. There were six children in the family: five boys and one girl. Anthony’s sister, Mariam, later married King Solomon the Great of Imereti.

The children received their primary education from their mother, who was raised in the Christian Faith and transmitted the Faith to her children. Her vibrant faith and valorous labors were an example for all who surrounded her. After his father’s death, young Anthony was raised by his older brother Katsia. His family was preparing Anthony for a diplomatic career, and therefore they devoted special attention to his study of philosophy, literature, the fundamentals of poetry and art, and foreign languages (particularly Turkish and Persian).

From the beginning of the 17th century, the rulers of Egrisi appointed only their own relatives to the Chqondidi diocese. Nicholas, one of Anthony’s older brothers, was prepared for the bishopric, but he was too attached to the world to commit to the heavy yoke of asceticism. The young Anthony, however, was zealous for the monastic life, and soon he was tonsured.

The new monk Anthony sensed the imperfection of his spiritual education and asked the monks of Martvili Monastery in Egrisi to help him make up for his insufficient knowledge. A group of French missionaries arrived to instruct him in the foundations of Scholastic philosophy, which was very fashionable in Europe at that time. Anthony, however, recognized that his foreign tutors had tainted Orthodox doctrine with the poison of heresy. Once, during a meal, Anthony turned to a certain Frenchman and asked, “Can you pour wine into this water-filled cup and keep it from mixing with the water?”

The Catholic priest answered that it was impossible, and Anthony replied, “As it is impossible to pour water and wine into a single vessel and keep them from mixing, so it is impossible to accommodate both Orthodox doctrine and heresy!” From that day Anthony parted with the French missionaries.

The thirst for learning would not give the young monk any rest. To deepen his knowledge, Saint Anthony traveled to Tbilisi, to the court of King Erekle II. The king’s wife, Queen Darejan, was Anthony’s cousin—a child of his uncle, Katsia Dadiani.

In 1761 Saint Anthony was consecrated bishop of Tsageri (in lower Svaneti). He soon became famous for his eloquent sermons, which inspired even the Catholicos of Georgia himself.

Grown weary from fasting, Saint Anthony’s face began to resemble that of an angel. In accordance with his orders, a daily meal was prepared for the poor at the Chqondidi residence. Every subsequent bishop of Chqondidi has continued this practice.

In the 18th century many feudal lords in western Georgia (in Egrisi especially) began to trade slaves for profit. Bishop Anthony boldly opposed this immoral activity, and in the years 1792 to 1794 he convened a series of Church councils to publicly condemn the slave traders.

In 1788 Anthony approved vast land grants to the monasteries of Martvili, Nakharebou, and Sairme. He persuaded the Dadianis to exempt these lands from taxation.

In 1789 Anthony, now a metropolitan, left Chqondidi for Nakharebou Monastery, which he had built. He enriched the monastery with sacred objects, ancient icons and lands. There he spent the remainder of his days.

Saint Anthony of Chqondidi reposed in 1815 at a very old age and was buried at Nakharebou Monastery.

Saint Anthony’s spiritual son, devoted friend, and helper, Hieromonk Jacob, also dwelt as a saint in this world and was received into the Heavenly Kingdom.

The Martyrs Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus suffered for Christ in the year 304 at Tarsus in Cilicia. When the pagans ordered him to offer sacrifice to idols, the old soldier Tarachus replied that he would offer a pure heart to the one true God instead of sacrifices of blood. Seeing the firmness of the saint’s confession the true Faith, the proconsul gave them all over to torture.

“When my body suffers,” Saint Probus said to the idol worshippers, “then my soul is healed and invigorated.” The tormentors refined their tortures, such as their rage could invent, and then they tore the bodies of the saints apart. Christians secretly took up the relics of the saints and buried them.

Saint Cosmas the Hymnographer, Bishop of Maiuma, was a native of Jerusalem. He was raised by the parents of Saint John of Damascus (December 4) together with their son, and he received a fine education. When Saint Cosmas came of age, he set out to one of the monasteries of Palestine, where he attained renown for his monastic exploits.

During a time of persecution against holy icons Saint Cosmas, and the venerable John, came forward to defend Orthodoxy. In the year 743 Cosmas was made Bishop of Maiuma. He died in old age, leaving behind many canons for feast days and a Triodion for four days of Holy Week.

Saint Amphilochius, Abbot of Glushetsa, already a monk of priestly rank, came from Ustiug to Saint Dionysius of Glushetsa (July 1) in the year 1417. Saint Dionysius, learning of the wish of Amphilochius to become an ascetic, told him of the severity and harshness of life in his monastery, but this did not deter the newcomer. Then Saint Dionysius said, “If you wish to dwell here, then we shall make an accord not to be distinct one from another while we dwell upon the earth.” Amphilochius joyfully agreed and vowed to fulfill the rule of the monastery.

The venerable Amphilochius spent twenty years in deeds of fasting, prayer and obedience under the guidance of Saint Dionysius, striving to imitate him in all things and assisting in the work of building up the monastery.

After the death of Saint Dionysius, Saint Amphilochius was the abbot of the Glushetsa monastery for fifteen years. He died peacefully in the year 1452, and was buried alongside his mentor.

The Martyr Domnina of Anazarbus lived in the region of Cilicia, and suffered for confessing Christianity. She was beaten for a long time, by order of the governor Licius, and they also burned her with fire. After many tortures, Saint Domnina was thrown into prison, where she died in 286.

Saint Martin the Merciful, Bishop of Tours, was born at Sabaria in Pannonia (modern Hungary) in 316. Since his father was a Roman officer, he also was obliged to serve in the army. Martin did so unwillingly, for he considered himself a soldier of Christ, though he was still a catechumen.

At the gates of Amiens, he saw a beggar shivering in the severe winter cold, so he cut his cloak in two and gave half to the beggar. That night, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the saint wearing Martin’s cloak. He heard the Savior say to the angels surrounding Him, “Martin is only a catechumen, but he has clothed Me with this garment.” The saint was baptized soon after this, and reluctantly remained in the army.

Two years later, the barbarians invaded Gaul and Martin asked permission to resign his commission for religious reasons. The commander charged him with cowardice. Saint Martin demonstrated his courage by offering to stand unarmed in the front line of battle, trusting in the power of the Cross to protect him. The next day, the barbarians surrendered without a fight, and Martin was allowed to leave the army.

He traveled to various places during the next few years, spending some time as a hermit on an island off Italy. He became friendly with Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers (January 14), who made Martin an exorcist. After several years of the ascetic life, Saint Martin was chosen to be Bishop of Tours in 371. As bishop, Saint Martin did not give up his monastic life, and the place where he settled outside Tours became a monastery. In fact, he is regarded as the founder of monasticism in France. He conversed with angels, and had visions of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29) and of other saints. He is called the Merciful because of his generosity and care for the poor, and he received the grace to work miracles.

After a life of devoted service to Christ and His Church, the saint fell ill at Candes, a village in his diocese, where he died on November 8, 397. He was buried three days later (his present Feast) at Tours. During the Middle Ages, many Western churches were dedicated to Saint Martin, including Saint Martin’s in Canterbury, and Saint Martin-in-the-Fields in London.

In 1008, a cathedral was built at Tours over the relics of Saint Martin. This cathedral was destroyed in 1793 during the French Revolution, together with the relics of Saint Martin and Saint Gregory of Tours (November 17). A new cathedral was built on the site many years later. Some fragments of the relics of Saint Martin were recovered and placed in the cathedral, but nothing remains of Saint Gregory’s relics.

Saint Martin’s name appears on many Greek and Russian calendars. His commemoration on October 12 in the Russian calendar appears to be an error, since ancient sources give the November date.

The Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, by tradition, was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke fifteen years after the Ascension of the Lord at Gethsemane.

In the year 463, the icon was transferred to Constantinople. The Byzantine army carried the Jerusalem Icon into battle when they turned back an invasion of the Scythians. In 988 the icon was transferred to Korsun and given to the holy Prince Vladimir. When the people of Novgorod accepted Christianity, Saint Vladimir sent them this icon. In 1571, Ivan the Terrible transferred the icon to the Moscow Dormition cathedral. During the Napoleonic invasion of 1812, the original was stolen by the French and brought to Paris. An authenticated copy was placed in the Dormition cathedral.

The Jerusalem Icon is also commemorated on November 13, and on the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent.

Saint Edwin (Eadwine) was the son of Alla, King of Deira, and was born around 584. When his father died, Edwin was cheated out of his kingdom by King Ethelred of Bernicia, who united Bernicia and Deira into a single kingdom of Northumbria.

Edwin fled to East Anglia and took refuge with King Redwald. Redwald, because of the threats and promises he had received, was persuaded to give Edwin up to his enemies. Edwin was warned by a friend of the danger he faced. That night, a stranger promised that his kingdom would be restored to him if Edwin would do as he taught him. Edwin agreed, and the stranger laid his hand on Edwin’s head, telling him to remember the gesture.

In time, Edwin became ruler of the entire north of England and, by force of arms, obliged the other kings to acknowledge him as sovereign. He married Ethelburga, the daughter of Saint Ethelbert (February 25), the first Christian king in England. Ethelburga was also the sister of King Ealbald of Kent.

There was an attempt on Edwin’s life in 626, on the eve of Pascha. That night the queen gave birth to a baby girl, and King Quichelm of the West Saxons sent an assassin named Eumer to kill Edwin with a poisoned dagger. Eumer was admitted to Edwin’s presence and tried to stab him. He would have succeeded if it had not been for Lilla, King Edwin’s faithful minister, who placed himself between the king and the assassin. The blade passed through his body, however, and wounded the king. The assassin was killed, and Lilla saved Edwin’s life at the cost of his own. This event is commemorated by a stone cross which stands on Lilla Howe near Fylingdales Ballistic Missile Early Warning System on the North Yorkshire Moors. Before the Pickering-Whitby road was built in 1759, this cross served as a guide for those who walked across the moors from Robin Hood’s Bay to Saltergate.

Edwin thanked his gods that he had been spared, but he was told by Bishop Paulinus of York (October 10) that he had been saved by the prayers of his queen. The bishop said that he should show his gratitude to the true God by allowing his newborn daughter to be baptized. The child was baptized on Pentecost, and was given the name Eanfleda.

The king, who had been slightly wounded in the attack, promised Bishop Paulinus that he would become a Christian if he were restored to health, and if he would triumph over those who conspired to kill him.

As soon as his wound healed, King Edwin marched against the King of the West Saxons with an army. He vanquished the opposing army, killing or capturing those involved in the plot against him. He no longer followed the pagan religion, but he put off his promise to embrace Christianity, and it was many years before Edwin converted. He would sit alone for hours trying to decide which religion he should follow. Saint Paulinus, informed by a revelation about the stranger’s promise to the king, went to Edwin and laid his hand upon his head. “Do you remember this gesture?” he asked.

The king trembled with astonishment, and would have fallen at the bishop’s feet. Saint Paulinus gently raised him up and said, “You see that God has delivered you from your enemies. Moreover, He offers you His everlasting Kingdom. See that you fulfill your promise to become a Christian and keep the commandments of God.”

King Edwin said that he would seek the counsel of his advisers and urge them to convert with him. He asked them what he should do. Coifi, a pagan priest, said it was readily apparent that their gods had no power. Another person said that this brief life was inconsequential, compared to eternity.

Saint Paulinus addressed the gathering, and when he had finished, Coifi told the king that the altars and temples of their false gods should be burned. The king asked him who should be the first to profane them. Coifi replied that he should be the first, since he had been foremost in leading their worship. The chief priest of the pagans was not permitted to bear arms or to ride a horse. It was customary that he ride a mare. Coifi, however, asked for a horse and for arms. Mounted on the king’s own horse, Coifi threw a spear into their temple, commanding the others to pull it down and set it afire. This place was not far from York, and today it is known as Godmanham.

In 627, the eleventh year of his reign, Saint Edwin was baptized by Saint Paulinus of York in the wooden church of Saint Peter. Saint Edwin began the construction of a new stone church, which was completed by his successor Saint Oswald (August 5).

Saint Edwin ruled his kingdom in peace for six more years, and continued to practice and promote Christianity. He was killed in a battle with Penda of Mercia and Cadwalla of Wales in 633, when he was forty-eight years old, at a place now known as Hatfield.

Saint Edwin’s body was buried at Whitby, but his head was buried at York in the church he had built. Most of the early English calendars list Saint Edwin as a martyr.

After the death of Saint Edwin, his wife Saint Ethelburga (April 5) returned to Kent, where she became the abbess of a monastery which she founded at Lyminge.

The Rudens Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1687 in the Rudno locale of Mogilevsk diocese. In 1712 the icon was transferred to the Florovsk Ascension monastery in Kiev, where now it is located.

The Translation from Malta to Gatchina of a Portion of the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord, together with the Philermos Icon of the Mother of God (from Mount Philermos on the Greek island of Rhodes), and the right hand of Saint John the Baptist took place in the year 1799. These holy things were preserved on the island of Malta by the Knights of the Catholic Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. In 1798, when the French seized the island, the Maltese knights turned to Russia for defense and protection. On October 12, 1799 they offered these ancient holy things to the emperor Paul I, who at this time was at Gatchina. In the autumn of 1799 the holy items were transferred to Saint Petersburg and placed in the Winter Palace within the church dedicated to the Icon of the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands. The Feast for this event was established in 1800.

By ancient tradition, the Philermos Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke. From Jerusalem it was transferred to Constantinople, where it was situated in the Blachernae church. In the thirteenth century it was taken from there by crusaders, and from that time was kept by the Knights of the Order of Saint John.

No information available at this time.

Saint Tarasius of Glushetsa was abbot of a monastery built by Saint Stephen of Perm (April 26), and he zealously spread and affirmed the Orthodox Faith among the Zyryani people.

In 1427, under the successor of Saint Stephen, Bishop Gerasimus (January 29), Saint Tarasius voluntarily gave up leading the monastery and went to the Glushetsa monastery under the guidance of Saint Dionysius (June 1).

Saint Dionysius, seeing Tarasius’ deep humility, accepted him. The former igumen Tarasius toiled alongside the novices as an equal at the monastery and he led a strict ascetic life. He was buried at the Dionysiev monastery in 1440.

Saint Macarius, Abbot of Glushetsa (in the world Matthew), was born in Rostov. As a twelve-year-old boy he was given to Saint Dionysius (June 1) to be raised. Growing up under the guidance of the great Elder, the saint was distinguished by a rare purity of soul. Saint Macarius, already a hieromonk, was chosen by the brethren as igumen of the monastery after the death of Saint Amphilochius. Saint Macarius fell asleep in the Lord on May 13 (not earlier than 1462).

The Yaroslav-Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was the cell icon of the archimandrite of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Anthony. On October 12, 1642 while he was praying, he heard a voice from the Smolensk Hodēgḗtria (Directress) icon saying, “Go, go to the limits of the city of Yaroslavl, to a newly-made monastery in My name.” Archimandrite Anthony sent this icon with the Venerable Gersaim to the indicated monastery, being built in the forest, not far from Yaroslavl. The wonderworking icon was set in the monastery church in the altar area.

The Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1748 (September 2). In 1812 many Russian and French soldiers beheld the Kaluga icon of the Mother of God, standing in the air. Thus also it was around Kaluga and Maloyaroslavl. During such appearances the Russian armies were always victorious. This vision was also granted to the peasant Paraskevḗ Alekseeva.

Saint Philotheus was a native of Thessalonica, and received the monastic tonsure at an early age. After living for a time at Mt Sinai, he went to Mt Athos and became the igumen of the Great Lavra.

In 1347 he became Metropolitan of Heraclea, Thrace. Later, he served as Patriarch of Constantinople from 1354-1355, and again from 1364-1376.

While living on the Holy Mountain and even after he left there, Saint Philotheus wrote religious books which reveal his great learning and spirituality. Many of his works are directed against the anti-hesychasts, and he also wrote on liturgical and hagiographical themes.

Saint Philotheus ordained that Saint Gregory Palamas (November 14) be commemorated on the second Sunday of Great Lent, presided at his glorification as a saint, and even composed the Service in his honor.

Saint Philotheus fell asleep in the Lord in 1379.

Holy Apostle Philip of the Seventy, one of the 7 Deacons is not to be confused with Saint Philip one of the Twelve Apostles (November 14). This Philip was born in Palestine, was married and had children.

After the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Twelve Apostles made Philip a deacon in the Church of Jerusalem. Along with the other six deacons, they appointed him to deal with the offerings of the faithful and attend to the concerns of the widowed, the orphaned and the needy. The eldest among the seven deacons was the holy Archdeacon Stephen. When the persecution of Christians began, the Jews stoned the Protomartyr Stephen. The Apostle Philip left Jerusalem and settled in Samaria. There he successfully preached Christianity. Among the disciple’s converts was the noted magician Simon, who “after being baptized, continued with Philip.” (Acts 8:9-13)

At the command of an angel of the Lord, Saint Philip set out upon the road connecting Jerusalem with Gaza. There he met an official of the empress of Ethiopia, whom also he converted to Christianity (Acts 8:26-39). The holy disciple Philip tirelessly preached the Word of God in many of the lands of the Near East adjoining Palestine. At Jerusalem the Apostles made him a bishop and sent him to Tralles in Asia Minor, where he also baptized many. Saint Philip died in old age.

Saint Theophanes, Confessor and Hymnographer, Bishop of Nicea was the younger brother of the Saint Theodore the Branded (December 27). The brothers received an excellent education and were particularly involved in philosophy. Striving towards the knowledge of God, they settled in the Lavra of Saint Savva. Here Saint Theophanes was tonsured, and later became a hieromonk.

The holy brothers were famed as advocates of icon veneration. They boldly fulfilled the mission entrusted them by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and went to Constantinople to denounce the iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820). Afterwards, they also denounced the iconoclast emperors Michael Balbos (820-829) and Theophilus (829-842).

The saints had to endure imprisonment, hunger, even torture. The emperor Theophilus gave orders to inscribe a phrase insulting to the glorious confessors upon their faces with red-hot needles. Therefore, they are called “Branded”. “Write whatever you wish, but at the Last Judgment you shall read your own writing,” said the agonized brothers to the emperor. They sent Theodore to prison, where also he died (+ 833), but Theophanes was sent into exile. With the restoration of Icon veneration Saint Theophanes was returned from exile and consecrated Bishop of Nicea. The saint wrote about 150 canons, among which is a beautiful canon in defense of holy icons. He died peacefully around the year 850.

The epithet "Faster," by which the Venerable Theophanes is known, indicates that he drew closer to the Lord by means of his strict fasting. The relics of Saint Theophanes lie in the Near Caves of Saint Anthony. He lived during the XII century, but the details of his Life are not described in the commemoration books of the Kiev Caves Lavra.

Saint Theophanes is also commemorated on the Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Near Caves of Saint Anthony (September 28), and on the Synaxis of All the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves (The second Sunday of Great Lent).

Leo Nagolkin, the future Saint Leonid, was born in Karachev in the Orlov Province in 1768. As a young man he worked for a merchant, making long and frequent trips on his employer’s business. He met all sorts of people, and this experience helped him later in life when visitors of diverse backgrounds would come to him for spiritual advice.

Leo first entered Optina Monastery in 1797, but remained for only two years. Then he went to White Bluff monastery in the Orlov diocese, where Hieromonk Basil (Kiskin) was igumen. He tonsured Leo as a monk in 1801, giving him the new name Leonid. In December of that year, Father Leonid was ordained as a deacon and then as a priest.

Father Leonid’s rise to prominence was unusually rapid. He was an example to others in the way he fulfilled his obediences, and this attracted the notice of his superiors. In 1804, after only five years at White Bluff, he was appointed by Bishop Dorotheus of Orlov and Svensk to succeed Father Basil as igumen.

Before assuming his new duties, Father Leonid spent some time at Cholnsk monastery, where he met Schemamonk Theodore, a disciple of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15). Father Theodore, who was about ten years older than Father Leonid, was also from Karachev. Under his direction, Father Leonid learned a great deal about spiritual struggles and how to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Father Leonid was saddened when he had to leave his wise Elder in order to assume his responsibilities at White Bluff. Their separation was not long, however, because Father Theodore moved to White Bluff in 1805. Their frequent conversations inspired him to even greater progress in the spiritual life.

Father Theodore longed for solitude, and was permitted to live in a cell about a mile from the monastery with his disciple Father Cleopas. Father Leonid joined them after resigning as igumen in 1808. It is possible that Father Leonid may have been tonsured into the Great Schema with the name Leo during this time.

The fame of these ascetics soon spread throughout the area, and many visitors came to seek their advice. They found these distractions detrimental to their spiritual struggles, and they resolved to move to a more remote place.

Father Theodore was the first to leave. In 1809 he stayed briefly at New Lake Monastery. Then Metropolitan Ambrose of Saint Petersburg sent him to the Palei Island Hermitage, where he remained for three years. Father Theodore moved to the All Saints Skete of Valaam Monastery in 1812. Father Leonid and Father Cleopas also moved there in 1812, and were reunited with Father Theodore. Hieroschemamonk Cleopas died in 1816, and Father Leonid and Father Theodore moved to the Saint Alexander of Svir monastery.

Tsar Alexander I visited the monastery in 1820 in order to meet these Elders, of whom he had heard. They replied to the Sovereign’s questions with the briefest of answers, since they did not want to seem too talkative. When he asked for their blessing, Father Theodore told him that he was not an ordained monk. The Tsar bowed and went on his way.

Father Theodore went to the Lord on April 7, 1822 (Bright Friday). After this Father Leonid left the monastery to live in a more secluded place with some like-minded disciples. Archbishop Ambrose (Podobedev) of Kazan knew about Father Leonid, and was willing to receive him in his diocese. Father Leonid was also invited to live at the Ploschansk Hermitage in the Orlov diocese. Father Leonid, however, chose to accept the invitation of Saint Moses (June 16) to live at Optina. Bishop Philaret of Kaluga also wanted Father Leonid to live at Optina, but it was not possible for him to do so just then.

Father Leonid had to remain at the Svir monastery for five more years before he was allowed to leave. In April of 1829 he arrived at Optina with six of his disciples. He was given a cell in the Skete, near the apiary. Cells were also found in the Skete for his disciples.

The arrival of Father Leonid marked a new chapter in Optina’s history, for it was he who introduced eldership at this monastery. Guidance by an Elder has always been recognized as a sure and reliable path to salvation. It spread from the deserts of Egypt and Palestine to Mt Athos, and later to Russia. Father Leonid received this teaching from Father Theodore, the disciple of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky. Through Father Leonid and his disciple Saint Macarius (September 7) eldership was established at Optina.

With the arrival of Father Leonid, the whole way of life at Optina was changed. Nothing important was ever done without his knowledge and blessing. Each evening the brethren came to him to discuss their spiritual needs and to reveal how they had sinned in thought, word, or deed during the day. He offered consolation in their sorrows, advice in their spiritual struggles, and help in resolving their problems.

Saint Leonid’s wisdom and spiritual counsels made him known outside of Optina. People from cities and villages, of all social classes, flocked to Optina seeking his help. He treated their spiritual afflictions with the knowledge and experience he had gained after thirty years of living in asceticism. Sometimes he healed their physical infirmities as well, anointing them with oil from the lamp that always burned before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in his cell.

Father Macarius (Ivanov) moved to Optina Skete from Ploschansk in 1834. He had been under the guidance of an Elder who had been a disciple of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky. After the Elder’s death Father Macarius felt orphaned, and prayed that God would send him an experienced spiritual guide. His prayers were answered when Father Leonid came to Ploschansk in 1828. Even after Father Leonid left Ploschansk Father Macarius stayed in touch with him through letters.

At Optina Father Macarius assisted the Elder with his correspondence, and in the spiritual care of the brethren and those who visited Father Leonid. After 1836 Father Macarius became the spiritual Father of the Monastery. Although he had been the spiritual Father of the Sevsk convent for more than seven years, he regarded himself as nothing. Disdaining human glory, he was content to submit his will to Father Leonid in all things. Father Leonid, in turn, showed similar humility toward Father Macarius, regarding him as a friend and fellow laborer rather than a disciple.

Even though he had a high regard for Father Macarius, he was mindful of the saying of Saint John of the Ladder that in the first place, a spiritual guide would be deprived of a reward himself if he did not correct those under them. Secondly, the spiritual guide acts unjustly when he might bring profit to others, but does not do so. Thirdly, even those who are hard-working and patient might suffer harm if they are left for a time without reproaches from the Superior, for then they can lose the meekness and patience they once had (Step 4:27). Therefore, he gave Father Macarius many opportunities to win the crown of victory by testing his patience so that others might benefit by the example of his humility.

One day Father Macarius was summoned by the igumen Father Moses, who asked him to sponsor some of the brethren at their tonsure. Regarding the igumen’s request as a command, he merely bowed and left. He went to see Father Leonid, who was surrounded many people seeking his advice, and informed him why Father Moses had sent for him.

Father Leonid gazed at him sternly and asked, “What did you do? Did you agree to it?”

“I almost agreed,” Father Macarius replied, “or perhaps it is better to say that I did not dare to refuse.”

“That is typical of your pride,” the Elder said. Then he raised his voice and reprimanded Father Macarius as though he were really angry with him.

Father Macarius bowed continually, asking forgiveness. Those who were present were astounded by this. Finally, when Father Leonid fell silent, he bowed and said, “Forgive me, Father. Do you bless me to refuse?”

“How can you refuse?” he demanded. “You asked for this yourself, and now you wish to refuse? You cannot refuse, it has been settled.”

On the other hand, Father Leonid showed his love and respect for Father Macarius by confiding him, and by making him his helper and coworker.

Father Leonid’s spiritual influence extended beyond Optina, and he established eldership in two other monasteries of the Kaluga diocese. There were also nuns from other dioceses who were guided by Father Leonid. In three women’s monasteries (in Belev, Sevsk, and Borisov), some of his disciples were more advanced in the spiritual life than others. These became Eldresses for the other sisters both during Father Leonid’s lifetime and after his repose.

Father Leonid endured persecution during 1835-1836 over the institution of eldership at Optina. Those who instigated the persecution were unlearned people who did not understand the concept of eldership, regarding it as an innovation. Even some of the monks complained to the bishop about Father Leonid, but they were not always successful.

Bishop Gabriel of Kaluga visited Optina and was favorably disposed toward Father Moses. In the presence of all the brethren, he reprimanded the malcontents and ordered them to correct themselves.

Some of the monks, however, remained unhappy with Father Leonid because of the many visitors who came to him. They sent reports to the bishop complaining that the peaceful routine of the monastery was being disrupted. Nicholas, the new Bishop of Kaluga ignored these reports at first. Then a false accusation against Father Moses and Father Leonid was sent anonymously to the bishop. Bishop Nicholas, for whatever reason, ordered that Father Leonid leave his cell near the apiary and go to live in the Monastery. He would not allow Father Leonid to receive the laity of either sex. Since there was no cell available in the Monastery, Father Leonid moved to a cell in the Skete. A directive was sent in 1836 ordering Father Leonid to move to the Monastery without fail. The igumen Fr. Moses and the Skete Superior Father Anthony were caught in the middle. They knew Father Leonid was innocent, yet they had to obey the bishop.

In 1837 Metropolitan Philaret of Kiev visited Optina accompanied by Bishop Nicholas of Kaluga. The Metropolitan had known Father Leonid previously at White Bluff Monastery, and he showed his respect for the Elder and for the igumen Father Moses. The detractors of Father Leonid and Father Moses were taken aback by this. Even Bishop Nicholas began to give less weight to the complaints, and Father Leonid’s position began to improve.

In the years before his death, Father Leonid had to endure another trial. This time it affected his spiritual children at the Belev Convent of the Exaltation of the Cross.

The nuns of Belev were under the Eldress Anthia, who had advanced under the guidance of Elder Leonid. Abbess Epaphrodite was pleased to see how Mother Anthia and those close to her had cut off their own will, purified their thoughts, and uprooted the passions. Seeing that the abbess loved these nuns for their spiritual progress, some of the other nuns became jealous. One in particular complained to her spiritual Father and spread false stories about Mother Anthia and the sisters.

The priest was already inclined to believe evil against Mother Anthia, and he also resented the fact that they went to Father Leonid for spiritual counsel. He began spreading accusations and slanders against Father Leonid, for he did not understand the nature of eldership. Hearing rumors that the priest had uncovered a new heresy at the Belev Convent, Bishop Damascene of Tula summoned him and Mother Epaphrodite in order to question them. He believed the priest’s erroneous opinions and decided to take action. In February of 1841 he ordered the expulsion of Mother Anthia and one of the other sisters from the convent.

Father Leonid was labeled as a troublemaker and a rebel against authority, but he bore everything with patience. He was ordered to leave his cell by the apiary and move to a cell as far as possible from the monastery gates. He was also forbidden to receive lay visitors.

In the end it was Metropolitan Philaret of Kiev who interceded with the Bishop of Tula on behalf of Father Leonid. He also helped Mother Anthia and the other nun. Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow also wrote to Bishop Damascene, who came to realize that he had been deceived by the priest’s misguided zeal which was not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2). Both of the expelled sisters were received back into the convent on October 4, 1841, just a week before Saint Leonid’s death.

Father Leonid’s health began to decline in September of 1841, and he was ill for five weeks. He refused to see a doctor or to take any medicine, however. He received Holy Unction on September 15, and from that time he began to prepare for death. He said farewell to the brothers who came to him, and blessed them. He also gave each one something as a remembrance, an icon, a book, etc.

He received Holy Communion on September 28, and requested that the Canon for the Departure of the Soul be read. The brethren were grieved by this, but the Elder told them that perhaps they would have to read the Canon several times for him. In fact, it was read eight times before his death.

Between September 28 and October 11, he took no food, but only a little water. He was strengthened by the life-giving Mysteries of Christ, however. During the last two weeks of his life, Father Leonid received Holy Communion twelve times. After October 6 he could no longer stand up, and he asked the brethren to pray that the Lord would shorten his sufferings.

On the morning of October 11, 1841 Saint Leonid received the Holy Mysteries, and was visited by Basil Braguzin, who was known in the area as a fool for the sake of Christ. Braguzin had foreseen the Elder’s repose and had journeyed more than 180 kilometers to bid him farewell.

At ten o’clock that morning, the Elder began to cross himself and say, “Glory to God.” After repeating this many times, he became quiet. Later, he spoke again to those around him saying, “Now the mercy of God will be with me.” After an hour or so, he became very joyful despite his physical pain. He could not hide his happiness at the blessings he was about to receive, and his face grew more radiant.

That evening he said farewell to those who were with him and silently blessed them. They left the room, and only one disciple remained with the Elder. At 7:30 he closed his eyes and surrendered his soul to God.

The saint’s body remained in the church for three days with no sign of an odor. His body was warm, and his hands remained soft. From morning until night the church was filled with people who came to pay their respects. Saint Moses served the funeral on October 13 with all the hieromonks and the hierodeacons who were present. Father Leonid was buried near the main church of the Entrance of the Theotokos, opposite the chapel of Saint Nicholas.

Bishop Nicholas of Kaluga visited Optina in 1843 and served a panikhida at the grave of Saint Leonid. He told the igumen and the brethren he regretted the fact that he had not properly appreciated the Elder during his lifetime, and had even believed some unsubstantiated rumors about him, which caused him to regard Father Leonid with suspicion and distrust. He acknowledged that he was wrong to believe what certain people had told him, and expressed a hope that the Elder’s biography would be published someday.

The Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However, because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey II of Moscow designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.

The Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.

Today the Church honors the memory of the holy Elders of Optina Monastery:

Saint Leonid (October 11)

Saint Macarius (September 7)

Saint Moses (June 16)

Saint Anthony (August 7)

Saint Hilarion (September 18)

Saint Ambrose (June 27 and October 10)

Saint Anatole the Elder (January 25)

Saint Isaac I (August 22)

Saint Joseph (May 9)

Saint Barsanuphius (April 1)

Saint Anatole the Younger (July 30)

Saint Nectarius (April 29)

Saint Nikon (June 25)

Saint Isaac II (December 26)

The Martyrs Zenaida (Zenais) and Philonilla lived in Tarsus in Cilicia during the first century, and were related to the holy Apostle Paul. They were pious Christian women, and both of them shared a love of learning. By whatever means were available to them at that time, they acquired medical knowledge.

The two sisters left their home and settled in a cave near the city of Demetriada, where they lived in constant prayer and work. The citizens of Demetriada soon learned that there were two women doctors who gladly treated everyone who turned to them for help, yet did not require payment for their services. They also healed people’s souls by converting them to Christ.

One night, some pagans went to their cave and stoned them. Saints Zenaida and Philonilla suffered martyrdom for Christ, thereby receiving incorruptible crowns of glory from the Lord.

Commemoration of the Miracle of the Icon of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Beret: At the fourth session of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (in 787), Saint Peter, Bishop of Nicomedia, in defending the necessity of icon veneration, presented an account of Saint Athanasius about a miracle which occurred in the city of Beret, Phoenecia.

In this city, near the Jewish synagogue, lived a certain Christian. When he moved to another place, he left behind an icon of the Lord Jesus Christ. A Jew, who moved into the house, paid no attention to the icon. Once, his friend noticed of the image of Jesus Christ on the wall and said to the homeowner, “Why do you, a Jew, have an icon in your house?” He then went to the synagogue and reported this transgression of Jewish law.

The Jews expelled the owner of the house from the synagogue.They took the icon from the wall and began to scoff at it, “As once our fathers mocked Him, so we also mock Him.” They spit at the face of the Lord. Hurling abuses, they lashed at the icon, they placed thorns around the head, nailed it to a tree, and put a sponge with vinegar to the mouth. Finally, they took a spear, and one of the Jews thrust it into the side of the Savior. Suddenly, from the hole in the icon made by the spear, blood and water flowed. The Jewish rabbis, seeing the miracle, said, “The followers of Jesus Christ say that He could heal the sick. Let us take this blood and water into the synagogue and anoint those afflicted with infirmities. Then we shall see whether what is spoken of Him is true.”

A vessel with the blood was put in the synagogue. The inhabitants of Beret, once they learned of the miracle, began to bring those suffering from various illnesses into the synagogue. They all were healed, after being anointed with the blood from the icon of the Savior. Then the Jewish people believed in Christ and exclaimed, “Glory to You, O Christ, Whom our fathers crucified, Whom we also crucified in the form of Your icon. Glory to You, O Son of God, for having worked such a miracle! We believe in You, therefore be merciful to us and receive us!”

The Jews went to the Bishop of Beret. After showing him the wonderworking icon and the blood and water that flowed from it, they told him of their misdeed. The bishop, seeing their sincere repentance, accepted them, catechized them for many days and then baptized them. Then he consecrated the synagogue into a church of our Savior Jesus Christ. At the request of the Jews, he also consecrated other synagogues into churches dedicated to the holy martyrs. There was great joy in that city, not only because many people were healed, but because many were baptized due to the miracles worked by the icon of the Savior.

Saint Ethelburga (Aethelburh) was born into the royal family of East Anglia in the seventh century. She was the sister of Saint Erconwald (May 13), who founded the monastery of Barking (Berecingum) in Essex. Saint Ethelburga became the first abbess of this monastery.

Saint Bede (May 27) says (History of the English Church and People, Book IV, Chapters. 6-9) that she was worthy of her holy brother in every way. She led a virtuous life and guided those who were under her. It is said that many miracles took place at the monastery during her time.

Shortly before Saint Ethelburga’s death, a nun called Tortgith had a vision in which she saw a body wrapped in a shroud, and shining with a bright light. She watched as the body was drawn up to Heaven on cords which seemed brighter than gold. Sister Tortgith had no doubt that this vision signified the imminent death of one of the nuns. Not many days later, Saint Ethelburga fell asleep in the Lord.

Years later, when the nun Tortgith was dying, Saint Ethelburga appeared to her and told her that the hour of her passing was at hand.

This Saint Ethelburga should not be confused with another saint of the same name (April 5), who was married to the holy martyred King Edwin of Northumbria (October 12).

Saints Eulampius and Eulampia were brother and sister. They lived at the beginning of the fourth century in the city of Nicomedia. Eulampius became upset after reading the decree of the emperor Maximian (284-305) sentencing all Christians to execution. Eulampius was horrified that the emperor was taking up arms against his own subjects rather than fighting the enemies of his country.

The youth was brought to trial and commanded to renounce the Christian Faith. When he refused, they first raked him with iron hooks, and then placed him upon a red-hot bed of coals. All of a sudden the sufferer expressed a wish to visit the pagan temple. The judges were delighted, supposing that they had turned him from Christianity. In the pagan temple of Mars the saint approached the idol and cried out, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command you to fall to the floor and crumble into dust!” The idol immediately crashed down to the floor and was destroyed.

The people exclaimed, “The Supreme God is the Christian God, Who is great and mighty!” Saint Eulampius was again taken away for torture. This time his sister, Eulampia, appeared before the judges and declared that she also was a Christian. Eulampius told her, “Sister, do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul” (Mt.10:28).

The martyrs were tortured and thrown into a red-hot furnace, but the Lord protected them from the fire. Finally, they beheaded Eulampius, but Eulampia died from her torments before she could be beheaded.

Two hundred martyrs were converted to Christ after seeing the miracles of Saint Eulampius and Saint Eulampia as they were being tortured. They were also put to death and received the crown of martyrdom.

Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Vladimir-Volhynia was the third bishop of one of the oldest of Russian dioceses, Vladimir-Volhynia, which was established in the time of Saint Vladimir. The first Vladimir-Volhynia bishop was Stephen, elected under Saint Vladimir himself; the next in succession was Igumen Stephen of the Kiev Caves (April 27), who became the igumen after Saint Theodosius (May 3). Saint Amphilochius was consecrated bishop on August 27, 1105 by the Metropolitan of Kiev, Nikēphóros (1103-1121).

For seventeen years Bishop Amphilochius guided the Vladimir-Volhynia flock. Only a couple of generations separate his time from that of the Baptism of Kievan Rus, and the saint toiled tirelessly for the conversion of pagans to Christ. He also worked to root out pagan superstitions among the newly-baptized, while pacifying the strife among the princes of the region.

Resigning as hierarch, he continued his service to God in the Kiev Caves monastery, where he died in the year 1122. The October 10 celebration of his memory, together with the other holy hierarchs of the Volhynia region, was established in the year 1831, after the restoration of the Pochaev Lavra in Volhynia to Orthodoxy.

The Synaxis of the Saints of Volhynia commemorates all the saints of that region, including

Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia (October 10)

Saint Job of Pochaev (August 28, October 28)

Saint Juliana Olshanskaya (July 6)

Saint Macarius of Kanev (May 13, September 7)

Saint Stephen, Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia (April 27)

Saint Theodore (Theodosius, in monasticism) (August 11)

Saint Yaropolk, prince of Vladimir, Volhynia (November 22)

Blessed Andrew of Totma, the Fool-for-Christ was born in the year 1638 in the village of Ust-Totma and chose to leave the world while still a child. With the blessing of Stephen, igumen of the Resurrection monastery in Galich, Andrew took upon himself the arduous calling of fool-for-Christ. He lived at the church of the Resurrection of Christ in the city of Totma on the banks of the River Sukhona.

Walking barefoot in both winter and summer, Andrew wore tattered clothing, and ate only bread and water, and that in such a small quantity that it just barely kept him from starving. He prayed both day and night, and if anyone gave him anything, he would give it away to the poor. For his efforts and toil the Blessed Andrew acquired the gift of wonderworking.

One winter a blind man by the name of Azhibokai came to the blessed fool, asking for healing while offering him a large sum of money. But the fool fled away. Azhibokai then washed his eyes with snow from where the saint had stood. In doing so, he was able to see.

The time of his own death was revealed to the Blessed Andrew. He made his confession, received the Holy Mysteries and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord in 1673. Over his grave was built the bell-tower church of the holy Martyr Andrew Stratelates (August 19), whose name he bore. Many miracles were witnessed at the grave of the Blessed Andrew.

Saint Theotecnus of Antioch was a renowned military commander at Antioch under the emperor Maximian (305-311). One time the emperor arrived in Antioch, demanding that all the inhabitants offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. As a Christian, Theotecnus refused to fulfill the order. The emperor, scoffing at the Christian Faith, gave orders to dress Theotecnus in women’s clothing and put him among the slave women. Three weeks later the emperor summoned Theoteknos to him, thinking that the humiliation would break his spirit, but again he heard the martyr confess Christ.

“You put your life in peril, if you do not submit”, growled Maximian. Theotecnus was silent. In a fury, the emperor, gave orders to cut the tendons and burn the feet of the martyr, and then throw him in a kettle of boiling tar. But just as soon as Theotecnus went into the kettle, the flames beneath it went out, and the heat of the kettle went cool instantly. Terror seized the emperor. Not wanting to torture the martyr further, he sent him to prison and entrusted his own centurion to deal with the saint.

In prison with Theotecnus was a Christian confessor named Alexander. Theotecnus helped him escape from the prison. Learning of this, the centurion subjected Theotecnus to brutal torments, and eventually gave orders to throw the saint into the sea with a stone about his neck. After a while, the relics of Saint Theotecnus were found, near the city of Rusob on the Cilician seacoast, and given Christian burial.

Saint Bassian of Constantinople was born in eastern Syria and became an ascetic in Constantinople, where the pious emperor Marcian (450-457) ruled. The venerable Bassian was the igumen at a monastery where there were three hundred monks. Among them also was Saint Matrona (November 9), who dressed in men’s attire. Saint Bassian lived in his monastery to an old age, famed for his virtuous life and numerous miracles, and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord.

Saint Theophilus the Confessor of Bulgaria came from the area surrounding Tiberiada. When he was thirteen, the saint secretly left his home to go off to the monastery on Mount Selenteia. There he matured spiritually under the guidance of the Elder, Saint Stephen. After three years Saint Theophilus was tonsured into monasticism. When the parents of the saint learned where their son was, they went to the monastery and asked the igumen to send Theophilus and several of the brethren to establish a new monastery closer to the their home. The igumen bade all the monks to fast and to pray, so that a sign might be received. On the third day a voice was heard in the church giving the blessing for Theophilus to start a new monastery, since he would become renowned for his many spiritual exploits.

During the period of the iconoclast controversy culminating in the reign of the iniquitous iconoclast emperor, Leo the Isaurian (717-741), Saint Theophilus openly revolted against the iconoclast folly. In accord with the emperor’s orders, the saint was subjected to beatings and led through the city tied up like a criminal. The emperor then gave Theophilus over into the charge of the official, Hypatius who tried repeatedly to compel the confessor to renounce holy icons. Theophilus remained steadfast. Instead, he succeeded in converting Hypatius.

As proof of the validity of icons, Theophilus cited the brass serpent set up by Moses (Num 21:9), the corroboration of the Cherubim atop the Ark of the Covenant, and finally how the Savior Himself had given to Abgar, the Prince of Edessa, His Icon Not Made by Hands (August 16). Persuaded by this evidence, Hypatius gained the emperor’s permission to set the saint free. The confessor returned to his monastery. He lived only a short time longer, and in the year 716 Saint Theophilus fell asleep peacefully in the Lord.

Saint Ambrose of Optina

Alexander Michailovich Grenkov was born Nov. 23, 1812 in the Russian province of Tambov. His parents raised him strictly and with fervent piety. Since he was of a priestly family, it was no surprise when he entered the Tambov theological seminary in 1830. He did well in his studies and was ranked among the top students.

About a year before graduation Alexander became seriously ill. He promised that if God healed him, he would become a monk. Although his prayer was answered, Alexander seemed to forget his promise.

After graduation from the seminary he took a position as tutor to the children of a certain landowner and remained with this family for a year and a half. After this he became a teacher at the local parochial school.

One day in 1839 Alexander and a friend visited the famous hermit Father Hilarion to ask him what they should do with their lives. Alexander was surprised when he was told to go to the monastery of Optina Pustin, where they had great need of him. In September of that same year, however, he seemed to be prepared to continue with his teaching career.

One night he was invited to spend a pleasant evening with some friends. His conversation was witty and brilliant, and all his jokes and puns were on the mark. Although his hosts were amused and impressed by him, Alexander was disgusted by his own frivolity. Perhaps his unfulfilled promise to become a monk weighed on his conscience.

The next morning he quit his job and arrived at Optina in October of 1839. After a trial period he decided to remain in the monastery and dedicate his life to God. He received the monastic tonsure in 1842, and was given the name Ambrose in honor of Saint Ambrose of Milan (December 7). Ambrose knew the famous spiritual directors Elder Leonid and Elder Macarius. He was the cell attendant of Elder Macarius, who undoubtedly influenced the young monk’s spiritual development.

Ordained as a priest in 1845, Father Ambrose’s reverence and piety in celebrating the divine services were noticed by the other monks. His health began to decline shortly afterward, and he had to ask to be relieved of all duties. In 1846 he was so ill that the Mystery of Holy Unction was administered to him. He bore his illness without complaint and slowly regained his strength. By 1848 he was able to walk with the aid of a cane.

Father Ambrose began to help Elder Macarius with his correspondence and in preparing the Russian edition of Saint John Climacus’s LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT, which was published by the monastery.

When Father Macarius had to go to Moscow in 1852, he designated Father Ambrose to take his place until his return. Father Ambrose never gave his personal opinions when he was asked for advice, but always referred people to the writings of the Fathers. If someone did not understand the text he was given to read, Father Ambrose would explain it in simple terms.

Father Macarius died in 1860 without naming anyone to succeed him as Elder. By divine providence, all the other possible candidates either died or were appointed as abbots of other monasteries. This left Father Ambrose as the undisputed spiritual director of the monastery. In his role as Elder, Father Ambrose had to receive many people each day to hear confessions and give advice. He used to say, “The Lord has arranged it so that I would have to talk to people all my life. Now I would be happy to remain silent, but I cannot.”

An average day in Saint Ambrose’s life began at 4 A.M. when his cell attendant came into his cell to read the morning Rule of prayer for him. After this he would wash and have some tea, then he would dictate replies to the many letters he received every day. Visitors would be lining up even as he was having breakfast. Sometimes he would take a break after two hours, but more often he would continue seeing people until noon when he had his lunch.

After lunch he would go out into the next room and greet more visitors. People would call out questions and he would give an appropriate response. He took a short rest at 3 P.M. then talked to people until the evening. At 8 P.M. he had dinner then received more visitors until 11 P.M. At that hour the evening Rule of prayer was read, and Father Ambrose begged forgiveness of the brethren whom he may have offended by thought, word, or deed. After three or four hours of sleep it would all begin again. This routine would fatigue a strong man. It is remarkable that Saint Ambrose, who was often in poor health, was able to keep it up for so many years.

From all over Russia, people flocked to the venerable Elder. The writer Tolstoy visited him on at least three occasions, and left impressed by the wisdom of the holy monk. Fyodor Dostoevsky came to Optina in 1878 after the death of his son Alyosha and was profoundly affected by his meeting with Saint Ambrose. The novelist used Father Ambrose as a model for Starets Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov.

The saint founded Shamordino convent in 1884. This convent, which was near Optina, opened its doors to women who were poor, sickly, or even blind. Most convents were very poor and had to rely on the incomes of women who had a certain personal wealth in order to remain open. Saint Ambrose made it possible for any woman who wished to become a nun to follow this path of salvation.

Shamordino began to decline after the death of the first abbess, Mother Sophia. Saint Ambrose went there in June 1890 to straighten out the convent’s affairs. He was unable to return to Optina due to illness, then winter made it impossible for him to travel. Father Ambrose continued to see visitors at Shamordino, even though his health continued to deteriorate in 1891.

By September, it was clear that he had not long to live. He fell asleep in the Lord at 11:30 A.M. on the morning of October 10 1891. Throngs of people attended his funeral and also his burial at Optina. Fathers Joseph, Anthony, Benedict, and Anatole succeeded him as Elder until the monastery was closed after the Russian Revolution.

The Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However, because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.

The Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.

Saint Ambrose was glorified in 1988 by the Patriarchate of Moscow as part of the Millennium celebration of the Baptism of Rus.

New Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsy was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church at the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 23, 1997.

Saint Peter was born in the Voronezh region, and studied at the Moscow Theological Academy, graduating in 1892, where he then continued as inspector. After a short stay at the seminary of Zhirovits in Belarus as inspector, he was appointed secretary of the Synodal Education Committee becoming de facto inspector of all the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Unlike many of his contemporaries who had graduated from a theological academy, Peter Polyansky did not seek ordination, and for a long time remained a layman. As secretary of the Synodal Education Committee he traveled widely, visiting innumerable theological establishments, meeting and knowing many people. Gifted with an outstanding intellect, a firm character and a sociable nature, he was widely known and made many friends. He exercised a beneficial influence on the religious education of future priests.

In 1917-18, Peter Polyansky took part in the work of the local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, when Saint Tikhon (April 7) was elected Patriarch. The latter made Peter Polyansky one of his closest aides, and persuaded him to become bishop; the Patriarch wished to consolidate the leadership of the Church in what was fast becoming the darkest time for the Church in many centuries. In 1920 Peter Polyansky was made a monk and auxiliary bishop for the diocese of Moscow; in a matter of months he was appointed Metropolitan of Krutitsy, one of the highest ranking bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Tikhon died on April 7, 1925, the day of the Annunciation (March 25). Foreseeing increasing troubles and uncertainty for the Church, thinking that the government would not allow a Church council to assemble and elect the next patriarch, Saint Tikhon took an administrative decision aimed at securing a smooth succession when he died. He nominated three bishops in order of priority, as locum tenens; the third was Metropolitan Peter Polyansky. When the first two choices were found to be in prison and thus unable to assume the leadership of the Church, this heavy task befell Metropolitan Peter.

Persecution against the Church was raging, the government gave its support to the splinter group “The Living Church” in an attempt to discredit and destroy the official Orthodox Church. A great number of bishops had been imprisoned or exiled to remote parts of the country, and were unable to have a clear understanding of the prevailing situation. The whole country was in turmoil; the so-called Living Church energetically tried to replace the true Church.

In the absence of a patriarch, people did not know whom to believe and to whom to give their allegiance. Metropolitan Peter then issued an uncompromisingly firm “Letter to the Russian Church” where he described the position of the Church vis a vis the authorities and vis a vis the “Living Church.” He made no compromises with anybody, and stood firm in the truth of Christ. This letter helped the Church to strengthen itself but caused the Metropolitan to be arrested.

The history of the few months in which a campaign was master-minded by the Commissar for religious affairs, Tuchkov, to compromise and weaken Saint Peter, shows how determined the government was to defeat the head of the Church, but this did not break him. On December 10, 1925, Saint Peter was put under house arrest, and two days later sent to the Lubianka prison; in May 1926 he was transferred to the Suzdal fortress, then back to the Lubianka, and finally, in December, he was sent to Siberia, first to Tobolsk, then to the village of Abalak on the banks of the river Irtysh which he reached in 1927. Many of the other bishops had experienced a similar fate, the dioceses remaining without their shepherds.

In August 1927, Metropolitan Peter was taken to another destination beyond the Arctic Circle, a place called Khe on the mouth of the Ob, in the frozen tundra. For a little while he lived there peacefully, recovering from the arduous journey. However, on August 29, the day of the Beheading of the Saint John the Baptist, he suffered his first attack of angina and had to stay in bed. Two paramedics who came from a far distance by river in a boat manned by a native, advised him to be seen by a doctor and be transferred to a hospital. The Metropolitan wrote to the authorities at the GPU, but never got a reply, or money, or provisions, although he knew that several parcels had arrived in Tobolsk addressed to him.

The damp, cold climate of this northern region was extremely harmful to him in his condition. Eventually, towards the end of September, he was taken back to Tobolsk. Unexpectedly, he had an interview with Tuchkov who offered him freedom if he surrendered his title of locum tenens, but he remained firm and refused to compromise. He was then sent back to Khe for another three years of exile, but he was never granted his freedom. In Moscow in 1936, ten years after his first imprisonment, believers were waiting for his return, counting on the end of his ten-year term of exile. They never saw him again. He may have been moved for the last time to a monastery nearer central Russia where he was a little less constrained, but with no freedom to write or communicate with the world. He was shot by decision of the Soviet authorities after years of prison and exile.

In the XIII century, there was a certain Elder who spent his life in ascetical struggles on Mount Athos. He had the pious custom of reading the Akathist Hymn before the Icon of the Mother of God every day.

One day, while reading the Akathist, and silently repeating the word "rejoice," the Elder suddenly heard a voice coming from the Icon, "Rejoice also, Elder of God!"

The ascetic trembled in horror, but the voice continued: "Do not be afraid, but go to the monastery as soon as possible and announce to the brethren and to the Igoumen that the monastery is in danger from enemies who are already close by. Whoever is weak in patience, let him hide until the temptation passes; but as for those who are seeking crowns, let them stay."

The Elder left the cell right away and hurried to the monastery. As soon as he entered the gate, his eyes beheld the very Icon from his cell, before which he had just read the Akathist. An invisible, miraculous power had brought it there from the ascetic's cell.

The Elder fell down before the Icon with ardent prayer, and then with the Icon in his hands, he went to the Igoumen. The brotherhood, learning of the impending danger, was very worried. The more faint-hearted monks hastened to hide in the mountains, while twenty-six brave monks, including the Igoumen himself, remained in the monastery. The Elder, who received the heavenly revelation, also remained with them, so that he might comfort them during the coming trial.

It did not take long for their enemies to reach the monastery. These were Latins who at that time were trying to convert Orthodox Christians to Catholicism. Arriving at the monastery and approaching the tower in which the monks had locked themselves, they tried to persuade them to renounce Orthodoxy. In an effort to convince them to recognize the pope as the head of the Universal Church, the Latins promised the champions of Orthodoxy all sorts of favors and monetary rewards. But these faithful sons of the Orthodox Church remained adamant.

Then the enemies of Orthodoxy piled wood around the tower and lit it. As they prayed to the Lord, the monks gave thanks to the Almighty for making them worthy of receiving the crown of martyrdom, and then all of them surrendered their spotless souls to the Heavenly Father. Their martyric death occurred on October 10, 1274. The names of the victims were added to the Synodikon of Zographou Monastery, as well as to the official calendar of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

The wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God, who warned the Elder about the impending disaster, was subsequently found unscathed under the ashes in the ruins of the monastery. Today this Icon is in the monastery, and an unsleeping lampada burns before it.

There is another Icon with the same name "of the Akathist" at Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos. Information about that Icon may be found under January 12.

26 Monkmartyrs of the Zographou Monastery on Mount Athos In the year 1274 at the Council of Lyons (in France), the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Paleologos decided to buttress his waning power by forming a union with Catholic Rome. This step evoked universal discontent. In 1278, the emperor issued a decree to introduce the Union at Constantinople by forceful measures, if necessary.

Mt. Athos stood in firm opposition to the Union. The Athonite monks sent a letter to Michael pointing out that the primacy of the Pope, his commemoration in the churches, celebrating the Eucharist with unleavened bread, the insertion of the “filioque” [“and from the Son”] into the Creed, could not be accepted by Orthodox, and they asked the emperor to change his mind. “We clearly see,” the letter said, “that you are becoming a heretic, but we implore you to forsake all this and abide in the teachings that were handed down to you…. Reject the unholy and novel teachings of a false knowledge, speculations, and additions to the Faith.”

The Crusaders pushed out of Palestine and finding refuge in the Byzantine Empire, declared to the emperor their readiness to affirm the power of the Pope by fire and sword, if necessary. In addition, Michael had hired mercenaries, both Turks and Tatars, to enforce his decree.

The emperor despised the monks of Mt. Athos for their opposition. Since he did not want to provoke the Greeks, he decided to vent his spite upon the Athonite Slavs. By Michael’s order, the servants of the Pope descended upon the Bulgarian Zographou monastery. When the demand to accept the Union was presented before the Zographou monks, they refused to listen. They adhered to the doctrines of the Fathers, and fearlessly censured those who accepted the Latin teachings. The majority of the Zographou monks left the monastery, but the most steadfast, twenty-six in number, remained within the monastery tower. These were:Igumen Thomas, and the monks Barsanuphius, Cyril, Michael, Simon, Hilarion, James, Job, Cyprian, Savva, Jacob, Martinian, Cosmas, Sergius, Menas, Joasaph, Joannicius, Paul, Anthony, Euthymius, Dometian, Parthenius, and four laymen.

The holy martyrs for their Orthodox Faith, were burned in the monastery tower on October 10, 1284. (also September 22).

Today the Church remembers the 350 holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council under the holy Patriarch Tarasius (February 25).

The Synod of 787, the second to meet at Nicea, refuted the Iconoclast heresy during the reign of Empress Irene and her son Constantine VI.

The Council decreed that the veneration of icons was not idolatry (Exodus 20:4-5), because the honor shown to them is not directed to the wood or paint, but passes to the prototype (the person depicted). It also upheld the possibility of depicting Christ, Who became man and took flesh at His Incarnation. The Father, on the other hand, cannot be represented in His eternal nature, because “no man has seen God at any time” (John 1:18).

In Greek practice, the holy God-bearing Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council are commemorated on October 11 (if it is a Sunday), or on the Sunday which follows October 11. According to the Slavic menaion, however, if the eleventh falls on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, the service is moved to the preceding Sunday.

Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Apostle to America was born as Vasily Ivanovich Belavin on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese. His childhood and adolescence were spent in the village in direct contact with peasants and their labor. From his early years he displayed a particular religious disposition, love for the Church as well as rare meekness and humility.

When Vasily was still a boy, his father had a revelation about each of his children. One night, when he and his three sons slept in the hayloft, he suddenly woke up and roused them. He had seen his dead mother in a dream, who foretold to him his imminent death, and the fate of his three sons. She said that one would be unfortunate throughout his entire life, another would die young, while the third, Vasily, would be a great man. The prophecy of the dead woman proved to be entirely accurate in regard to all three brothers.

From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary. The modest seminarian was tender and affectionate by nature. He was fair-haired and tall of stature. His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions. Vasily was called “bishop” and “patriarch” by his classmates.

In 1888, at the age of 23, Vasily Belavin graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman, and returned to the Pskov Seminary as an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology. The whole seminary and the town of Pskov became very fond of him. He led an austere and chaste life, and in 1891, when he turned 26, he took monastic vows. Nearly the whole town gathered for the ceremony. He embarked on this new way of life consciously and deliberately, desiring to dedicate himself entirely to the service of the Church. The meek and humble young man was given the name Tikhon in honor of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.

He was transferred from the Pskov Seminary to the Kholm Theological Seminary in 1892, and was raised to the rank of archimandrite. Archimandrite Tikhon was consecrated Bishop of Lublin on October 19, 1897, and returned to Kholm for a year as Vicar Bishop of the Kholm Diocese. Bishop Tikhon zealously devoted his energy to the establishment of the new vicariate. His attractive moral make-up won the general affection, of not only the Russian population, but also of the Lithuanians and Poles. On September 14, 1898, Bishop Tikhon was made Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska. As head of the Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Tikhon was a zealous laborer in the Lord’s vineyard.

He did much to promote the spread of Orthodoxy, and to improve his vast diocese. He reorganized the diocesan structure, and changed its name from “Diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska” to “Diocese of the Aleutians and North America” in 1900. Both clergy and laity loved their archpastor, and held him in such esteem that the Americans made Archbishop Tikhon an honorary citizen of the United States.

On May 22, 1901, he blessed the cornerstone for Saint Nicholas Cathedral in New York, and was also involved in establishing other churches. On November 9, 1902, he consecrated the church of Saint Nicholas in Brooklyn for the Syrian Orthodox immigrants. Two weeks later, he consecrated Saint Nicholas Cathedral in NY.

In 1905, the American Mission was made an Archdiocese, and Saint Tikhon was elevated to the rank of Archbishop. He had two vicar bishops: Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) in Alaska, and Saint Raphael (Hawaweeny) in Brooklyn to assist him in administering his large, ethnically diverse diocese. In June of 1905, Saint Tikhon gave his blessing for the establishment of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery.

In 1907, he returned to Russia, and was appointed to Yaroslavl, where he quickly won the affection of his flock. They came to love him as a friendly, communicative, and wise archpastor. He spoke simply to his subordinates, never resorting to a peremptory or overbearing tone. When he had to reprimand someone, he did so in a good-natured, sometimes joking manner, which encouraged the person to correct his mistakes.

When Saint Tikhon was transferred to Lithuania on December 22, 1913, the people of Yaroslavl voted him an honorary citizen of their town. After his transfer to Vilnius, he did much in terms of material support for various charitable institutions. There too, his generous soul and love of people clearly manifested themselves. World War I broke out when His Eminence was in Vilnius. He spared no effort to help the poor residents of the Vilnius region who were left without a roof over their heads or means of subsistence as a result of the war with the Germans, and who flocked to their archpastor in droves.

After the February Revolution and formation of a new Synod, Saint Tikhon became one of its members. On June 21, 1917, the Moscow Diocesan Congress of clergy and laity elected him as their ruling bishop. He was a zealous and educated archpastor, widely known even outside his country.

On August 15, 1917, a local council was opened in Moscow, and Archbishop Tikhon was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan, and then elected as chairman of the council. The council had as its aim to restore the life of Russian Orthodox Church on strictly canonical principles, and its primary concern was the restoration of the Patriarchate. All council members would select three candidates, and then a lot would reveal the will of God. The council members chose three candidates: Archbishop Anthony of Kharkov, the wisest, Archbishop Arseny of Novgorod, the strictest, and Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow, the kindest of the Russian hierarchs.

On November 5, following the Divine Liturgy and a Molieben in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, a monk removed one of the three ballots from the ballot box, which stood before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev announced Metropolitan Tikhon as the newly elected Patriarch. Saint Tikhon did not change after becoming the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. In accepting the will of the council, Patriarch Tikhon referred to the scroll that the Prophet Ezekiel had to eat, on which was written, “Lamentations, mourning, and woe.” He foresaw that his ministry would be filled with affliction and tears, but through all his suffering, he remained the same accessible, unassuming, and kindly person.

All who met Saint Tikhon were surprised by his accessibility, simplicity and modesty. His gentle disposition did not prevent him from showing firmness in Church matters, however, particularly when he had to defend the Church from her enemies. He bore a very heavy cross. He had to administer and direct the Church amidst wholesale church disorganization, without auxiliary administrative bodies, in conditions of internal schisms and upheavals by various adherents of the Living Church, renovationists, and autocephalists.

The situation was complicated by external circumstances: the change of the political system, by the accession to power of the godless regime, by hunger, and civil war. This was a time when Church property was being confiscated, when clergy were subjected to court trials and persecutions, and Christ’s Church endured repression. News of this came to the Patriarch from all ends of Russia. His exceptionally high moral and religious authority helped him to unite the scattered and enfeebled flock. At a crucial time for the church, his unblemished name was a bright beacon pointing the way to the truth of Orthodoxy. In his messages, he called on people to fulfill the commandments of Christ, and to attain spiritual rebirth through repentance. His irreproachable life was an example to all.

In order to save thousands of lives and to improve the general position of the church, the Patriarch took measures to prevent clergy from making purely political statements. On September 25, 1919, when the civil war was at its height, he issued a message to the clergy urging them to stay away from political struggle.

The summer of 1921 brought a severe famine to the Volga region. In August, Patriarch Tikhon issued a message to the Russian people and to the people of the world, calling them to help famine victims. He gave his blessing for voluntary donations of church valuables, which were not directly used in liturgical services. However, on February 23, 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee published a decree making all valuables subject to confiscation.

According to the 73rd Apostolic Canon, such actions were regarded as sacrilege, and the Patriarch could not approve such total confiscation, especially since many doubted that the valuables would be used to combat famine. This forcible confiscation aroused popular indignation everywhere. Nearly two thousand trials were staged all over Russia, and more than ten thousand believers were shot. The Patriarch’s message was viewed as sabotage, for which he was imprisoned from April 1922 until June 1923.

His Holiness, Patriarch Tikhon did much on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church during the crucial time of the so-called Renovationist schism. He showed himself to be a faithful servant and custodian of the undistorted precepts of the true Orthodox Church. He was the living embodiment of Orthodoxy, which was unconsciously recognized even by enemies of the church, who called its members “Tikhonites.”

When Renovationist priests and hierarchs repented and returned to the church, they were met with tenderness and love by Saint Tikhon. This, however, did not represent any deviation from his strictly Orthodox policy. “I ask you to believe me that I will not come to agreement or make concessions which could lead to the loss of the purity and strength of Orthodoxy,” the Patriarch said in 1924.

Being a good pastor, who devoted himself entirely to the church’s cause, he called upon the clergy to do the same: “Devote all your energy to preaching the word of God and the truth of Christ, especially today, when unbelief and atheism are audaciously attacking the Church of Christ. May the God of peace and love be with all of you!”

It was extremely painful and hard for the Patriarch’s loving, responsive heart to endure all the Church’s misfortunes. Upheavals in and outside the church, the Renovationist schism, his primatial labors, his concern for the organization and tranquility of Church life, sleepless nights and heavy thoughts, his confinement that lasted more than a year, the spiteful and wicked baiting of his enemies, and the unrelenting criticism sometimes even from the Orthodox, combined to undermine his strength and health.

In 1924, Patriarch Tikhon began to feel unwell. He checked into a hospital, but would leave it on Sundays and Feast Days in order to conduct services. On Sunday, April 5, 1925, he served his last Liturgy, and died two days later. On March 25/April 7, 1925 the Patriarch received Metropolitan Peter and had a long talk with him. In the evening, the Patriarch slept a little, then he woke up and asked what time it was. When he was told it was 11:45 P.M., he made the Sign of the Cross twice and said, “Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee.” He did not have time to cross himself a third time.

Almost a million people came to say farewell to the Patriarch. The large cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow could not contain the crowd, which overflowed the monastery property into the square and adjacent streets. Saint Tikhon, the eleventh Patriarch of Moscow, was primate of the Russian Church for seven and a half years.

On September 26/October 9, 1989, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church glorified Patriarch Tikhon and numbered him among the saints. For nearly seventy years, Saint Tikhon’s relics were believed lost, but in February 1992, they were discovered in a concealed place in the Donskoy Monastery.

It would be difficult to imagine the Russian Orthodox Church without Patriarch Tikhon during those years. He did so much for the Church and for the strengthening of the Faith itself during those difficult years of trial. Perhaps the saint’s own words can best sum up his life: “May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good of the Holy Church, rather than something for our own sake.”

Holy Apostle James the son of Alphaeus one of the Twelve Apostles, was the brother of the holy Evangelist Matthew. He heard the Lord’s words and witnessed His miracles. After the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle James Alphaeus and the Apostle Andrew the First-Called (November 30), made missionary journeys preaching in Judea, Edessa, Gaza, Eleutheropolis, proclaiming the Gospel, healing all sorts of sickness and disease, and converting many to the path of salvation. Saint James finished his apostolic work In the Egyptian city of Ostrachina, where he was crucified by the pagans.

Saint Andronicus and his wife Athanasia of Egypt lived in Antioch in the fifth century. Saint Andronicus was a craftsman who divided his earnings into three portions. One part he gave to the Church, the second to the poor, and the third he used for his family. When the Lord took the son and daughter of Andronicus and Athanasia, the pious couple decided to devote themselves fully to the service of God, helping the poor and the sick. Soon the saintly spouses set out for Alexandria, where Andronicus entered a skete monastery, and Athanasia entered the women’s Tabennisiota monastery.

After twelve years of ascetic life Saint Andronicus went to Jerusalem to pray at the holy places. He met a co-pilgrim, Saint Athanasia, who, foreseeing the difficulties of the journey, had donned men’s attire. They did not recognize each other, since long ascetic effort had altered their appearance. When they returned from Jerusalem, both monks settled into a single cell and for many years lived the ascetic life in silence. Saint Athanasia wrote a note to be read after her death, revealing her secret.. Saint Andronicus died soon after Saint Athanasia.

The Righteous Forefather Abraham lived around 2000 B.C. His story is found in the Book of Genesis, Chapters 12-25.

God told Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed in his seed (Genesis 22:18), and ordered him to leave his home and his relatives and go to Canaan, the country between the Mediterranean and Jordan. Because God gave this land to Abraham and his posterity (Genesis 12:7), it became known as “the Promised Land.”

Abraham and Lot are also commemorated with Christ’s ancestors according to the flesh on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (between December 11 and 17).

The Righteous Forefather Abraham (“Father of a multitude”) and his nephew Lot (“veil”) lived around 2000 B.C.

The Righteous Lot is regarded as the progenitor of the Moabites and the Ammonites.He lived in Sodom with his wife and two daughters, a righteous man living in the midst of wicked people. The citizens of Sodom despised him as a newcomer, and also hated him for his upright life, hospitality, and obedience to God.

Lot’s efforts to turn them from their wickedness only increased their wrath. As fire consumed the city, Lot and his family were led to safety by an angel.

Abraham and Lot are also commemorated with Christ’s ancestors according to the flesh on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (between December 11 and 17).

Martyrs Juventinus and Maximus at Antioch were bodyguards of the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Having arrived in Antioch, the emperor gave orders to sprinkle all the foodstuffs in the marketplace and the water in the wells with blood offered to idols. Saints Juventinus and Maximus opposed this edict, and Julian ordered them executed.

The holy Martyr Publia the Confessor, a deaconess of Antioch, became a widow at a young age and devoted all her strength to raising her son John in the Christian Faith. John became a presbyter, and Publia, for her prudent and ascetic life, was found worthy of becoming a deaconess. She undertook the guidance of widows and young women who wished to devote themselves to the service of God, and she organized a monastery in her home. During the persecution of Christians under the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), Saint Publia and the sisters denounced the reprobate.

When the emperor made his way to Publia’s house, the sisters loudly sang Psalm 113/114, denouncing idol-worship. The emperor’s soldiers fiercely beat the venerable abbess, but she endured the beating with forbearance.

Saint Publia did not live long after this, but peacefully fell asleep in the Lord.

Saint Peter lived during the reign of the iconoclast Emperor Theophilos (in 829). He was from the province of Galatia in Asia Minor. He was the son of Theophilos and Eudokia and at first he was named Leo.

Because he was handsome, physically strong, and wise, the Emperor made him a count. After many years of war and being in charge of many things, he gave it all up to become a monk in the monastery of Daphne, with the new name Petros.

He went to Olympus, and from there to Jerusalem, but he did not remain there either. After leaving for Laodicia and Antalya, he had to endure arduous journeys, asceticism, and the fierce anger of the Ismaelites (Moslems), whom he encountered in the street. Finally, he returned to Olympus.

Because of the loftiness of his virtues, he began to be noticed by the Emperors. That is why Emperor Basil the Macedonian convinced him to live in the monastery of Saint Phokas in the year 867. After many spiritual struggles, he departed to the Lord in peace.

This Saint Peter should not be confused with another Saint Peter of Galatia who lived in the V century (February 1).

Saint Dionysius (or Denis) has, for many centuries, been regarded as the patron saint of France.

It is believed that Saint Dionysius was sent to preach the Gospel at Lutetia Parisiorum (modern Paris) in Gaul around 250. He was beheaded in 258 with the priest Rusticus and the deacon Eleutherius at Montmartre (Hill of the Martyrs). A later legend claims that Saint Dionysius carried his severed head from Montmartre to his burial place at Vicus Catulliacus, now known as Saint Denis. The abbey of Saint-Denis, where French kings were interred, was built on the site of their martyrdom.

The identification of this Saint Dionysius with Saint Dionysius the Areopagite (October 3) appears to be an error made by a ninth century writer.

The Korsun Icon of the Mother of God is believed to be one of those painted by the holy Evangelist Luke, and it had been preserved in Ephesus. On October 9, 988, a copy of this icon was transferred from Korsun to Kiev by the holy Great Prince Vladimir (July 15), and it came to be called the Korsun Icon. Later this icon was transferred to Novgorod, and from there to Moscow to the Dormition cathedral in the Kremlin. Another copy of the Korsun Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Greece to Russia by Saint Euphrosynē of Polotsk (May 23) in 1162.

Saint Euphrosynē founded the Savior monastery at Polotsk. When she learned that there was an icon painted by Saint Luke at Menignus in Greece, she sent rich presents to the Byzantine Emperor and the Patriarch Chrysovergos asking them to send her this icon.

The icon was sent to Rus from Ephesus, and passed through Korsun. At the request of the inhabitants of that city it remained there about a year, thus it became known as the Korsun Icon.

In 1239, Alexandra, the daughter of Prince Bryachislav of Polotsk, brought this icon to the city of Toropets on her way to be married to the holy Great Prince Alexander Nevsky (November 23).

The Korsun Icon is also mentioned in the Life of Saint Dorothy of Kashin (September 24).

Today we commemorate a copy of the “Assuage My Sorrows” Icon (January 25) which is treasured in the Saint Nicholas Odrino Monastery in the Orel Diocese, Karachev district.

Until 1784, this icon belonged to Count Nicholas Borisovitch Samoilov, who regarded it as a holy icon. At first, it was at the Count’s home in Moscow, where it was renowned for many miraculous healings. Later, N.B. Samoilov moved it to his estate adjoining the Saint Nicholas Odrino Monastery. He constructed, at his own expense, a heated chapel in honor of the “Assuage My Sorrows” Icon as part of the Saint Nicholas katholikon (main church).The Count later donated the icon to the monastery.

This wonderworking icon is celebrated locally twice a year: on January 25, and on October 9. Many people visit the Saint Nicholas Odrino Monastery on both days.

Saint Stephen Brancovich was the son of the Despot George and Queen Irene, and lived in the fifteenth century.

He and his sister Mara lived in the court of Sultan Murat II. Saint Stephen and his brother Gregory were blinded at Jedrene by the Turkish Sultan for some perceived offense. Since he was innocent, he bore his affliction with courage.

Stephen became ruler of Serbia in 1458, but was soon forced to flee to Albania. Saint Stephen was not only Prince George Skenderbeg’s guest, but he was also treated as a member of his family. There he met Saint Angelina (July 1 & 30 and December 10), the daughter of Prince George . Not surprisingly, Stephen and Angelina eventually fell in love. With her parents’ blessing, they were married in church. After a few years, they were blessed with two sons: George and John.

When the boys were grown, Saint Stephen and his family were forced to flee to Italy for their safety, because the Turks invaded Albania and began to slaughter men, women, and even children.

He died as an exile in Italy in 1468. He was buried in Serbia in the monastery of Krushedol in Frushka Gora, which was founded by his son the monk Maximus. After eight years, Saint Steven’s relics were uncovered and were found incorrupt and fragrant. Many miracles took place at his tomb.

Saint Stephen is also commemorated on December 10 with Saint Angelina and Saint John.

John was married, but had no sons. He died in 1503 at a young age, and many miracles took place before his holy relics.

Saint Angelina survived her husband and both of her sons. Mindful of her soul’s salvation, she entered a women’s monastery. She departed to the Lord in peace, and her body was buried in the same tomb as her sons in the monastery of Krushedol.

Saint Angelina is also commemorated on December 10 with her husband Saint Stephen and her son Saint John.