On the fourth Saturday of Pascha, the Russian Orthodox Church commemorates the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors who suffered at Butovo (Бутово). This movable feast was added to the Menaion of the Russian Orthodox Church, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia on September 3, 2003.

The Butovo landfill is currently located within Moscow, it is a place of mass graves of the victims of Soviet repressions during the 1930s and early 1950s.

At present, about a thousand persons are known to have been shot at the Butovo landfill for their confession of the Orthodox Faith. By the summer of 2003, 255 of them were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

There is no other place in Russia where the relics of so many Saints have been gathered together.

The Butovo landfill is located on the land of the former estate of Drozhino, known since the XVI century. The last owner of the estate was I. I. Zimin, the older brother of S. I. Zimin, the owner of the Moscow private opera.

Saint Andronicus Apostle of the Seventy and Saint Junia were relatives of the holy Apostle Paul. They labored much, preaching the Gospel to pagans. Saint Paul mentions them in his Epistle to the Romans: “Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were in Christ, before me” (Romans 16:7).

Saint Andronicus was made Bishop of Pannonia, but his preaching also took him and Saint Junia to other lands, far from the boundaries of his diocese. Through the efforts of Saints Andronicus and Junia the Church of Christ was strengthened, pagans were converted to the knowledge of God, many pagan temples closed, and in their place Christian churches were built. The service in honor of these saints states that they suffered martyrdom for Christ.

In the fifth century, during the reign of the emperors Arcadius and Honorius, their holy relics were uncovered on the outskirts of Constantinople together with the relics of other martyrs at the gate of Eugenius (February 22).

It was revealed to the pious cleric Nicholas Kalligraphos that among the relics of these seventeen martyrs were the relics of the holy Apostle Andronicus. Afterwards, a magnificent church was built on this spot.

Today the Orthodox Church commemorates the tonsure of Saint Euphrosynē of Moscow on
May 17,1407.

After the death of her husband, Saint Demetrios of the Don (May 19) from the wounds he received at the Battle of Kulikovo, the Holy Princess Eudokia refrained from participating directly in the affairs of state; but on her advice, the wonderworking Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow (August 26, 1395) because of the invasion of Khan Tamerlane. Soon afterward, she established a Convent in the palace, dedicating it to the Lord's Ascension.

Though inclined toward the monastic Life, she did not become a nun at that time, since her sons were very young, and instead, she acted as regent. She dressed in royal splendor, attended banquets, and participated in councils. Beneath her expensive clothing, she wore iron chains, concealing her ascetic labors and acts of charity from those around her.

Shortly before her death, an Angel appeared to her and informed her that her earthly life would end very soon. Then she became mute. By signs and gestures she made it known that she wished to have an icon of the Angel painted. When it was finished, Eudokia venerated it, and asked for another one to be painted. Only after the icons of the Archangel Michael were completed did she recognize the Angel who had appeared to her, and then she regained her voice.

The Saint expressed a wish to be tonsured in order to spend her final days in seclusion and prayer. At that time she appeared to a blind man in a dream and promised to heal him.

On May 17, 1407, Princess Eudokia was on her way to the Convent, and the blind man was sitting by the roadside. Hearing her approach, he shouted: "Holy Great Princess, feeder of the poor! You always gave us food and clothing, and you never refused our requests! Do not disregard my petition now, but heal me of my blindness, as you promised in my dream! You told me, ‘Tomorrow I will give you sight.' Now the time has come for you to fulfill your promise."

She continued on her way, seeming not to understand his words, but as she passed by, she brushed him, as if by accident, with the sleeves of her cloak. The man pressed them to his eyes and regained his sight. According to Tradition, thirty people were healed of various illnesses on that day.

Princess Eudokia was tonsured with the name Euphrosynē, which means “joy” or "gladness" in Greek. Her tonsure took place in the wooden church of the Ascension at the Convent.

The Saint reposed seven weeks after entering the Convent, departing to the Lord at the age of fifty-four on July 7, 1407. At her own request, she was buried in the church which she had started to build in the Kremlin, which was dedicated to the Ascension of Christ. Her wonderworking relics remained there until 1929.

She had been buried under the floor of the church with a cover over the grave. In 1922, after the Revolution, this cover was stolen by the Soviets, while Saint Euphrosynē's relics remained in the grave under the floor. In 1929, the government decided to destroy the Ascension Convent. Thanks to the efforts of museum workers, her relics were saved along with the remains of other royal personages interred there. Her relics, however, have yet to be identified and separated from the others. The remains were interred in the Cathedral of the Archangel.

In 2006, construction of a church dedicated to Saint Euphrosynē began in Moscow. It is located on the site of Great Prince Demetrios's palace. When it is completed, there are plans to tranfer her relics to this church.

Saint Euphrosynē is also commemorated on July 7, the day of her blessed repose.

Saint Solochon, a native of Egypt, suffered for Christ during the reign of the emperor Maximian (284-305). The holy martyrs Pamphamirus and Pamphalon also gave their lives for Christ at the same time. All of them served in the imperial army in the regiment of the tribune Campanus.

During the persecution against Christians by the emperors Maximian and Diocletian, Campanus was sent to the city of Chalcedon with his soldiers. All the soldiers of his regiment were required to offer sacrifice in a pagan temple. The three soldiers, Saints Solochon, Pamphamirus and Pamphalon, refused to offer sacrifice to idols, explaining that they worshiped only the true God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

On the orders of Campanus they were subjected to terrible tortures, during which the holy martyrs Pamphamirus and Pamphalon died. Saint Solochon survived the torture and remained alive, glorifying Christ. In great anger, the torturer gave orders to open Saint Solochon’s mouth and force him to drink blood offered to idols. But Saint Solochon clenched his teeth so strongly, that they could not open them even with iron. The sword bent, and the saint broke his bonds and stood before the torturer, continuing to glorify Christ. Saint Solochon heard a voice from the heavens encouraging him to persevere to the end.

The saint endured a merciless beating, after which they dragged him over sharp stones, demanding that he renounce Christ, but the holy martyr remained steadfast. Then he was hung up by one hand, with a heavy weight tied to his leg. Saint Solochon remained in this position for about three hours. When finally they cut the ropes, then to everyone’s surprise, Saint Solochon stood upright on his feet, like a healthy man. Insane with anger, Campanus took a stylus and thrust it into the martyr’s ear.

The sufferer fell down, and Campanus and the soldiers departed, casting him aside. Christians carried the martyr to the house of a certain pious widow and placed him on a cot. The saint ate some food and conversed with the Christians, exhorting them to stand firmly for the Faith, and then after he prayed and lifted up his eyes to heaven, he surrendered his soul to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Saint Stephen, Patriarch of Constantinople, was the younger son of Emperor Basil the Macedonian, and was a brother of Emperor Leo the Wise. He was ordained to the priesthood under Patriarch Photius. When Saint Photius was compelled to resign the patriarchal throne in the year 886, Saint Stephen was elevated to the See of Constantinople. The saint vigilantly stood watch over his spiritual flock, he was merciful and interceded for the defenseless, he concerned himself with widows and orphans, and distinguished himself by his temperance. He died peacefully in the year 893 and was buried in the Sikellian monastery.

A companion of Saint David of Gareji, Saint Dodo belonged to the royal family Andronikashvili. He was tonsured a monk while still a youth, and was endowed with every virtue.

An admirer of poverty and solitude, he labored as a hermit at Ninotsminda in Kakheti.

Having heard about the miracles of David of Gareji, Saint Dodo set off for the Gareji Wilderness to witness them himself. The venerable fathers greeted one another warmly and began laboring there together.

After some time, Saint David became deeply impressed with Dodo’s devotion to the Faith, and he proposed that he take with him some of the other monks and begin to construct cells on the opposite mountain.

The brothers built cells and began to labor there with great ardor. Before long the number of cells had reached two hundred. Saint Dodo isolated himself in a narrow crevice, where there was barely room for one man. Day and night, winter and summer, in the heat and the cold, he prayed with penitent tears for the forgiveness of his sins, the strengthening of the souls of his brothers, and the bolstering of the true Faith throughout the country.

Once Saint David miraculously healed the son of Prince Bubakar of Rustavi. In return, the grateful prince donated food and other necessities to the monks of Gareji Monastery. Saint David took part of his contributions and sent what remained to Saint Dodo. He advised Bubakar to have Saint Dodo baptize him, and Saint Dodo joyously baptized Bubakar, his sons, and all his suite.

Saint Dodo labored to an advanced age in the monastery he had founded and reposed peacefully.

His spiritual sons and companions buried him in the cave where he had labored, and a church was later built over his grave.

Saint Nicholas was born in 1510 in Thessaly, in the city of Ioannina. His parents were Albanians, but their names (Martin and Euphrosyne) indicate that they were Christians. He received a good upbringing and education, and was a handsome, intelligent young man.

After the death of his parents, he worked as a shoemaker. After a while, desiring to be a pilgrim for Christ's sake, he began to wander and arrived in Serdets (now Sofia), where he settled and led a holy life. At the insistence of some friends, he got married. But one night, he hid from everyone, even from his wife, he set off on new journeys.

After crossing the Danube, he settled in Ugro-Wallachia and took up his former trade, thus fulfilling the vows he had made previously to God. Since he was a skilled shoemaker, he soon became known in the ruler's palace and even to the ruler Mircea Cioban, who invited him to work at the court.

Life in the palace was burdensome to the gentle Nicholas, especially since the ruler Mircea was an angry and cruel man, devoted to all sorts of iniquities, and without the fear of God. Having no wish to witness the ruler's crimes any longer, Nicholas found a convenient opportunity, and in 1554 he returned to Serdets, where he was reunited with his family. After some time, his two sons died.

One day the Muslims invited him to visit and gave him a good deal of wine¹ then circumcised him in order to convert him to Islam in such a treacherous way This treachery outraged and saddened Nicholas.

The Saint spent an entire year in solitary continuous prayer, trying to atone for his sin. On the day after the Feast of the Ascension, a Turk came to him and asked why he did not observe the precepts of Islam. Nicholas said that he had never betrayed the Orthodox Faith and that he remained a Christian, which greatly outraged the Turks.

Then he He was beaten, tortured and put on trial. Since there was no evidence of the defendant's free acceptance of Islam, the qadi (judge) tried to acquit him, but the crowd demanded the blood of the "apostate."

On May 17, 1555, the Muslims stoned him outside the city at the place of the "Three wells". A certain Christian, who watched the execution, was able to save part of the Saint's relics. Then the Turks burned his body near the place called "Tarnitsata", and his ashes were scattered.

The local Metropolitan James convened a diocesan council, at which the Holy New Martyr Nicholas was canonized.

¹ According to another version, they drugged grape juice with a sleeping potion.

No information available at this time.

In the manuscript of the Olonets Trebnik under May 17 it is noted: "Today is the transfer of the relics of Venerable Father Adrian, Igoumen of Saint Nicholas Monastery on Lake Ladoga, on Ondrus Island, in the Olonets district, the new wonderworker. His memory is also celebrated on August 26."

Saint Theodore was called “Sanctified” because he was the first in his monastery ordained to the priesthood.

Saint Theodore came from Egypt and was the son of rich and illustrious Christian parents. The yearning for monastic life appeared early in him. Once there was a large party at the house of his parents during the feast of Theophany. The boy did not want to take part in the festivities, grieving that because of earthly joys he might be deprived of joys in the life to come. He secretly left home when he was fourteen and entered one of the monasteries.

Hearing about Pachomius the Great, he burned with the desire to see the ascetic. Saint Pachomius received the young man with love, having been informed by God beforehand about his coming. Remaining at the monastery, Saint Theodore quickly succeeded in all his monastic tasks, particularly in the full obedience to his guide, and in his compassion towards the other brethren. Theodore’s mother, learning that he was at the Tabennisi monastery, came to Saint Pachomius with a letter from the bishop, asking to see her son. Saint Theodore did not wish to break his vow to renounce the world, so he refused to meet with his mother.

Seeing Saint Theodore’s strength of mind and ability, Saint Pachomius once told him to instruct the brethren on Holy Scripture. Saint Theodore was then only twenty years old. He obeyed and began to speak, but some of the older brethren took offense that a new monk should teach them, and they departed. Saint Pachomius said to them, “You have given in to the devil and because of your conceit, your efforts will come to naught. You have not rejected Theodore, but rather the Word of God, and have deprived yourselves of the Holy Spirit.”

Saint Pachomius appointed Saint Theodore as overseer of the Tabennisi monastery, and withdrew to a more solitary monastery. Saint Theodore with filial love continued to concern himself over his instructor, and he looked after Saint Pachomius in his final illness, and when the great abba reposed in the Lord, he closed his eyes. After the death of Saint Pachomius, Saint Theodore directed the Tabennisi monastery, and later on he was at the head of all the Thebaid monasteries. Saint Theodore the Sanctified was famed for his holiness of life and a great gift of wonderworking, and he was well known to Saint Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Saint Theodore reposed in his old age in the year 368.

The Transfer of the Relics of Saint Ephraim of Perekop occurred on May 16, 1545. This celebration was established at a Moscow Council of the year 1549. Saint Ephraim of Perekop reposed on September 26, 1492. The Life of the saint is found under September 26 .

Saint Cassian of Komel and Vologda was a disciple of Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19) and he guided the Komel monastery after Saint Cornelius went to Lake Sura. Chosen by the brethren with the blessing of Saint Cornelius, he strove to imitate his teacher in everything, and he strictly observed his monastic Rule.

Saint Cassian instructed the monks in the fear of God to spend their time at prayer, to be concerned about inner activity, and to banish all worldly thoughts, to be sober in thought, to be vigilant in soul and contrite in heart (Chapter 1 of the Rule “On Church Decorum and Communal Prayer”).

Upon the return of Saint Cornelius to the monastery, Saint Cassian joyfully met his teacher, and resigned as igumen, wanting to remain in obedience to the holy Elder as before. Saint Cassian reposed in the year 1537.

Saint Laurence of Komel was a disciple of Saint Cornelius of Komel. In the year 1538, on the recommendation of Saint Cornelius, he was unanimously chosen by the brethren as igumen of the monastery, and he made use of the spiritual counsels and instructions of his teacher.

Learning of the approach of Tatars towards the monastery, and on the advice of Saint Cornelius, igumen Laurence led all the brethren away to a safe place. Later, when the danger had passed, the monks returned to the monastery.

Upon the repose of his teacher, Saint Laurence guided the holy monastery for ten years, devoting himself to its welfare. Seeing the zeal and the love for the Lord in Saint Laurence as head of the Korniliev monastery, the Elder Alexius placed the Koptevo monastery, which he directed, under the Korniliev monastery in 1547.

Even with his many cares, Saint Laurence did not forsake his beloved work of copying books. Saint Laurence reposed in the Lord on May 16, 1548.

The Hieromartyr Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, was a disciple of the great teacher and writer of the Church, Clement of Alexandria. At the beginning of the third century he was chosen bishop of Flavia, Cappadocia. He was arrested during the reign of the emperor Septimus Severus (193-211) and spent three years in prison.

After his release from prison he went to Jerusalem to venerate the holy places, and was told to remain there through a divine revelation. In 212 he was chosen as coadministrator with the elderly Patriarch Narcissus, an unusually rare occurrence in the ancient Church. Following the death of Saint Narcissus (August 7), Saint Alexander succeeded him and governed the Church of Jerusalem for thirty-eight years, working for the enlightenment of Christians. He also established the first library of Christian theological works at Jerusalem.

Saint Alexander was arrested during the persecution of the Church under the emperor Decius (249-251). The holy martyr was sent to Cappadocia, where he suffered many tortures. He was condemned to be eaten by wild beasts, but they did not harm him. Saint Alexander was cast into prison, where he surrendered his soul to God in the year 251.

The hieromartyr Alexander is also commemorated on December 12.

The Holy Martyrs Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia suffered for Christ during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305).

Saint Vitus was the son of an illustrious Sicilian dignitary, the pagan Gelas. Gelas tried to turn his son from Christianity, but failed. Paternal love then turned to hatred, and he decided to kill Vitus.

In order to save the boy, his tutor Saint Modestus and his governess Saint Crescentia, who were Christians, secretly took him from his parental home. They saw a boat at the river, and an angel entered the boat with them. They reached the Italian district of Lucanium, where the saints lived quietly, hiding from those who would persecute them. The holy youth continued to heal the sick and convert pagans to Christianity. His fame soon spread throughout the region.

Saints Vitus and Modestus went to present themselves before Diocletian, and were thrown into prison. Then the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the prisoners, strengthening them for their contest. He helped them, and the fetters fell from their hands.

Ascribing the miracle to magic, Diocletian ordered that Saint Vitus be thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. The saint stood in it as if in cool water, and remained unharmed. Then a fierce lion was set loose. The young man made the Sign of the Cross, and the beast laid at his feet and began to lick them. They tied the holy martyrs to pillars and began to scrape them with iron claws.

Saint Crescentia came out of the crowd of spectators, confessed herself a Christian and reproached the emperor for his cruelty. He also sentenced her to torture.

Saint Vitus called out to God, “O God, save us by Thy power and deliver us.” Then an earthquake struck, and many pagans perished beneath the collapsed buildings. Diocletian fled to his chambers in fear. An angel released the martyrs from the pillars and took them to Lucanium.

Saint Vitus prayed that God would accept their souls in peace and not deprive those who kept their memory of His benefaction. A Voice came from Heaven, “Thy prayer is heard.” Then the saints joyfully surrendered their souls to God.

The holy martyrs Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia suffered for Christ in the year 303. These saints are also commemorated on June 15.

The relics of Saint Vitus were transferred to Prague. The Holy Prince Vyacheslav (Wenceslaus) of the Czechs (September 28) built a church in honor of Saint Vitus, in which he was afterwards buried.

Saint Musa lived during the fifth century. She was distinguished for her pure life. Saint Gregory Dialogus included her story in his Dialogues, saying that he had heard these things from Musa’s brother Probus.

The Most Holy Theotokos once appeared to Musa in a dream, surrounded by girls dressed in white. She asked her, “Do you wish to live together with these maidens in my court?”

“Yes, I do,” the girl replied.

“Do not do anything silly, as little girls often do. Avoid frivolity and joking. In thirty days I shall come for you and you will be with us.”

From that moment, Musa’s character was changed. She began to pray earnestly and lived a strict life. In answer to the questions of her astonished parents, Saint Musa told them about the vision.

On the twenty-fifth day the maiden developed a fever, and on the thirtieth day she again saw the Mother of God coming to her with the same girls as before. The blessed child reposed with the words, “I am coming, I am coming to you, my Lady!”

Saint Musa departed this earthly life and was gathered into the heavenly Kingdom, where she glorifies the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit unto ages of ages.

Saint George was made Bishop of Mytilene in the years 820-829, during the Iconoclast controversy. He died in 842 at Mytilene. In the twelfth century his holy relics were seen by the Russian igumen Daniel, who was journeying through the East and recording what he saw on his journey.

Forty-four monks of the Saint Savva Lavra received the unfading crown of martyrdom about 614, during the reign of the emperor Heraclius (610-641).

The monastery was attacked by Arabs in search of plunder. When they were unable to find the treasure they expected, they became angry and murdered the defenseless Fathers. Some were beheaded, while others were hacked to pieces.

Saint Antiochus (December 24) has preserved an account of the martyrs in his “107th Homily.” Dositheus also mentions them in his Dodekabiblos.

The saints commemorated today should not be confused with other martyrs of the Saint Savva Lavra, who suffered in 796 (March 20). The two dates reflect separate attacks on the monastery at different times. History tells us that barbarians raided the Saint Savva Lavra on several occasions.

No information available at this time.

No information available at this time.

Nicholas Basdanis was born at Metsovo, Epeiros to poor, but devout Orthodox parents. As a young man he went to Trikkala in Thessaly, where he worked as the assistant of a Moslem baker. While there, some Turks tried to convert him to their religion. Yielding to their persistent efforts, he embraced Islam. Later, realizing the gravity of his sin, he returned to Metsovo, and to the Orthodox Church.

Nicholas earned some extra money by taking wood to Trikkala and selling it. This went on for some time, but one day He was recognized by a Moslem barber, who was a friend of the baker. The barber wondered why Nicholas was no longer dressed as a Turk. Stricken with fear, Nicholas gave him the load of wood, promising to bring him more wood every year, if he would keep his secret. The barber agreed, and things continued that way for a long time.

Nicholas was troubled by his conscience, however, and believed that the only way to atone for his denial of Christ was to become a martyr. He spoke of this to his Spiritual Father at the monastery of Meteora, who advised him not to be too hasty in carrying out his intention, lest he should be unable to endure the inevitable torture, and deny Christ once again. Seeing that Nicholas was determined to pursue this course, the priest strengthened him spiritually for the contest.

When Nicholas felt he was ready, he returned to Trikkala to see the barber. The man asked him about the wood he had promised to bring, and Nicholas told him that he had none. Furthermore, he would not be receiving any wood in future. The barber became angry and denounced Nicholas to the authorities, saying that he had rejected Islam. The barber summoned other Turks to take Nicholas to the kadi for interrogation.

In answer to the kadi's questions, Nicholas admitted freely that he had converted to Islam, but then he repented and returned to his Christian Faith. Fearlessly, he told the Moslems that he was born a Christian, and that he intended to die as a Christian, no matter how much they might torture him.

The kadi tried the usual flattery and promises of riches in order to persuade him to return to their religion. When this failed, the kadi threatened him with horrible torments and death if he did not relent. Nicholas refused, and so he was beaten and thrown into prison, where he received nothing to eat or drink for some time.

Twice more, Saint Nicholas was brought before the kadi with the same results. Seeing that he could not be persuaded, the kadi sentenced him to death. A large fire was lit in the marketplace, and the holy martyr was thrown into it on May 16, 1617. Thus, by enduring this fire, Saint Nicholas escaped the fire of Gehenna.

Later, a pious Christian went to that place, hoping to obtain relics. Since the Saint's body was being guarded, the man had to pay a large sum of money to obtain the skull. He took it home and hid it inside a wall so the Moslems would not find it.

In time, an Orthodox Christian named Melandros bought the house. On the night of May 17, 1618, he noticed a bright light shining from the wall of one of the rooms. In the morning, he opened the wall and found the skull of the New Martyr Nicholas. He brought this treasure to Barlaam Monastery at Meteora, where his brother was a monk, and donated the holy relic to the monastery in remembrance of himself, and of his family.

The Holy New Martyr Nicholas, who is also known as Saint Nicholas the Vlach, is commemorated on May 17 in Greek usage.

Saint Brendan was born around 484 in Tralee, County Kerry, in the province of Munster (southwestern Ireland). He was born among the Altraige, an Irish clan originally centred around Tralee Bay, to parents named Finnlug and Cara. Tradition says that he was born in the Kilfenora-Fenit region on the north side of the bay. He was baptized at Tubrid, near Ardfert.

As a child he was placed in the care of Saint Ita of Killeedy (January 15), who taught him three things that God really loves: "the true faith of a pure heart; the simple religious life; and bountifulness inspired by Christian charity." She might have added that the three things God hates are "a scowling face; obstinate wrongdoing; and too much confidence in money." When he was six years old he was sent to Saint Jarlath's monastery school at Tuam to further his education.

Saint Brendan's first voyage was to the Aran Islands, where he founded a monastery. Like his master Saint Jarlath (June 6), he established churches in Brittany on the northern coast of France, and in Wales. He also founded other schools and monasteries in Ireland. By establishing so many monasteries, he became known as the Apostle of Ireland. Between 512 and 530 Saint Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and Shanakeel (Seana Cill, the "Old Church"), at the foot of Mount Brandon. Saint Brendan also visited Hinba (Argyll), an island off the coast of Scotland, where he met Saint Columba of Iona (June 9).

At the age of twenty-six he was ordained as a priest by a Bishop named Erc (May 12), who was from Munster, and also a monk at Tullylease, County Down. Later, Brendan founded a number of monasteries. Traveling to Wales, he lived for some time under the discipline of Saint Gildas (January 29). He also spent several years in the abbey of Llan-carven, in Glamorganshire. In Britain he established the monastery of Ailech, and another church in a territory called Heth.

Although Saint Brendan was a real person, there are some fabulous stories are told how he searched for seven years on his voyage to seek the Isle of the Blessed, a remnant of ancient Celtic folklore.

On the Kerry coast, with some chosen monks, he built a coracle of wattle, covering it with hides, and rigged a mast and a sail. After praying on the shore, he went forth to extend the Kingdom of God on earth. Sailing with sixty¹ companions he set sail with a month's provisions. Aboard the ship, all the Rules of monastic life were strictly observed. After his many strange wanderings, including celebrating Mass on the back of a whale, he returned to Ireland to establish Clonfert.

Saint Brendan founded the famous monastery of Clonfert on the River Shannon in 561, whose ruins still may be seen. He was the Abbot of this monastery with 3,000 monks, and a Rule which was dictated to him by an Angel.

Saint Brendan is regarded as one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland," who are believed to have been taught by Saint Finnian of Clonard (December 12). He reposed on May 16, 578, at the age of ninety-four.

Saint Brendan may have reposed while visiting his sister Briga, the Abbess of a convent at Enach Duin (Annaghdown). The account includes his dying conversation with his sister. When he asked her to ease his death by her prayers, she asked him why he was so afraid of dying. He resplied, "I am afraid of loneliness on this dark journey to the unknown land. I fear the presence of the King and the sentence of the Judge."

Realizing that there might be some rivalry for his body, Saint Brendan requested that his death be kept secret when his relics were returned to Clonfert by cart, disguised as luggage being sent ahead for his own return.

¹ The number of monks might have been anywhere from fourteen to sixty.

Saint Pachomius the Great was both a model of desert dwelling, and with Saints Anthony the Great (January 17), Macarius the Great (January 19), and Euthymius the Great (January 20), a founder of the cenobitic monastic life in Egypt.

Saint Pachomius was born in the third century in the Thebaid (Upper Egypt). His parents were pagans who gave him an excellent secular education. From his youth he had a good character, and he was prudent and sensible.

When Pachomius reached the age of twenty, he was called up to serve in the army of the emperor Constantine (apparently, in the year 315). They put the new conscripts in a city prison guarded by soldiers. The local Christians fed the soldiers and took care of them.

When the young man learned that these people acted this way because of their love for God, fulfilling His commandment to love their neighbor, this made a deep impression upon his pure soul. Pachomius vowed to become a Christian. Pachomius returned from the army after the victory, received holy Baptism, moved to the lonely settlement of Shenesit, and began to lead a strict ascetic life. Realizing the need for spiritual guidance, he turned to the desert-dweller Palamon. He was accepted by the Elder, and he began to follow the example of his instructor in monastic struggles.

Once, after ten years of asceticism, Saint Pachomius made his way through the desert, and halted at the ruins of the former village of Tabennisi. Here he heard a Voice ordering him to start a monastery at this place. Pachomius told the Elder Palamon of this, and they both regarded the words as a command from God.

They went to Tabennisi and built a small monastic cell. The holy Elder Palamon blessed the foundations of the monastery and predicted its future glory. But soon Palamon departed to the Lord. An angel of God then appeared to Saint Pachomius in the form of a schemamonk and gave him a Rule of monastic life. Soon his older brother John came and settled there with him.

Saint Pachomius endured many temptations and assaults from the Enemy of the race of man, but he resisted all temptations by his prayer and endurance.

Gradually, followers began to gather around Saint Pachomius. Their teacher impressed everyone by his love for work, which enabled him to accomplish all kinds of monastic tasks. He cultivated a garden, he conversed with those seeking guidance, and he tended to the sick.

Saint Pachomius introduced a monastic Rule of cenobitic life, giving everyone the same food and attire. The monks of the monastery fulfilled the obediences assigned them for the common good of the monastery. Among the various obediences was copying books. The monks were not allowed to possess their own money nor to accept anything from their relatives. Saint Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal was greater than fasting or prayer. He also demanded from the monks an exact observance of the monastic Rule, and he chastized slackers.

His sister Maria came to see Saint Pachomius, but the strict ascetic refused to see her. Through the gate keeper, he blessed her to enter upon the path of monastic life, promising his help with this. Maria wept, but did as her brother had ordered. The Tabennisi monks built her a hut on the opposite side of the River Nile. Nuns also began to gather around Maria. Soon a women’s monastery was formed with a strict monastic Rule provided by Saint Pachomius.

The number of monks at the monastery grew quickly, and it became necessary to build seven more monasteries in the vicinity. The number of monks reached 7,000, all under the guidance of Saint Pachomius, who visited all the monasteries and administered them. At the same time Saint Pachomius remained a deeply humble monk, who was always ready to comply with and accept the words of each brother.

Severe and strict towards himself, Saint Pachomius had great kindness and condescension toward the deficiencies of spiritually immature monks. One of the monks was eager for martyrdom, but Saint Pachomius turned him from this desire and instructed him to fulfill his monastic obedience, taming his pride, and training him in humility.

Once, a monk did not heed his advice and left the monastery. He was set upon by brigands, who threatened him with death and forced him to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Filled with despair, the monk returned to the monastery. Saint Pachomius ordered him to pray intensely night and day, keep a strict fast and live in complete solitude. The monk followed his advice, and this saved his soul from despair.

The saint taught his spiritual children to avoid judging others, and he himself feared to judge anyone even in thought.

Saint Pachomius cared for the sick monks with special love. He visited them, he cheered the disheartened, he urged them to be thankful to God, and put their hope in His holy will. He relaxed the fasting rule for the sick, if this would help them recover their health. Once, in the saint’s absence, the cook did not prepare any cooked food for the monks, assuming that the brethren loved to fast. Instead of fulfilling his obedience, the cook plaited 500 mats, something which Saint Pachomius had not told him to do. In punishment for his disobedience, all the mats prepared by the cook were burned.

Saint Pachomius always taught the monks to rely only upon God’s help and mercy. It happened that there was a shortage of grain at the monastery. The saint spent the whole night in prayer, and in the morning a large quantity of bread was sent to the monastery from the city, at no charge. The Lord granted Saint Pachomius the gift of wonderworking and healing the sick.

The Lord revealed to him the future of monasticism. The saint learned that future monks would not have such zeal in their struggles as the first generation had, and they would not have experienced guides. Prostrating himself upon the ground, Saint Pachomius wept bitterly, calling out to the Lord and imploring mercy for them. He heard a Voice answer, “Pachomius, be mindful of the mercy of God. The monks of the future shall receive a reward, since they too shall have occasion to suffer the life burdensome for the monk.”

Toward the end of his life Saint Pachomius fell ill from a pestilence that afflicted the region. His closest disciple, Saint Theodore (May 17), tended to him with filial love. Saint Pachomius died around the year 348 at the age of fifty-three, and was buried on a hill near the monastery.

Saint Isaiah was born near Kiev to pious parents who raised him in the Orthodox Faith. In his youth, he forsook worldly vanity and entered the Kiev Caves Monastery, where he was tonsured by Saint Theodosios († May 3, 1074). Aflame with love for the Savior, the young monk engaged in the difficult struggles of fasting and prayer. At the same time, he was meek, humble, obedient, non-acquisitive, fraternal, and he mortified the carnal passions through abstinence and patience, as well as the virtues of wisdom, spiritual courage, and chastity. He recalled the words of an ancient Elder: "A man's strength does not depend upon human nature, which is subject to change, but upon resolute intention." Strengthened by God's help, he constantly ascended in spirit to the heavenly Jerusalem.¹

News of the young monk Isaiah's ascetical struggles soon spread beyond the Monastery. And when Barlaam, the first Igoumen of the Monastery reposed, a Monastery was built in the courtyard of the Great Prince Iziaslav of Kiev, and dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios. In 1065, Prince Iziaslav asked Saint Theodosios to elevate Father Isaiah to the rank of Igoumen of that Monastery because of his virtuous life. Saint Theodosios gave his blessing, and Father Isaiah became the Igoumen. After receiving this high office, the blessed one was a good mentor for the brethren and a good shepherd of Christ's rational flock. As Igoumen, he always thought of the Lord, and continued to abide in humility and in spiritual and corporeal labors. Seeing such a holy man in his Monastery, Prince Iziaslav rejoiced in spirit, thanking the Lord and Saint Theodosios for granting his desire.

In 1078, Saint Isaiah, who was proficient in piety and filled with divine grace, took part in the joint prayer of the Elders of the Caves for the ascetic Nikḗtas (January 31), who had been deceived by a demon (later he became the Bishop of Novgorod). After the podvig² of monastic life for three years, and then serving as Igoumen for ten years, Saint Isaiah was called to exercise an apostolic ministry.

In 1078, Saint Isaiah was consecrated as Bishop of Rostov, where there were still many pagans at that time. The Diocese of Rostov encompassed a vast territory which included Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Kostroma, Vologda, and part of Moscow, Tver, and Olonets. The pagan inhabitants of the region clung to many superstitions, bloody customs,
divination, and sorcery. The good shepherd Saint Leontius of Rostov († May 23, 1073) labored hard for the enlightenment of the Rostov region, but still more pagans were to be found there by his valiant successor. Saint Isaiah worked zealously, planting the seeds of Orthodoxy among the inhabitants of his large Diocese, he also built a cathedral in Rostov in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

According to his ancient Life, Saint Isaiah "found the newly-illumined people, who had not yet been firmly established in the Faith," and so he began to instruct them. He travelled around with apostolic zeal, preaching about Christ in the Diocese of Rostov, persuading them of the folly of idolatry, and destroying the pagan idols. Saint Isaiah begged his flock to remain strong in their faith, and to imitate Christ in their life. He repeated his message everywhere he went: "As many of you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).

In a stikheron from his Church Service, the spirit of Saint Isaiah's ministry is perfectly expressed: "What shall we call you O Hierarch? Angel, for you lived on earth as one incorporeal; Apostle, for you taught the true Faith to the ends of Russia; Martyr, because for the sake of Christ you fought until death, turning people from the darkness of wickedness and bringing them to the pasture of godly reason."

It was a great consolation to Saint Isaiah to have the Great Prince Vladimir Monomakh participate in his ministry. The Great Prince gave money to build a cathedral at Rostov in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, in which there was a wonderworking icon painted by Saint Alypios of the Kiev Caves (August 17). Christ's Hierarch Isaiah treated the poor, the unfortunate, and all those in need with love.

The Lord glorified His servant by working many signs and miracles through him. In 1089, "borne on a cloud like the Apostles of old,"³ Bishop Isaiah was able to be present at the consecration of the "heavenly" church of the Dormition of the Mother of God at the Kiev Caves Monastery.

When it was time for the consecration of the Dormition cathedral at the Kiev Caves Lavra, Metropolitan John of Kiev did not have time to invite the God-loving Bishops from distant lands to attend the Service. But his pious wish was granted by an Angel of God who appeared to Bishop Isaiah and told him to attend the ceremony. Then, miraculously, the Angel brought him to the Kiev Caves Lavra, and he was able to participate in the consecration. He himself, marveling at his wondrous journey, told Metropolitan John about it, saying that he did not dare to disobey his order by not coming to the consecration of the temple. The First Hierarch of Russia was amazed by what he heard, for there was no time to invite the Bishops. This miraculous journey was the fruit of Saint Isaiah's obedience and zeal for the church of God. Three bishops, Isaiah of Rostov, Luke of Belgorod, and John of Chernigov, served with Metropolitan John at the consecration of the church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on August 14, 1089, and then Bishop Isaiah returned to his flock, which welcomed him with great joy.

After that, Saint Isaiah shepherded his flock of Rostov for less than a year. He departed from this world in the summer after the Nativity of Christ (on May 15, 1090) after thirteen years as a Bishop. The same Angel who bore him to Kiev for the consecration of the church, also carried his soul to dwell in the heavenly abodes for eternity.

The relics of Saint Isaiah were first found together with the relics of Saint Leontius on May 23, 1164. The Holy Right-believing Prince Andrew Bogolyubsky (July 4) laid the foundation for a new stone church in Rostov to replace the wooden one damaged by a fire in 1160. While excavating the foundation under the southern wall, the relics of Saint Isaiah were found. According to ancient Tradition and the Chronicle: "The coffin of blessed Isaiah was found, and when they opened it, they saw the Saint's vestments and body were incorrupt, and they glorified God, Who was pleased to glorify His servant not only in life, but also in death. Though many years had passed, the Hierarch's vestments and his body remained untouched by decay."

The Saint's relics were placed in the church of Saint John, and since the stone church collapsed as soon as it was completed, the relics were moved to the cathedral in 1231 and placed in the narthex, on the right side.

Over the years, however, the memory of Saint Isaiah's miracles was forgotten, so that not even a lamp was lit over his tomb, nor did any priest come with incense to serve a Panikhida for him, because the narthex was always closed. It was not fitting, however, for such a great lamp to remain hidden under a bushel (Matthew 5:15). According to the manuscript Life, "The Archbishop, seeing that the icon of Saint Isaiah was venerated by all, and also his coffin (in the narthex of the cathedral), he summoned the priests on May 17 and opened the coffin of this most wondrous Father. He took him from there in 1474 and placed him in a new coffin with honor, near the southern doors, where he still works miracles of healing."

The first Archbishop of Rostov was Theodore in 1390, and the ecclesiastical veneration of Saint Isaiah began in 1474, at the time of the transfer of his relics to the church. The first written Life of Saint Isaiah also belongs to that same time. In 1722 the relics were moved to a silver casket.

On April 25, 1920, by the decision of the Tenth Rostov District Congress of Soviets, despite the protests of believers, the relics of Saint Isaiah, and the relics of Saints Ignatius and Dēmḗtrios (Tuptalo), Venerable Abraham of Rostov, and Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk were exhibited naked in the center of the Dormition Cathedral. A week later, the shrines with the relics of the Saints were returned to their places. Subsequently, the relics of Saint Isaiah were placed in a closed wooden shrine in the Dormition Cathedral. At the end of the 1980s, some of the relics were brought to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, some were given to Archbishop Platon (Udovenko) of Yaroslavl and Rostov. Now the honorable head of Saint Isaiah is kept in the Serapion tent in the Lavra, and a portion of the relics is in Rostov's Dormition Cathedral, in an ark handed over on June 5, 1999 to the diocesan administrator of Yaroslavl and Rostov, Archbishop Micah (Kharkharov).

In the "Iconographer's Manual" a description of the Saint's external appearance is given: "Our Father among the Saints Bishop Isaiah of Rostov, the wonderworker, a pointed beard like that of Saint Blaise. The Saint's phelonion is red, with a green lining, a white omophorion, a white knobuk on his head, and he holds a Gospel in his hands."

Saint Isaiah is also commemorated on May 23, the Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov – Yaroslavl.

¹ Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 21:2, 21:10)
² Podvig = ascetical effort, spiritual struggle.
³ See the Feast of the Dormition on August 15.

The Holy Right-believing Tsarevitch Demetrios (Tsarévitch Dēmḗtrios) of Uglich (Moscow) was born on October 19, 1582. He was the son of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. During the reign of Theodore, the de facto ruler of the Russian state was his brother-in-law, the power-hungry boyar Boris Godunov. After Ivan's death on March 18, 1584, Boris began to eliminate all the nobles who were opposed to him. Then the Tsarevitch Demetrios and his mother, Tsaritsa Maria, were exiled to Uglich. Desiring to become the lawful heir to the Russian throne, Boris Godunov began to act against the Tsarevitch as against a personal enemy. At first he tried to slander the new heir to the throne, spreading false rumors about his alleged illegitimate birth. Then he spread the fallacy that Demetrios had inherited the harshness of his father, the sovereign.

Since these actions did not bring the desired result, the insidious Boris decided to destroy the Tsarevitch by putting poison in his food and drink. Demetrios was not harmed by the poison, however. Then the villain decided on a more direct course of action. He sent Daniel Volokhov, Michael Bityagovsky, and Niketas (Nikḗtas) Katchalov to Uglich to murder the Tsarevitch.

Suspectiing their evil intentions, the widowed Tsaritsa Maria kept a close watch over her son. She would not let him out of the palace, or away from her side. Therefore, the conspirators enlisted the help of the child's nursemaid, Maria Volokhova (Daniel's mother) to accomplish their purpose.

On Saturday, May 15, 1591, the nursemaid brought the boy out to the lower porch. Daniel Volokhov took the child by the hand and asked if he was wearing a new necklace. "No," he replied, "this is an old one."

Suddenly, Daniel slit the Tsarevitch's throat, and the nursemaid began to scream. Daniel, Michael, and Nikḗtas beat her until she was almost dead. Tsaritsa Maria heard the screams and ran outside. She fell upon the lifeless body of her child and began to sob and wail. The sexton rang the alarm bell, and the residents of Uglich hastened to the palace. The angry crowd stoned the murderers and cast their bodies into a pit to be devoured by dogs.

The Tsarevitch's body was placed in a coffin and was brought to Uglich's Cathedral of the Transfiguration. He was not quite nine years old when he was murdered.

Many miracles and healings began to occur at his tomb, most frequently, for people with sore eyes. On June 3, 1606, the holy relics of the martyred Tsarevitch Demetrios were discovered to be incorrupt.

The holy Relics of the Right-believing Tsarevitch Demetrios were transferred from Uglich to Moscow in 1606, and were placed in the Cathedral of the Archangel (Michael) in the Moscow Kremlin, in the chapel of Saint John the Forerunner.

After many miracles from the Saint's relics in 1606, it was decided that the Tsarevitch Demetrios was to be commemorated three times a year – on the day of his birth (October 19), the day of his death (May 15), and the day of the transfer of his relics (June 3).

Very little information about the life and podvig¹ of Saint Isaiah the Wonderworker has been preserved. He contested during the XI – early XII centuries. His life, by which he pleased the Lord, was one of silence and tireless work, for which he is called "a venerable and industrious Elder." In the Service for the Venerable Saints of the Near (Antoniev) Caves, Saint Isaiah is mentioned along with Saints Onuphrios (July 21) and Sylvester (January 2).

"Onuphrios, the lover of silence, and Isaiah, the desert-loving turtle-dove, with the blessed Sylvester, are a triple-stranded sling against the demons, who are driven away by them; for setting the assaults of the passions completely at naught, they received the gift of helping others. Therefore, they are magnified by all" (Ode 9, stikheron 5).

This Saint Isaiah reposed on May 15, 1115, and his relics are in the Near Caves of Saint Anthony. He is not mentioned in the Paterikons, and there is no special Service in his honor. He is commemorated on May 15, September 28, and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.

This Saint Isaiah is commemorated separately on May 15, and should not be confused with his namesake Bishop Isaiah of Rostov, who reposed in 1090.

¹ ascetical effort, spiritual struggle.

Saint Pachomius of Nerekhta, in the world James, was born into the family of a priest at Vladimir on the Klyazma. He was sent to school at the age of seven, since from childhood he knew the Holy Scriptures very well. Finding the bustle of the perishing world burdensome, he was tonsured at the Vladimir Nativity monastery, fulfilling various obediences without complaint.

Yearning for the solitary wilderness life, the ascetic secretly left the monastery and went to the outskirts of Nerekhta. Here, at the River Gridenka, he found a suitable place for a monastery, a raised semi-island in the deep forest. The saint asked the people around Nerekhta to establish and build a monastery in the vicinity of Sypanovo, on the Kostroma frontier. The people of Nerekhta happily consented and helped in the construction of the monastery.

Saint Pachomius painted an icon of the Holy Trinity, and after singing a Molieben he carried it to the place where he was to build the church in the Name of the Holy Trinity. After the church was completed, Saint Pachomius organized the new monastery, which soon began to attract monks.

At the newly-formed monastery the monks had to cultivate the land themselves and feed themselves by the toil of their own hands. The saint set an example for the brethren in this matter.

He died in 1384, advanced in age, and he was buried in the Trinity church he built. One of his disciples, Irenarchus, painted an icon of the saint, and later a crypt was built for his holy relics. The dates of commemoration for Saint Pachomius are on May 15, his Name Day, and on March 23, the day of his repose.

No information available at this time.

Saint Euphrósynos (Euphrósynos) of Pskov, in the world Eleazar, was born in about the year 1386 in the village of Videlebye, near Pskov, the same village where Saint Nikander of Pskov (September 24) had also been born. His parents wanted Eleazar to marry, but secretly he withdrew to the Snetogorsk monastery (on the Snyatni hill, now in Pskov itself) and there he was tonsured.

He even traveled to the East, where he observed the monastic life there. Upon his return, he was no longer satisfied with life in the Snetogorsk Monastery. Therefore, around the year 1425, Saint Euphrosynos asked his Spiritual Father's blessing to live in solitude on the Tolva River near Pskov. There the Three Holy Hierarchs appeared to him: Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, and indicated a place to build a church. Later, the Saint founded a monastery there. Concern for the salvation of his neighbor impelled the Saint to abandon his wilderness dwelling, and he received everyone who was in need of an experienced Elder and guide. Saint Euphrosynos blessed those who came to him to live according to the Skete Rule, which he compiled himself. He was neither a priest, nor an Igoumen, but the instructor and Elder of the brethren.

The Rule of Saint Euphrosynos presents rather general advice for monks about proceeding on the monastic path, “how it befits monks to dwell.” He does not address the strict regulation of all aspects of monastic life, as did the Rule of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk; for example; there is nothing in it at all concerning the order of the Divine Services.

In 1447, at the request of the brethren, Saint Euphrosynos built a church in honor of the Three Holy Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, who had appeared to him, and also in honor of Saint Onouphrios the Great (June 12). The Monastery later received the name Spaso-Eleazarov. Out of humility and his love for the solitary life, the Saint did not wish to become the Igoumen, but instead he nominated his disciple Ignatius for this office. Then he went to live in the forest near a lake.

Saint Euphrosynos reposed at the advanced age of ninety-five, on May 15, 1481, and was buried in the Monastery he founded. An Icon was placed on his tomb, with the blessing of Archbishop Gennadios (Gennádios) of Novgorod. The icon was painted by the Saint's disciple Ignatius, while the Saint was still alive. Also included was the Saint's last will and testament to the brethren on a piece of parchment, stamped with the lead seal of Archbishop Theophilos of Novgorod. This is one of very few surviving wills written by an ascetic in his own hand.

Saint Euphrosynos, the founder of Pskov wilderness life, guided many renowned disciples, who also established monasteries, planting the seeds of monasticism throughout the lands of Pskov. Among the disciples of Saint Euphrosynos were the Skete Elders Savva of Krypetsk (August 28); Saint Dositheos of Verkhneostrov (October 8); Saint Onouphrios of Malsk (June 12); Saint Joachim of Opochsk (September 9); Saint Hilarion of Gdovsk (October 21); Saint Chariton of Kudinsk, the founder and Igoumen of a monastery at Lake Kudina near Toroptsa; and the locally venerated brethren of Pskov Ignatius, Charalampos and Pamphilios were buried at the Spaso-Eleazar Monastery. Saint Euphrosynos is also commemorated on the third Sunday after Pentecost, the Synaxis of the Pskov Saints
(movable Feast).

Saint Serapion of Pskov was born at Yuriev (now Tartu), which then was under the rule of Germans, who sought to stamp out Orthodoxy. His parents were parishioners of a Russian church in the name of Saint Nicholas.

Saint Serapion was well versed in the Holy Scripture, and more than once he entered into the defense of Orthodoxy. When they wanted to convert him by force to the foreign faith, he departed to the Tolvsk wilderness, not far from Pskov, where the Pskov ascetic monk Euphrosynus (May 15) began his prayerful work.

Under his nurturing, Saint Serapion began to acquire the wisdom of wilderness life. But soon he happened to undergo temptations. Without a blessing, he wanted to leave his guide and to live an ascetic life in complete solitude. But the Lord brought the inexperienced novice to his senses: after he seriously hurt his leg, he repented of his self-will and disobedience and returned to the Elder.

After he received the Great Schema, he dwelt constantly with Saint Euphrosynus for 55 years, strictly keeping the vow of silence. Brethren began gradually to gather around Saint Euphrosynus, for which the Elder built a temple in the name of the Three Hierarchs and gave a skete rule.

Saint Serapion zealously fulfilled everything commanded of him and was a role model for the monks. The monk so strictly fulfilled the monastic vow of uncovetousness, that a copyist of his life called him “an unburied corpse.” He bore every insult with extraordinary humility, always blaming himself alone, and he himself asked forgiveness of his insulter. The monk deeply sensed the power of communal prayers and he said that “the order of the twelve Psalms” sung alone in the cell cannot equal one “Lord, have mercy” sung in church.

Saint Serapion died on September 8, 1480, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. Since the day of repose of Saint Serapion coincides with one of the twelve Great Feasts, his commemoration is on September 7. A Troparion and Kontakion were composed for the saint.

Saint Euphrosynus himself committed the body of his disciple to the earth. By his fervent deeds he had transformed himself into mere “bones, covered by skin.” Saint Serapion was not separated from his spiritual Father even after death: their holy relics were placed beside each other. A common service was composed to Saints Euphrosynus and Serapion (15 May), wherein Saint Serapion is glorified as the first co-ascetic, “companion and friend” of Saint Euphrosynus.

St Serapion is also commemorated on September 7.

Saint Achilles, Bishop of Larissa, lived during the fourth century, during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great. Glorified for his holiness of life and erudition, he was made Bishop of Larissa in Thessaly.

Saint Achilles participated in the First Ecumenical Council, where he boldly denounced the heretic Arius. In his city he strove to promote Christianity, destroyed idolatrous pagan temples, and he built and adorned churches.

Saint Achilles had the gift of healing sickness, especially demonic possession, and he worked many miracles. The saint died peacefully in about the year 330. His relics have remained in Prespa, in today's Republic of Macedonia, since 978.

Today’s celebration is the midpoint of the fifty days between the Feasts of Pascha and Pentecost. Saint John tells us (John 7:14) that “in the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the Temple, and taught.” The Feast in question is the Feast of Tabernacles (celebrated in September), not Pentecost.

The Church has appointed John 7:14-30 to be read for the Midfeast, thereby linking Pascha and Pentecost. In Chapter 8 of Saint John’s Gospel, the Lord came to the Temple again and taught the people who came to Him. After leaving the Temple, he encounters the man born blind. We will hear about him on the Sunday of the Blind Man.

The Troparion of the Midfeast (“In the middle of the Feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of godliness, as Thou didst cry to all: If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink [John 7:37]. O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory to Thee!”) hints at the encounter of Christ and the Samaritan Woman in just a few days.

Today we perform the Lesser Blessing of Water, and the Blessing of Fields.

Saint Isidore lived during the reign of Emperor Decius (249-251) and came from Alexandria in Egypt. He was an officer in the Roman Navy when the fleet commanded by Admiral Numerius chanced to be anchored off the Greek island of Chios. There Christianity was not persecuted, and perhaps Saint Isidore was not as cautious as he should have been. Somehow, the centurion Julius discovered that Isidore was a Christian, and denounced him to Admiral Numerius.

The Admiral summoned him in order to determine whether or not the allegation was true. Saint Isidore admitted that he was indeed a Christian, and refused to offer sacrifice to inanimate idols. Numerius urged him to obey the Emperor's decree to offer sacrifice so that he would not be subjected to torture. Saint Isidore replied, "You may be able to kill my body, but you have no power over my soul. The true, living God, Jesus Christ, abides in me; even after my death He shall be with me, and I with Him. I shall abide in Him, and I shall never cease to confess Him while breath still remains in my body."

Saint Isidore was led away to be tortured. In the midst of his suffering, he praised Christ God and mocked the pagan idols. Since Saint Isidore still refused to offer the prescribed sacrifice, he was thrown into prison.

When the Saint's father heard about this, he went to Chios to convince Isidore to deny Christ. He was able to persuade Numerius to place Isidore in his custody, saying that he would try to convert him. The Saint, however, begged his father to open the eyes of his soul and to learn the truth about Christ. His father was most displeased by these words, and he could not accept that his son chose to believe in Christ rather than follow the idolatry of his ancestors. Seeing that Saint Isidore would not change his mind, he disowned him and sent him back to Admiral Numerius, asking him to execute his son right away.

First, the Admiral ordered Isidore to be beaten with whips, and then dragged along over rocky ground. After that, his tongue was cut out. Even without his tongue, Saint Isidore was still able to speak, by the grace of God, and he continued to confess Christ. Meanwhile, God punished Numerius by causing him to loose the power of speech. Finally, the Admiral gave the signal to behead Isidore. When he heard the sentence the holy martyr was overjoyed. Praising God, he was led to the place of execution, where he was beheaded.

After the Saint's martyrdom his body was thrown into a well to be devoured by animals, but two Christians, Saints Ammonios (September 4) and Myrope (December 2) secretly took his body, and buried it in a secret place, with all due honor. The evil Numerius heard that the martyr's body had been stolen and wanted to kill the two guards who had been ordered to prevent the body from being taken. Learning that innocent men would suffer for her good deed, Saint Myrope appeared before the authorities and acknowledged that she had stolen the martyr's body and buried it, but she refused to tell them where.

Numerius commanded that the holy virgin should be whipped, and finally she was confined in a prison, covered with wounds. But the Lord did not leave His martyr without consolation. At midnight a heavenly light illumined the prison, and many angels appeared to her with Saint Isidore in their midst. "Peace be with you, Myrope," he said to her. "God has heard your prayer, and soon you shall be with us and shall receive the crown which has been prepared for you."

The holy martyr rejoiced and surrendered her soul to God at that very moment. A sweet fragrance emanated from her body, filling the entire prison. One of the guards, seeing all of this and smelling the fragrance, told a priest about the vision. He believed in Christ and was baptized. Soon afterward, he also suffered martyrdom. Later, Saint Ammonios himself was put to death in the city of Kyzikos.

Saint Myrope's body was interred beside that of the martyr Isidore, and a chapel was built over the graves. In the fifth century, Saint Markian (January 10), the Oikonomos of the Great Church of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople, built a chapel by the church of Hagia Eirene (Holy Peace). He also transferred the Saint's skull and a portion of his relics to Constantinople, which he placed in the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos at Peran.

In the sixth century, the existence of the rest of the Saint's relics on the island of Chios, and the numerous miracles which occurred, is affirmed by Saint Gregory of Tours (November 17) in his book Liber in Gloria Martyrum (Book of the Glory of the Martyrs):

"The martyr Isidore is buried on the island of Chios. In the Saint's church there is a well into which he is said to have been thrown. After drinking from the water of this well, possessed people, those with fevers, and others who are sick, are often cured. It is said that believers often see a light there, similar to a burning candle. I myself met a priest who insisted that he had often seen this light from the mouth of the well. On this island a seed is picked from the mastic trees which, so they say, are not found in other regions."

Local tradition agrees that at the place where Saint Isidore was martyred, the mastic trees shed fragrant tears because of the Holy Martyr's suffering. Tradition holds that the mastic, which is a major product of the island of Chios, may be gathered and prepared only from the trees near the site of the Saint's martyrdom.

Saint Isidore Tverdislov (“Constant of Word”), Fool-for-Christ, Wonderworker of Rostov. He was born in Germany of rich parents. From his youth, he led “an unsullied life and had a compassionate understanding.” Leaving his parental home and “desiring the Kingdom of God,” Saint Isidore distributed his wealth to the poor. Taking up the staff of a wanderer, he visited many lands and cities.

He was raised in Catholicism, and it is not known where he accepted the holy Orthodox Faith. Finally, he arrived in Russia and decided to live in Rostov. Here Saint Isidore, “in filth and snow and rain and cold” and “enduring every outrage,” settled in a rickety wooden hut that he himself had made. He chose a foolish manner of life for the sake of Christ, which Saint Paul describes in his Epistle (1 Cor.4:10-13).

Saint Isidore spent all his time at unceasing prayer, not allowing himsetlf much sleep or rest. “He stood at all night vigil and praise” to dedicate his body “everlastingly to God.”

By day the blessed one made the rounds of the city, acting like a fool. “Like Job of old in his patience,” Blessed Isidore, while still alive, was “an earthly angel and a heavenly man,” “a compassionate soul, and pure of thought, and vigilant heart and faith unassailed, and true love without pretense.” During his life he received the grace to work miracles.

Saint Isidore reposed in the year 1474. They learned of his death only when, passing by his hut, they noticed a special fragrance. At the place of his burial in the city of Rostov the church of the Ascension of the Lord was built, in which his relics rest in a crypt as a source of miracles to the present day.

Blessed Isidore is termed “Tverdislov” [“Constant of Word”] since he spoke constantly. [The title “Tverdislov” seems unique to Saint Isidore. This supplemental account of him is from Bulgakov’s Nastolnaya Kniga (1900).]

Saint Nikḗtas, Hermit of the Kiev Caves, Bishop of Novgorod (+1109): The memory of Saint Nikḗtas was celebrated on May 14 at Novgorod, where his relics are located. The saint is also commemorated on January 31, the day of his repose, and on April 30, the day of the Uncovering of his Relics (1558).

The Holy Martyr Maximus suffered under the emperor Decius (249-251). Maximus was a layman and a merchant. He was a devout Christian and he led many pagans to faith in Christ the Savior, and persuaded them to accept Baptism.

Once, when the pagans had gathered to offer a human sacrifice to their gods, Saint Maximus plucked up his courage, unable to bear the sight of such a spectacle, and rushed at them, loudly denouncing their impiety and error, calling the idols soulless creations of mankind. The frenzied pagans stoned the martyr to death.

Saint Serapion lived during the fifth century in Egypt. He was called the linen cloth-wearer (Sindonite) since he wore only a coarse linen garb called a “sindon.” From his youth the monk lived like the birds of the air, without a shelter.

For several days at a time he did not eat, not having the means to buy bread. He gave away his sindon to a beggar who was shivering from the cold, and he himself was naked.

A certain Greek philosopher, wishing to test the non-covetousness of the monk, gave him a gold coin and watched him. The saint went to the bakery, bought one loaf of bread, gave the merchant the gold coin and left, having no regard for the value of the money.

Saint Serapion led many on the way of salvation. Once, he was the servant of a Greek actor, whom he converted to Christ. The actor, imitating the example of the holy life of the saint, believed and was baptized together with all his family. He asked Saint Serapion to remain with him not as a servant, but as a guide and friend, but the monk went away, not taking any of the money offered him.

Traveling to Rome, Saint Serapion got on a ship, but paid nothing to the ship owners. At first they began to reproach him for this, but noticing that the Elder had gone five days already without eating, they began to feed him for the sake of God, and in this they fulfilled the command of the Lord.

At Rome, the saint continued to wander about, going from house to house, having nothing, accumulating only spiritual wealth for himself and for his neighbor.

Saint Leontios was from Tiberioupolis in Phrygia and was born to wealthy and devout parents around the second half of the XII century. When he was 15-17 years old, his father reposed, so he left his birthplace and studied under a pious priest, then he went to Ptelidίon Monastery of the Mother of God, where he was tonsured as a monk. Later he went to Constantinople and became associated with the Metropolitan of Tiberias, to whom he submitted himself. After following his Elder, who was returning to his diocese, they sailed to Patmos to worship at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian. He started for Cyprus, but God's will led him back to Patmos. There, under the spiritual guidance of Igoumen Theoktistos (Theóktistos), a man experienced in spiritual matters, he became an example of brotherly love and humility. When Igoumen Theoktistos reposed, Leontios was chosen to succeed him, by unanimous decision of the monks.

Saint Leontios visited the island of Crete for the material needs of the monastery. The Monastery of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John had a base on Crete, within the ancient city of Aptera, and above the Turkish fortress of Isdezin (Kalami), which was then a dependency of the Patmos Monastery.

Taking care of the Monastery's affairs, Saint Leontios went to Constantinople. There he won the respect and esteem of Emperor Manuel Komnenos (1143-1180) who proposed that he become a Bishop in Russia or Cyprus, but Saint Leontius declined out of humility. But when he was offered the throne of Jerusalem, Leontios could not refuse and he became Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1170, at a time when that Church was being tested by the domination of the Latins.

Because of the control he exercised over the new Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, Saint Leontios was exiled, and he reposed at a ripe old age on May 14, 1190. He is commemorated on Patmos and in Jerusalem on May 14.

His Church Service was published in Jerusalem in 1912.

Saint Leontios was Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1223-1261, according to Saint Gregory Palamas (November 14) and Theodore, a monk of Constantinople.

This Life was translated from Greek into the Russian language in an abridged form. It was translated a second time more fully by Saint Νikodemos (Νikόdēmos) of the Holy Mountain (July 14), who says the Patriarch's death actually occurred in 1175.

The incorrupt relics of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk were first uncovered in May 1846, during the construction of the new cathedral at Zadonsk. They were found beneath the altar of the old church.

Saint Tikhon is also commemorated on August 13.

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Alexandra Dmitrievna Dobychkina, who was from a middle-class family in Yaroslavl, suffered terribly from spiritual and physical ailments for seventeen years. In 1823 she beheld a vision of a church in which was an Icon of the Mother of God. Offering her heartfelt prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos, she asked to be freed from these afflictions. One day Alexandra had a vision in which she was shown a church where there was a certain Icon of the Mother of God. Then a mysterious voice told her to search for the Icon in that church, and there she would be healed.

On May 1, 1823, Alexandra managed to find the church beside the residence of the Bishop of Yaroslavl. The church was very old, and was dedicated to the Feast of the Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord (August 1). Recognizing the church as the one she had seen in her vision, Alexandra went inside to look around. Suddenly, she found herself before an Icon of the Mother of God painted on the wall, the same one she had been shown in the vision. Struck with fear, she fell to the floor with terrible convulsions, and writhed in pain. When these subsided, Alexandra stood up and prayed fervently before the holy Icon. As she prayed, she began to feel relief from her painful torments. The next day she was perfectly well.

From that time, many miraculous cures have taken place before this Icon for those who pray to the Most Holy Theotokos with faith and reverence.

The Yaroslavl-Caves Icon of the Mother of God depicts her seated on a throne with her Divine Child, and it also includes Saints Anthony and Theodosios, the wonderworkers of the Kiev Caves (September 2). Two Angels stand behind the throne on either side.

There are two other Yaroslavl Icons: the first is the famous Yaroslavl Icon (June 8), which is of the Eleousa (Tenderness) type, and dates from the XIII century. The second is the Yaroslavl-Kazan Icon, which was revealed on July 8,1588.

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No information available at this time.

Saint Glyceria suffered as a martyr for her faith in Christ in the second century, during a persecution against Christians under the emperor Antoninus (138-161). She came from an illustrious family, and her father Macarius was a high-ranking Roman official. Later, the family moved to the Thracian city of Trajanopolis.

Saint Glyceria lost both her father and mother at an early age. Falling in with Christians, she converted to the true Faith, and she visited the church every day. Sabinus, the prefect of Trajanopolis, received the imperial edict ordering Christians to offer sacrifice to the idols, and so he designated a certain day for the inhabitants of the city to worship the idol Zeus.

Saint Glyceria firmly resolved to suffer for Christ. She told the Christians of her intention, and she begged them to pray that the Lord would give her the strength to undergo the sufferings. On the appointed day Saint Glyceria made the Sign of the Cross on her forehead, and went into the pagan temple.

The saint stood on a raised spot in the rays of the sun, and removed the veil from her head, showing the holy Cross traced on her forehead. She prayed fervently to God to bring the pagans to their senses and destroy the stone idol of Zeus. Suddenly thunder was heard, and the statue of Zeus crashed to the floor and smashed into little pieces.

In a rage, the prefect Sabinus and the pagan priests commanded the people to pelt Saint Glyceria with stones, but the stones did not touch the saint. They locked Saint Glyceria in prison, where the Christian priest Philokrates came to her and encouraged the martyr in the struggle before her.

In the morning, when the tortures had started, suddenly an angel appeared in the midst of the torturers, and they fell to the ground, overcome with terror. When the vision vanished, Sabinus, who was hardly able to speak, ordered them to throw the saint into prison.

They shut the door securely and sealed it with the prefect’s own ring, so that no one could get in to her. While she was in prison, angels of God brought Saint Glyceria food and drink. Many days afterwards, Sabinus came to the prison and he himself removed the seal. Going in to the saint, he was shaken when he saw her alive and well.

Setting off for the city of Heraclea in Thrace, Sabinus gave orders to bring Saint Glyceria there also. The Christians of Heraclea came out to meet her with Bishop Dometius at their head, and he prayed that the Lord would strengthen the saint to endure martyrdom.

At Heraclea they cast Saint Glyceria into a red-hot furnace, but the fire was extinguished at once. Then the prefect, in a mindless fury, gave orders to rip the skin from Saint Glyceria’s head. Then they threw the martyr into prison onto sharp stones. She prayed incessantly, and at midnight an angel appeared in the prison and healed her of her wounds.

When the jailer Laodicius came for the saint in the morning, he did not recognize her. Thinking that the martyr had been taken away, he feared he would be punished for letting her escape. He wanted to kill himself, but Saint Glyceria stopped him. Shaken by the miracle, Laodicius believed in the true God, and he entreated the saint to pray that he might suffer and die for Christ with her.

“Follow Christ and you will be saved,” the holy martyr replied. Laodicius placed upon himself the chains with which the saint was bound, and at the trial he told the prefect and everyone present about the miraculous healing of Saint Glyceria by an angel, then he confessed himself a Christian.

The newly chosen one of God was beheaded by the sword. Christians secretly took up his remains, and reverently buried them. Saint Glyceria was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts. She went to execution with great joy, but the lioness set loose upon the saint meekly crawled up to her and lay at her feet.

Finally, the saint prayed to the Lord, imploring that He take her unto Himself. In answer she heard a Voice from Heaven, summoning her to heavenly bliss. At that moment, another lioness was set loose upon the saint. It pounced upon the martyr and killed her, but did not tear her apart. Bishop Dometius and the Christians of Heraclea reverently buried the holy martyr Glyceria. She suffered for Christ around the year 177. Her holy relics were glorified with a flow of healing myrrh.

Saint Glyceria, whose name means “sweetness,” now rejoices in the unending sweetness of the heavenly Kingdom.

Saint Glyceria was tortured at Heraclea in Thrace during a persecution against Christians under the emperor Antoninus (138-161).The martyr was then thrown into prison onto sharp stones. She prayed incessantly, and at midnight an angel appeared in the prison and healed her of her wounds.

When the jailer Laodicius came for the saint in the morning, he did not recognize her. Thinking that the martyr had been taken away, he feared he would be punished for letting her escape. He wanted to kill himself, but Saint Glyceria stopped him. Shaken by the miracle, Laodicius believed in the true God, and he entreated the saint to pray that he might suffer and die for Christ with her.

“Follow Christ and you will be saved,” the holy martyr replied. Laodicius placed upon himself the chains with which the saint was bound, and at the trial he told the prefect and everyone present about the miraculous healing of Saint Glyceria by an angel, then he confessed himself a Christian.

The newly chosen one of God was beheaded by the sword. Christians secretly took up his remains, and reverently buried them.

The scarcity of information about Saint Glykeria (Γλυκερία) indicates that she kept the details of her life and ascetical struggles hidden from those around her. She was the daughter of Panteleimon, an official of Legoscha Street in Great Novgorod.

On July 14, 1572, her body was found incorrupt, fifty years after her repose. An old woman named Nastasia told Archbishop Leonid of Novgorod that she had received healing fifty years before, when Saint Glykeria was buried. The second Novgorod Chronicle states that her tomb was discovered behind the stone church of the Holy Martyrs Florus and Laurus, and that her relics were incorrupt. Afterward, Archbishop Leonid solemnly placed the Saint's relics in the church of Saints Florus and Laurus.

On the same day, at the Righteous one's tomb, the four-year-old son of Bogdan Suvorov was healed of an illness, after which other miraculous healings occurred. These were the basis for her canonization.

The Holy Virgin Glykeria is depicted on an ancient icon of the Novgorod wonderworkers. At the top of the icon, Sophia, the Wisdom of God, is depicted. Next we see the Mother of God and Saint John the Forerunner; then there are six rows of Novgorod Saints. In the fourth row is Venerable Anna of Novgorod (February 10). The Righteous Glykeria is in the sixth row.

In the middle of the XIX century, a chapel dedicated to Saint Glykeria was built in the Tikhvin church of Moscow's Simonov Monastery.

The Relics of the Hieromartyr Macarius, Archimandrite of Kanev, were transferred on May 13, 1688 from Kanev to the city of Pereslavl because of the threat of enemy invasion. The main Feast commemorating Saint Macarius is on September 7.

The Holy Martyr Alexander suffered for Christ at the beginning of the fourth century. He was a soldier serving in the regiment of the tribune Tiberian at Rome. When he was eighteen, the Roman emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) issued an edict that all citizens were to go to the temple of Jupiter outside the city on a designated day to offer sacrifice.

The tribune Tiberian assembled his soldiers and he ordered them to go to this festival, but Alexander, raised from childhood in the Christian Faith, refused and said that he would not offer sacrifice to devils. Tiberian reported to the emperor Maximian that there was a soldier in his regiment who was a Christian. Soldiers were immediately sent to arrest Alexander.

Alexander was asleep, but an angel woke him and warned him of his impending martyrdom, saying that he would be with him during this time. When the soldiers arrived, Alexander came out to meet them. His face shone with a light so bright that the soldiers fell to the ground when they saw him. The saint upbraided them and told them to carry out their orders.

Standing before Maximian, Saint Alexander boldly confessed his faith in Christ and he refused to worship the idols. He said that he was not afraid of the emperor, nor of his threats. The emperor tried to persuade the young man with promises of honors, but Alexander remained steadfast in his confession, and denounced the emperor and all the pagans. They tortured the holy martyr, but he bravely endured all the sufferings.

Maximian remanded Saint Alexander to the tribune Tiberian, who was being sent to Thrace to persecute Christians there. So they brought the martyr to Thrace, fettered in chains. At this time an angel told Saint Alexander’s mother, Pimenia, of her son’s martyrdom. Pimenia found her son in Carthage, where he stood before Tiberian and again he steadfastly confessed himself a Christian.

They subjected him to torture before the eyes of his mother, and then they took the prisoner on his final journey, walking behind Tiberian’s chariot. The brave Pimenia asked the soldiers to let her go to her son, and she encouraged him to undergo torments for Christ. The soldiers were astonished at the stoic strength of the martyr and they said one to another, “Great is the God of the Christians!”

The angel appeared to the martyr several times, strengthening him. By night a fearsome angel appeared to Tiberian with sword in hand, and commanded the tribune to hasten to Byzantium, since the martyr’s end was drawing near. Tiberian hurried on his way.

In the city of Philippopolis, Tiberian retried Saint Alexander in the presence of the city dignitaries gathered for this event. At this trial Saint Alexander remained steadfast. During his grievous journey the holy martyr had been repeatedly subjected to cruel tortures. He was strengthened by God, however, and he endured all the torments.

He gave strength to the soldiers weakened by thirst, asking the Lord to provide a spring of water for them. During the journey, the martyr prayed beneath a tree, asking for strength in his sufferings, and the fruit and leaves of this tree received a curative power. At a place named Burtodexion, the saint again met his mother Pimenia, who fell weeping at his feet. The holy martyr said to her, “Do not weep , my mother, for the day after tomorrow, the Lord shall help me finish matters.”

In the city of Drizipera Tiberian imposed the death sentence on the saint. The holy martyr gave thanks to the Lord for giving him the strength to endure all the torments, and to accept martyrdom. The soldier who was supposed to carry out the execution asked the saint’s forgiveness, and for a long time he could not bring himself to raise his sword, for he saw angels waiting to take the soul of the martyr.

The saint prayed and asked God to remove the angels, since he wanted to go to the Lord. Only then was the executioner able to cut off the saint’s holy head. The saint’s body was cast into a river, but four dogs dragged it out of the water, and they would not let anyone near it, until Saint Alexander’s mother Pimenia came. She took up the remains of her martyred son and reverently buried them near the River Ergina.

Healings began to take place at the grave of Saint Alexander. Soon the holy martyr appeared to his mother in a dream, in which he comforted her and said that soon she too would be transported to the heavenly habitations.

Saint Pausicacus, Bishop of Synnada, lived at the end of the sixth century in the Syrian city of Apamea. He had been raised in the Christian Faith by his pious parents, and he began to lead an ascetic life of prayer, vigil and fasting in his youth.

The Lord gave him the gift of healing sicknesses of both soul and body. Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople (591-606) consecrated Saint Pausicacus as Bishop of Synnada. Saint Pausicacus wanted neither heretics nor dissolute people in his flock. He constantly taught his flock about the virtuous life, and his discourse was always powerful and lively.

Having come to Constantinople on affairs of the Church, he healed the emperor Mauricius of sickness, and on his return journey he asked the Lord for water to quench the thirst of his companions. After the prayer of the saint, a spring of pure water sprang up from the ground. Saint Pausicacus died peacefully in the year 606.

The Holy Confessor George suffered for the veneration of holy icons at Constantinople in the first half of the ninth century. The emperor Theophilus demanded that Saint George renounce the veneration of holy icons, but the brave confessor refused the order and told the impious emperor that in venerating holy icons, we offer worship to their eternal Prototype [i.e. Christ the Logos].

For his disobedience, the emperor ordered Saint George’s property to be taken away and seized, and to drag him through the streets of Constantinople with a rope about his neck, and then cast him into prison. After this, Saint George was sent into exile with his wife Irene and their children. Saint George died after suffering many afflictions in exile.

Saint Irene lived in Constantinople in the first half of the ninth century. When her husband Saint George was sent into exile because he venerated the holy icons, she and their children went with him.

Our holy Father Euthymius was from the town of Tao in Georgia . He was the son of pious, noble and wealthy parents. When his father renounced the temporal and perishable splendor and glory of this world, preferring poverty in Christ which leads to heavenly riches, he donned the angelic schema of a monk, changed his name to John, and moved to Constantinople. Euthymius, who was still quite small, stayed with his grandfather (though some sources say that Euthymius was left with John’s brother-in-law) a man renowned in glory and in virtue, who raised the child in the instruction and admonition of the Lord. After a little time had passed, he took Euthymius with him, and they went to Constantinople looking for John. When he found him, he urged him with many words and tears to come back to his country. Not only was John not persuaded by this, he tried in every way to keep his son with him, thereby causing the boy’s grandfather great sadness.

Since they quarreled a great deal about this, and because John tried to take his son and his father would not allow him to do this, the Emperor Nikephorus Phokas (r. 963-969) learned of it, and commanded that both men appear before him and bring Euthymius with them. After the three presented themselves to the Emperor and he had heard the argument they had about the youth, the sovereign decreed that neither of them should take him by force. They were to leave it to God to decide what to do with him. He also told them to let the youth go to whomever he freely chose to go. He ran at once into his father’s arms, though he had never seen or known him until that moment. This action evoked wonder and tears in all those who were present.

The blessed John received his son as if from the hands of God and soon clothed him in the monastic schema, then gave him to teachers in order to be educated. The good Euthymius, having a sharp mind, much fervor and diligence, soon learned worldly wisdom and also the inner wisdom of God from his instructors. So he appeared as a river of the teachings of the Spirit. After this, he fell gravely ill, but he recovered through the care and help of the Most Holy Lady Theotokos. He excelled in virtue, wisdom, and grace, and in many other wondrous things from which it was apparent to all what sort of prodigy he would become.

The blessed one despised the glory of men as something contrary to the glory of God, so he left and went to Mount Athos with his father John. After meeting Saint Athanasius (July 5), they desired to live with him in the holy Lavra. The divine Athanasius, seeing with the clear-sighted eye of his soul the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelling in Euthymius, urged him to receive the dignity of the priesthood. At first he did not wish to do so, saying that he was not worthy of it. Finally, he obeyed the words of the holy Athanasius and was ordained as a priest. From that time he began to add struggles upon struggles, abstinence on top of abstinence, and greatly increased all the virtues that he had. As a result, he became a vessel of the All-Holy Spirit, and translated all the Holy Scriptures into the Georgian language. He also wrote many books filled with his teachings on morality and virtue. Saint George of Mount Athos (May 13 & June 27), the author of the Life of Saint Euthymius, says that the saint translated the Holy Scriptures, and more than fifty other works, into the Georgian language. He also rebuilt many churches and hospitals, and adorned the Holy Mountain with hermitages.

With what words can one describe worthily the kindness which he showed toward all or his incomparable humility when for fourteen years he cared for the great Athanasius and his father who were ill? Once these two had gone to the Lord, the blessed Euthymius was given the protection of the Holy Lavra, and not just the Lavra, but all of the Holy Mountain . In this he was willing and quick in his dual healing of the souls and bodies of the brethren. His divine mouth always spouted forth rivers of wisdom and instruction to the glory of God. Since he was overcome by the love of extreme tranquility, he made his cousin George the igumen of the Lavra. Euthymius remained alone, pleasing God night and day. No one knew of his spiritual struggles and their fruits, because he strove to accomplish them in secret, so that no one should know of them but God, Who wished to reveal the many accomplishments by which His servant shone forth.

Once there was a drought on the Holy Mountain, and all the Fathers were immeasurably sad because of the lack of water, so they begged the saint to pray to God about this. The blessed one was persuaded only with great difficulty. He climbed to the chapel of the Prophet Elias, which is near the Holy Monastery of Ivḗron, praying with tears to the All-Merciful God, offering to Him the rational and bloodless Sacrifice. Immediately, so much rain fell that the ground was saturated. Everybody glorified God, Who glorifies those who glorify Him.

It is customary for the monks on the Holy Mountain to ascend to the summit of the mountain during the all-radiant Feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior (August 6), and to serve the all-night Vigil. The next day they celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and then came back down. Once, when this Great Feast had arrived, Euthymius ascended the mountain with many others just when it time for the Divine Liturgy to be celebrated. With one voice they all begged him to serve the Divine Liturgy and he fulfilled their request with great humility.

He came to the exclamation where the priest says, “Singing the triumphant hymn, shouting, proclaiming, and saying….” Suddenly a blinding light flashed about all of them and the earth quaked, and everyone fell face down upon the ground. Only the blessed Euthymius remained standing motionless before the altar, appearing as a pillar of fire. This wondrous event made him even more renowned everywhere.

When the Archbishop of Cyprus departed unto the Lord, the Emperor Basil II (976-1025) sent envoys with letters, fervently entreating Euthymius to accept the position. The saint would not even consent to hear the whole message, saying that he was not worthy of the appointment. Indeed, he said, he felt more worthy to be shepherded than to shepherd others. So Euthymius, in a God-pleasing manner, remained alone in stillness and quiet both day and night. In his heart was rooted humility, the mother of all virtues.

Meanwhile, the apostate devil, who always bears malice and works against all good and God-pleasing works, could not tolerate seeing the saint’s virtues. He progressed each day and was very pleasing to God, and everything he did was for the glory of Christ God.

The devil grieved out of envy and malice and so found a man who, by his dress, appeared to be a monk, but who had a defiled and unclean heart. Since this man was such a suitable dwelling place, the devil entered into him and persuaded him to kill the saint. The devil whispered into his ears, just as he had whispered to Eve of old, “If you kill this Euthymius, I give you my word that you will receive great favor.”

The wretched one was willing to commit this act of murder. He got his knife ready and he climbed to the tower where the saint had his cell. Seeing that the man was completely dominated by the devil, and that he held a knife in his hand, the saint’s disciple closed the door to the cell and would not let him in. The murderer, not finding the saint in order to satisfy the rage which overcame him, immediately wounded the disciple and left that place amidst wild cries and shouts. He encountered another disciple of the saint and attacked him in the same manner. He went a little farther, and then fell face down on the ground. After confessing his sin and revealing all the words that the devil had spoken to him, he violently gave up his foul soul. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, the saint recognized that the accident which had befallen his disciples occurred with the devil’s collaboration. Quickly he descended from the tower, hastening to perfect his disciples with the Great monastic schema. Shortly after he tonsured them, they both departed unto the Lord.

The devil could not stand to see the saint’s accomplishments which he performed for the glory of God. Therefore, he incited a gardener to slay the saint. The man had the knife ready, and approached the saint, stabbing him in the abdomen, but the saint remained unharmed. The edge of the knife bent like wax, and the hand that struck the saint withered and remained unmoving. Falling at the saint’s feet, the gardener confessed the demon’s plan, and he pleaded earnestly with Euthymius for forgiveness and healing. Being compassionate, the saint entreated God on his behalf, and so the gardener received both spiritual and bodily health.

What words suffice to recount the virtues of the saint, the sympathy he had for all, his compassion, his cheerfulness, his lack of anger, his tranquility, his all-night vigils, his ceaseless prayer, and his humility, the poor quality of his food and clothing which inured his body to hardship? He also wore heavy iron chains on his body. To put it plainly, he was truly an angel in an earthly body, an unwavering beacon to the world, reflecting in his own person the word of life.

Because there are scandals everywhere, and the earth is the principal place for scandal, some troubles also occurred on the Holy Mountain . Because of this, the Fathers pleaded with the saint to go to Constantinople to ask for an imperial decree to put an end to the scandals, and to restore peace on Mount Athos. Heeding their words, the blessed one went to Constantinople. The whole Senate and the nobility received him with great courtesy and much reverence. At once, his request was granted.

One day, the blessed one was riding a mule through Constantinople . He and another monk were going to the section of the city called Platia for some necessities. A beggar sat in the road asking for alms. Seeing him, the saint felt compassion and was about to give him something. The mule he was riding became startled when it saw the beggar, and it became wild. Violently carrying the saint away, the mule galloped off and did not halt until it had thrown the saint to the ground and crushed him. Some Christians ran and picked him up, bringing him back to the home where he was staying. A few days later, on May 13, 1028 he received the Holy Mysteries, and then gave his holy soul into the hands of God. During the burial of his holy body, many healings and miracles took place. These were seen as proof of his holiness and boldness before God, and they were performed for the glory of the Lord.

Later, his holy relics were moved to the Holy Mountain , and were buried in the venerable monastery of the honorable, glorious prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John. Later, the monastery was renamed the Ivḗron (Georgian) Monastery which had been rebuilt by the blessed Euthymius to the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one Godhead, to Whom is due glory, honor and worship, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

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No information available at this time.

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Georgian monks began to settle on Mt. Athos in the middle of the 10th century, and a Georgian monastery, Ivḗron, was founded there not long after.

At that time foreign armies were constantly invading Mt. Athos. In the 13th century the Crusaders stormed through the region, and between 1259 and 1306 the pope’s private army devastated Mt. Athos several times. Monks of Zographou and Vatopedi monasteries and the Protaton were martyred for the Orthodox Faith, and the monks of the Ivḗron Monastery eventually met the same fate.

During this period Georgian and Greek ascetics labored together at the Ivḗron Monastery, and many young ascetics of the new generation began to arrive from Georgia.

The Crusaders demanded that the Ivḗron monks convert to Catholicism and acknowledge the primacy of the Roman pope. But the monks condemned their fallacies and anathematized the doctrine of the Catholics.

According to the Patericon of Athos, the Ivḗron monks were forcibly expelled from their monastery. Nearly two hundred elderly monks were goaded like animals onto a ship that was subsequently sunk in the depths of the sea. The younger, healthier monks were deported to Italy and sold as slaves to the Jews.

Some sources claim this tragedy took place in the year 1259, while others record that the Georgian monks of the Holy Mountain were subject to the Latin persecutions over the course of four years, from 1276 to 1280.

Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, “a last relic of ancient piety,” as Saint Jerome calls him, lived during the fourth century in Phoenicia. The Roman empress Honoria was his sister. He was of Jewish descent, and in his youth he received a fine education. He was converted to Christianity after seeing how a certain monk named Lucian gave away his clothing to a poor person. Struck by the monk’s compassion, Epiphanius asked to be instructed in Christianity.

He was baptized and became a disciple of Saint Hilarion the Great (October 21). Entering the monastery, he progressed in the monastic life under the guidance of the experienced Elder Hilarion, and he occupied himself with copying Greek books.

Because of his ascetic struggles and virtues, Saint Epiphanius was granted the gift of wonderworking. In order to avoid human glory, he left the monastery and went into the Spanidrion desert. Robbers caught him there and held him captive for three months. By speaking of repentance, the saint brought one of the robbers to faith in the true God. When they released the holy ascetic, the robber also went with him. Saint Epiphanius took him to his monastery and baptized him with the name John. From that time, he became a faithful disciple of Saint Epiphanius, and he carefully documented the life and miracles of his instructor.

Reports of the righteous life of Saint Epiphanius spread far beyond the monastery. The saint went a second time into the desert with his disciple John. Even in the wilderness disciples started to come to him, so he established a new monastery for them.

After a certain time, Saint Epiphanius made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to venerate its holy shrines, and then returned to the Spanidrion monastery. The people of Lycia sent the monk Polybios to Saint Epiphanius asking him to take the place of their dead archpastor. When he learned of this intention, the clairvoyant ascetic secretly went into the Pathysian desert to the great ascetic Saint Hilarion (October 21), under whose guidance he had learned asceticism in his youth.

The saints spent two months in prayer, and then Hilarion sent Saint Epiphanius to Salamis. Bishops were gathered there to choose a new archpastor to replace one who recently died. The Lord revealed to the eldest of them, Bishop Papius, that Saint Epiphanius should be chosen bishop. When Epiphanius arrived, Saint Papius led him into the church, where in obedience to the will of the participants of the Council, Epiphanius agreed to be their bishop. Saint Epiphanius was consecrated as Bishop of Salamis in 367.

Saint Epiphanius won renown because of his great zeal for the Faith, his love and charity toward the poor, and his simplicity of character. He suffered much from the slander and enmity of some of his clergy. Because of the purity of his life, Saint Epiphanius was permitted to see the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Gifts at Divine Liturgy. Once, when the saint was celebrating the Mystery, he did not see this vision. He then suspected this was caused by the spiritual state of one of the clergy and quietly said to him, “Depart, my son, for you are unworthy to participate in the celebration of the Mystery today.”

At this point, the writings of his disciple John break off, because he became sick and died. The further record of the life of Saint Epiphanius was continued by another of his disciples, Polybios (afterwards bishop of city of Rinocyreia).

Through the intrigues of the empress Eudoxia and the Patriarch Theophilos of Alexandria, towards the end of his life Saint Epiphanius was summoned to Constantinople to participate in the Synod of the Oak, which was convened to judge the great saint, John Chrysostom (September 14 and November 13). Once he realized that he was being manipulated by Chrysostom’s enemies, Saint Epiphanius left Constantinople, unwilling to take part in an unlawful council.

As he was sailing home on a ship, the saint sensed the approach of death, and he gave his disciples final instructions: to keep the commandments of God, and to preserve the mind from impure thoughts. He died two days later. The people of Salamis met the body of their archpastor with carriages, and on May 12, 403 they buried him in a new church which he himself had built.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council named Saint Epiphanius as a Father and Teacher of the Church. In the writings of Saint Epiphanius, the PANARIUM and the ANCHORATUS are refutations of Arianism and other heresies. In his other works are found valuable church traditions, and directives for the Greek translation of the Bible.

In his zeal to preserve the purity of the Orthodox Faith, Saint Epiphanius could sometimes be rash and tactless. In spite of any impetuous mistakes he may have made, we must admire Saint Epiphanius for his dedication in defending Orthodoxy against false teachings. After all, one of the bishop’s primary responsibilities is to protect his flock from those who might lead them astray.

We also honor Saint Epiphanius for his deep spirituality, and for his almsgiving. No one surpassed him in his tenderness and charity to the poor, and he gave vast sums of money to those in need.

Saint Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, was born at Constantinople in the seventh century. His father, a prominent senator, was killed by order of the emperor Constantine Pogonatos (668-685). The young Germanus was emasculated and sent to a monastery, where he studied Holy Scripture.

Because of the sanctity of his life, Germanus was made bishop in the city of Cyzicus. Saint Germanus rose up in defense of the Orthodox Faith against the iconoclast heretics. He was later made Patriarch of Constantinople. Saint Germanus continued to stand up against the iconoclasts and to their spokesman, the heretical emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717-741), but the contest was unequal. He was forced to put his omophorion upon the altar table in the sanctuary, and to resign the archpastoral throne. Then the enraged emperor, who accused the Patriarch of heresy the day before, sent soldiers, who beat the saint and threw him out of the patriarchal residence. Saint Germanus was Patriarch for fourteen years and five months.

He went to a monastery, where he spent the remaining days of his life. The holy Patriarch Germanus died in the year 740, at age ninety-five, and was buried in the Chora monastery in Constantinople. Afterwards, his relics were transferred to France.

At the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787), the name of Patriarch Germanus was included in the diptychs of the saints. He wrote a “Meditation on Church Matters or Commentary on the Liturgy;” also an explanation of the difficult passages of Holy Scripture, and another work on the rewards of the righteous after death.

His important work on the various heresies that had arisen since apostolic times, and on the church councils that took place during the reign of the emperor Leo the Iconoclast, provides a wealth of historical information. There are also three letters from the Patriarch about the veneration of icons, which were read at the Seventh Ecumenical Council.

His other works include hymns in praise of the saints, discourses on the Feasts of the Entry into the Temple, the Annunciation and the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, and on the restoration of the church in honor of the Placing of the Venerable Zone of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, was glorified on May 12, 1913.

The memory of Patriarch Hermogenes as a holy martyr was passed on from generation to generation for three centuries, and people increasingly regarded him as an intercessor and supplicant for the Russian land before the Throne of the Almighty.

During terrible years of national hardship, the nation turned to the memory of the heroic Patriarch. The Russian people came to his tomb with their personal tribulations, sicknesses and infirmities, reverently asking the help of Saint Hermogenes, and the All-Merciful Lord rewarded their faith.

Believers from all ends of Russia began to flock to Moscow for the glorification of the hieromartyr Hermogenes 300 years after his death. Pilgrims hastened to venerate the relics of the holy Patriarch, in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin, where panikhidas were served almost without interruption.

On the eve of the glorification there was a procession with an icon of Saint Hermogenes, and after it a grave cover, on which the saint was depicted full-length in mantiya and holding a staff. Beside the icon of the Patriarch they carried an icon of Saint Dionysius of Radonezh, his fellow-struggler in spiritual and patriotic deeds for the liberation of the Russian land from Polish-Lithuanian usurpers.

On the bell tower of Ivan the Great hung a tremendous banner, “Rejoice, Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Great Intercessor of the Russian land.” A hundred thousand candles blazed in the hands of believers. At the end of the procession, they began to chant the Paschal Canon and a Canon to Saint Hermogenes, at the shrine where the relics of the Patriarch rested.

The all-night Vigil took place under the open skies at all the Kremlin squares. On this night a number of healings occurred through the prayers of Saint Hermogenes. For example, a certain sick person came to the Dormition Cathedral on crutches, and was healed as he approached the shrine with the relics of the saint. Another sick person was healed, who had suffered from terrible crippling disease. They brought him to the reliquary of the hieromartyr Hermogenes on a stretcher, where he was completely cured. These and other similar healings, witnessed by a multitude of the faithful, were remarkable proofs of the holiness of the new Russian wonderworker.

On Sunday May 12, Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Dormition Cathedral. Presiding at the celebration of the solemn glorification of the new saint was His Beatitude Gregorios, Patriarch of Antioch. At the finish of Liturgy in all the churches of Moscow, Moliebens were served to Saint Hermogenes and a procession made to the Moscow Kremlin, in which more than twenty hierarchs took part. They accompanied the procession singing, “O Holy Hierarch Father Hermogenes, pray unto God for us.” From this day the liturgical veneration of Saint Hermogenes began. Thus, the wish of the faithful Russian people was fulfilled. Through their prayers the Russian Orthodox Church received a heavenly patron.

The Holy Synod of the Russian Church established the commemoration of the hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus for February 17, the day of his repose (his life and works are found under this day), and May 12, the day of his glorification.

Great is the national significance of Saint Hermogenes, a tireless struggler for the purity of Orthodoxy and the unity of the Russian land. His ecclesial and civil activity during several centuries serves as an outstanding example of his ardent faith and love for the Russian people.

The ecclesial activity of the archpastor is characterized by an attentive and strict regard for church services. Under him were published a GOSPEL, a MENAION for September (1607), October (1609), November (1610), and for the first twelve days of December. The “Great Primary Rule” was printed in 1610. Saint Hermogenes did not merely give his blessing for this book, but carefully oversaw the accuracy of the text. With the blessing of Saint Hermogenes the Service to the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (November 30) also was translated from Greek into the Russian language, and his Feast began to be celebrated in the Dormition Cathedral.

Under the supervision of the Archpastor, new presses were made for printing service books, and a new print shop was built. This was damaged during the 1611 conflagration, when Moscow was burned by the Poles. Concerned about the order of divine services, Saint Hermogenes compiled a “Letter to all the People, Especially Priests and Deacons, on the Improvement of Church Singing.” The “Letter” chastizes the clergy for performing Church services not according to the Typikon, for unnecessary talking, and lay people for their irreverent attitude toward the divine services.

The literary activity of the first hierarch of the Russian Church is widely known. He wrote “An Account of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the Service to this Icon” (1594), “A Letter to Patriarch Job, Containing an Account of the Kazan Martyrs” (1591), a collection of articles in which questions about divine services (1598) are examined; there are patriotic documents and appeals, directed to the Russian nation (1606-1613), and other works.

His contemporaries speak of Patriarch Hermogenes as a man of outstanding intellect and erudition, “a Master of great reason and thought,” “very remarkable,” “very accomplished in wisdom and refined in learning,” “ever concerning himself about divine literature, and all the books about the Old Law and the New Grace, and pursuing to the end various Church rules and principles of law.” Saint Hermogenes spent a lot of time in monastery libraries, especially in the library of the Moscow Chudov monastery, where he copied precious historical accounts from ancient manuscripts.

In the seventeenth century they called the Chronicle by His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes the “Resurrection Chronicle.” In the collected works of the saint and his archpastoral documents there are many quotations from Holy Scripture, and examples taken from history, which testify to his profound knowledge of the Word of God and his familiarity with the Church literature of his time.

Patriarch Hermogenes incorporated his research in his preaching and teaching. The saint’s contemporaries regard the Archpastor as “a man of reverence,” “purity of life,” “a true shepherd of the flock of Christ,” and “a sincere upholder of the Christian faith”.

These qualities of Saint Hermogenes were quite especially apparent during the Time of Troubles, when the Russian land was overwhelmed by internal chaos, and worsened by Polish-Lithuanian intrigue. During this dark period, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church selflessly protected the Russian realm, by word and by deed defending the Orthodox Faith from Latinism, and also national unity from internal and external enemies. In saving his native land, Saint Hermogenes won the crown of a martyrdom, becoming a heavenly intercessor for Russia before the Throne of the Holy Trinity.

Saint Dionysius of Radonezh, in the world David Zobninovsky, was born about 1570 in the city of Rzhev. A novice, and then head of the Staritsky Dormition monastery, during the Time of Troubles he was the foremost helper of Saint Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow.

From 1611, Saint Dionysius was archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Under his administration, a house and hospice for the injured and those left homeless during the Polish-Lithuanian incursion was opened near the monastery. During a famine, he told the brethren of the Lavra to eat oat bread and water, leaving the wheat and the rye bread for the sick. In 1611-1612, he and the steward of the Trinity-Sergiev monastery, the monk Abraham Palitsyn (+ 1625), wrote letters asking the people of Nizhni-Novgorod and other cities to send fighting men and money to liberate Moscow from the Poles. He also wrote to Prince Demetrius Pozharsky and to all the military people, urging them to hasten the campaign for Moscow.

His monastic training helped Saint Dionysius to maintain his own inner light undiminished during the terrible years of this evil time. The saint achieved a high degree of spiritual pefection through unceasing prayer, which gave him the gift of working miracles. He carefully concealed his spiritual life from other people, who might suffer harm from a superficial knowledge of it.

“Do not ask a monk about things concerning his monastic life,” said Saint Dionysius, “since for us monks, it is a great misfortune to reveal such secrets to laymen. It is written that what is done in secret should not be known, even by your own left hand. We must hide ourselves, so that what we do remains unknown, lest the devil lead us into all manner of negligence and indolence.”

We can only measure his spiritual development, and the knowledge of God which he attained, by those things which became apparent when circumstances compelled Saint Dionysius to take an active part in the life of the world around him.

One such circumstance was his involvement in the revision of the service books. In 1616 Saint Dionysius spoke of work on correction of the Book of Needs by comparing it with the ancient Slavonic manuscripts and various Greek editions.

During their work, investigators discovered discrepancies in other books edited in the period between patriarchs (1612-1619). People did not understand what the editors were doing, so they accused Saint Dionysius and the others of heresy at a Council of 1618.

Deposed from his priestly rank and excommunicated from the Church, he was imprisoned in the Novospassky (New Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior) monastery, where they wanted to kill him by starvation. The intervention of Patriarch Philaretos of Moscow and Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem (1619-1633) won his release in 1619, and he was cleared of the charges against him.

Saint Dionysius was known for his strict observance of the monastery Rule, for sharing in monastery tasks and in the rebuilding of the monastery after the siege of the Lavra. The Life and Canon to the saint was composed by the Trinity-Sergiev monastery steward Simon Azaryn and augmented by the priest John Nasedka, a coworker of Saint Dionysius when he was correcting the service books.

Saint Dionysius reposed on May 12, 1633 and was buried in the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra.

Saint Sabinus, Bishop of Cyprus, was born in the Phoenician city of Lycia. Hearing of the renowned ascetic, Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus, Sabinus went to him and received monastic tonsure. For five years he lived in asceticism with Saint Epiphanius in the wilderness. Afterwards, he wrote about the life and deeds of Saint Epiphanius.

When Saint Epiphanius was elevated to the See of Cyprus, he ordained Saint Sabinus to the holy priesthood. After the death of his bishop and spiritual guide, Saint Sabinus became his successor. The wise archpastor zealously defended the Church from heretics. He died in the mid-fifth century.

Saint Polybius was a disciple of Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus. He accompanied him on all his journeys and he wrote about the life and miracles of his teacher.

Saint Polybius accompanied Saint Epiphanius when he was returning from Constantinople, unwilling to take part in the council condemning Saint John Chrysostom. As he was dying, Saint Epiphanius told Saint Polybius, “Go to Egypt, and after my death I shall concern myself about you.” Saint Polybius obeyed his teacher’s order with humility and, not waiting for the burial of the body, he went to Egypt, where he was made bishop of the city of Rinocyria.

For his virtuous ascetic life, Saint Polybius was granted the gift of wonderworking. Once, through his prayer, the Lord sent rain during a drought and provided an abundant harvest in the fields. Saint Polybius reposed in the fifth century at an advanced age.

The Holy New Martyr John of Vlachia was born in 1644 in Oltenia. He received a good upbringing from his parents, who raised him in the fear of God, the love of country, and in their ancestral faith. At that time the Ţara Românească (the former name for Vlahia) was ruled by princes called Voevods, who were subject to the Sultan. The Voevod of Vlahia, Mihnea Voda, revolted against the Turks because he was unable to pay the exorbitant tribute which they demanded. He entered the Turkish territory, burning, killing, or jailing many Turks. Sultan Mehmet IV sent an army of Turks and Tatars against him, and he was forced to retreat. In retaliation, the Turks and Tatars ravaged Vlachia, killing many Christians, or throwing them into prison. Saint John, who came from a noble and wealthy family, was one of those who was jailed.

After crossing the Danube River, a Turkish army captain noticed how handsome he was, and so he bought him for his own evil purposes. When he tried to seduce him, John resisted, so he was tied to a tree until the Hagarene could find an opportunity to fulfill his desires. John was afraid that he might be raped, so when he had the chance, he killed the Turk. When the other soldiers learned what had happened, they bound the young man and took him to Constantinople and turned him over to the man's widow. She brought him to the Vizier, who questioned him, and John admitted what he had done. The Vizier gave him to the widow to do whatever she wished with him. At first, she made him one of her slaves. Then, seeing how handsome he was, she offered to spare his life if he would marry her and become a Moslem. Saint John made the Sign of the Cross and prayed that Christ would always preserve him steadfast in the Orthodox Faith. The woman continued her efforts for two and a half years. Finally, he told her that he would prefer to die for Christ rather than become a Moslem and marry her. The woman then turned him over to the prefect, who put him in jail. The Turks subjected him to frightful torments for several days. Meanwhile, the vile woman never ceased her attempts to flatter John, or to seduce him, or persuade him to reject Christ. The young man remained firm in both faith and virtue. Strengthened by the Lord Jesus Christ, he turned his back on the woman and on her religion.

Seeing that their efforts were in vain, the Turks asked the Vizier to condemn the martyr to death. This was done, and so the prefect was ordered to carry out the sentence. The executioners brought him to Parmak Kapi (“Gate of the Pillar”) near the covered bazaar, and hanged him there on May 12, 1662. He had not yet reached the age of eighteen. His holy relics were either thrown into the waters of the Bosphorus, or buried by Christians in an unknown place. Thus, the New Martyr John received an unfading crown from God.

Saint John was first glorified by the Greek Orthodox Church, which listed him among the New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke. Beginning in 1801, his veneration also began to spread in what is now Romania. In 1950, the Holy Synod of Romania decided that Saint John ought to be honored in the country of his birth. Saint John of Vlahia was glorified by the Romanian Orthodox Church in October of 1950, and his name was added to their Church Calendar. His Feast Day is observed on May 12, the day of his martyrdom.

The Holy Martyr Pancratius was a native of Phrygia, but lived in Rome with his uncle Dionysius after his parents died. They heard Bishop Cornelius preach, and were later baptized.

The fourteen-year-old youth suffered martyrdom at Rome during the persecution under Diocletian (284-305). He was buried on the Via Aurelia, and a church was built over his grave. The Aurelian gate is known today as the Porta Saint Pancrazio.

Saint Gregory Dialogus (March 12) venerated Saint Pancratius, who was beheaded near the site of his monastery, and had a silver reliquary made for the martyr’s head. After Saint Gregory became bishop, the reliquary was placed in his cathedral on the Lateran hill. The reliquary was returned to the church of Saint Pancratius in the twentieth century.

When Saint Augustine of Canterbury (May 26) arrived in Britain, he transformed a pagan temple into a Christian church, dedicating it to Saint Pancratius. Saint Augustine built another church in honor of Saint Pancratius outside London. This church, which contains an old altar stone, is now called “Old Saint Pancras.”

The holy martyr Pancratius is especially venerated by the Western Church, where he is known as Saint Pancras.