Saint Paul the Confessor, Archbishop of Constantinople, was chosen to the patriarchal throne after the death of Patriarch Alexander (+ 340), when the Arian heresy had again flared up. Many of the Arians were present at the Council which selected the new Archbishop of Constantinople. They revolted in opposition to the choice of Saint Paul, but the Orthodox at the Council were in the majority.

The emperor Constantius, ruling over the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, was an Arian. He was not in Constantinople for the election of the Archbishop, and so it took place without his consent. Upon his return, he convened a council which illegally deposed Saint Paul, and the emperor banished him from the capital. In place of the saint they elevated Eusebius of Nicomedia, an impious heretic. Archbishop Paul withdrew to Rome, where other Orthodox bishops were also banished by Eusebius.

Eusebius did not rule the Church of Constantinople for long. When he died, Saint Paul returned to Constantinople, and was greeted by his flock with love. But Constantius exiled the saint a second time, and so he returned to Rome. The Western emperor Constans wrote a harsh letter to his Eastern co-ruler, which he sent to Constantinople along with the holy exiled archpastor. The threats worked, and Saint Paul was reinstated upon the archepiscopal throne.

But soon the pious emperor Constans, a defender of the Orthodox, was treacherously murdered during a palace coup. They again banished Saint Paul from Constantinople and this time sent him off in exile to Armenia, to the city of Cucusus, where he endured a martyr’s death.

When the Archbishop was celebrating the Divine Liturgy, Arians rushed upon him by force and strangled him with his own omophorion. This occurred in the year 350. In 381, the holy Emperor Theodosius the Great solemnly transferred the relics of Saint Paul the Confessor from Cucusus to Constantinople. In 1326, the relics of Saint Paul were transferred to Venice.

Saint Athanasius the Great, a contemporary of Saint Paul, writes briefly about his exiles, “Saint Paul the first time was sent by Constantine to Pontus, the second time he was fettered with chains by Constantius, and then he was locked up in Mesopotamian Syngara and from there moved to Emesus, and the fourth time to Cappadocian Cucusus in the Taurian wilderness.”

Part of the Saint's skull is located in the Holy Monastery of Simonópetra on Mount Athos. The Saint's incorrupt relics are to be found in the Roman Catholic church of Saint George of Greater Venice. A fragment of the Saint's relics is located in the Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra at Saint Petersburg.

Saint Barlaam of Khutyn lived in the XII century, and was the son of a noble Novgorodian and spent his childhood in Novgorod. In his youth, retiring to the Lisich Monastery near the city, Barlaam was tonsured as a monk. Then he settled on a secluded hill above Volkhov, in an area called Khutyn, 10 versts from Novgorod. In his seclusion, Saint Barlaam led an austere solitary life, occupying himself with unceasing prayer, and keeping a very strict fast. He was a zealous ascetic in his labors: cutting timber in the forest, chopping firewood, and tilling the soil, fulfilling the words of the Holy Scriptures: "If anyone does not wish to work, neither let him eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

Some of the inhabitants of Novgorod gathered around him, desiring to share the Saint's works and ascetical struggles. Instructing those who came to him, Saint Barlaam said, "My children, beware of all unrighteousness, and do not give in to envy or slander, don't be jealous, do not slander anyone. Refrain from anger, and do not practice usury. Beware of unjust judgment. Do not swear an oath falsely, but rather fulfill it. Do not indulge in carnal appetites. Always be meek and endure all things with love. This virtue is the beginning and the root of all goodness."

Soon a church was built in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and a Monastery was founded. The Lord granted him the gift of miracles and clairvoyance in order to serve his neighbors. As Saint Barlaam’s life was drawing to a close, by God's will, Hieromonk Anthony came from Constantinople. He was the contemporary and friend of Saint Barlaam. The Saint turned to him and said, “My beloved brother, God’s blessings rest upon this Monastery. Now I leave it in your hands. Watch over it and care for it. Although in the body I am leaving you, I shall always be with you in spirit.”

After giving his final counsels to the brethren, commanding them to preserve the Orthodox Faith, and to abide in humility, Saint Barlaam fell asleep in the Lord on November 6, 1192.

The Church remembers Saint Barlaam three times during the year: on the day of his blessed repose (November 6), on the first Friday of the Apostles' Fast, and on the third Sunday after Pentecost (Synaxis of the Novgorod Saints).

In Slavonic practice, Saint Barlaam is commemorated during the Proskomedia along with the venerable God-bearing Fathers who have shone forth in asceticism (sixth particle).

Saint Luke labored in asceticism at the Kiev Caves Monastery (Near Caves) in the XIII century, where he fulfilled the obedience of Steward. Nothing is known about his life before he came to the Kiev Caves Lavra.

In Ode 7 of the Canon for the Holy Fathers of the Near Caves, Saint Luke is praised as an "icon," and as one who kept the Lord's commandments.

Saint Luke is commemorated on November 6, and again with the Holy Fathers of the Near Caves of Saint Anthony (September 28) where his incorrupt relics lie.

Those who serve in the office of Steward at the Kiev Caves Lavra, honor him as their patron, and keep the icon of Saint Luke in their cell.

Saint Herman, Archbishop of Kazan, lived during the sixteenth century. He was born in the city of Staritsa, and was descended from the old boyar nobility of the Polevi. In his youth Gregory (his baptismal name) was tonsured at the Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery under Igumen Gurias, who later became Archbishop of Kazan (December 5). (Saint Gurias was head of the monastery from 1542 to 1551).

At the monastery Saint Herman occupied himself with copying books, and he was a close friend of Saint Maximus the Greek (January 21), who was living there in confinement. In 1551 the brethren of the Staritsa Dormition monastery, seeing his piety, chose him as their archimandrite.

Taking up the governance of this monastery with a pastoral zeal, Saint Herman concerned himself with its internal and external order, for he himself was a model of humility and meekness. He exhorted all to observe their monastic commitment strictly, and he introduced into his monastery the Rule of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (October 18).

But after two and a half years Archimandrite Herman left the Staritsa monastery, leaving its direction to the hieromonk Job (June 19), who afterwards was to become the first Patriarch of Moscow, and was an ascetic and sufferer for the Russian Land.

Saint Herman’s love for solitary struggles brought him to return to his original Volokolamsk monastery, where he strove toward salvation as a simple monk. However, when the new heretic Matthew Bashkin (who refused to acknowledge the Holy Mysteries and denied faith in the Holy Trinity) appeared at Moscow, Saint Herman and his own father (who had received tonsure at the Volokolamsk monastery with the name Philotheus) were summoned to the Moscow Council of 1553. The Council censured the heretic Bashkin and resolved to send him for correction to Saint Herman at the Volokolamsk monastery, since Saint Herman was known for his holy life and zeal for the faith in Christ.

In 1555, after the taking of Kazan, an archepiscopal See was established there. Saint Gurias, the former igumen of Volokolamsk monastery, was chosen as archbishop. He was entrusted with building the Dormition monastery in the city of Sviyazhsk for missionary purposes. By decree of Saint Gurias, Saint Herman was appointed as head of this new monastery in Sviyazhsk. A stone cathedral was built with a belltower and monastic cells. The igumen of the monastery lived very frugally in a cramped cell beneath the cathedral belltower. Saint Herman particularly concerned himself with acquiring a library for the monastery.

Soon his monastery became famous for its good works, and it became a center of enlightenment for the Kazan region.

On March 12, 1564, after the repose of Saint Gurias, Saint Herman was consecrated Bishop of Kazan. The short duration of his tenure there was marked nonetheless by his efforts to build churches and to enlighten the people of the region with the light of Christ.

In 1566, Ivan the Terrible summoned Saint Herman to Moscow and ordered that he be elected to the Metropolitan cathedra. At first, Saint Herman refused to have this burden imposed upon him. The Tsar would not tolerate any objection, however, and the saint was obliged to settle into the Metropolitan’s quarters until his elevation to the position of Metropolitan.

Seeing injustice among those of the Tsar’s inner circle, Saint Herman, true to his pastoral duty, attempted to admonish the Tsar. “You are not yet elevated to Metropolitan, and already you place constraints upon my freedom,” the Tsar told him through his aides. He ordered Saint Herman expelled from the Metropolitan’s quarters and that he be kept under surveillance.

The saint lived in disgrace for about two years, and died on November 6, 1567. They buried him in the church of Saint Nicholas the Hospitable. In 1595, at the request of the inhabitants of Sviyazhsk, the relics of the saint were transferred from Moscow to the Sviyazhsk Dormition monastery. Saint Hermogenes, then Metropolitan of Kazan, visited his grave.

Saint Herman is also commemorated on September 25 (first translation of his relics in 1595) and June 23 (second translation of his relics in 1714).

No information available at this time.

No information available at this time.

Saint Luke of Sicily was a native of the Sicilian city of Tauromenium. In his youth he left his parents and fiancée and went into the wilderness, where he spent many years in fasting and prayer. He lived the ascetic life at Mount Aetna.

Towards the end of his life Saint Luke, because of a revelation to him, founded a monastery. In order to become familiar with the rule and life of other monasteries, he visited many other cities. He died at Corinth in 820.

Saint Manathó (Μαναθῶ) suffered for Christ during the reign of Emperor Maximianus (286 – 305).

She was arrested with other martyrs and endured many torments because she was a Christian. Later she was led through the city naked and was mocked. Finally, she was burnt alive.

In Greek usage the Holy Virgin Martyr Manathó is commemorated on October 20

Hieromartyr Seraphim, Archbishop of Uglich (in the world Semyon N. Samoylovich) was born on July 19, 1881 in the city of Myrgorod, Poltava governorate.

Semyon graduated from the Poltava Theological Seminary in 1902 and received a place as a teacher of Unalashkinskaya, a two-year school in Alaska. In 1905 he held the same position at Sitka, where he was tonsured into the mantiya by Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) and a month later he was ordained as a Hieromonk. In 1906, Father Seraphim was rector of the Nugek Spiritual Mission in North America. In 1907-1908 he taught at Sitka Theological Seminary. In America, Vladyka was the associate of His Eminence Archbishop Tikhon, the future Patriarch, who valued the zealous missionary-ascetic highly.

In 1908, Father Seraphim was an assistant to the Vladikavkaz diocesan missionary, and in 1909 he was the Father Confessor of the Alexander Ardon Theological Seminary. In 1910, he was appointed first Vicar of the Mogilev Brotherhood First-Class Monastery, and then, at the request of His Eminence Archbishop Tikhon, who then held the Yaroslavl kathedra, he was transferred to the post of viceroy of Tolzhsk Yaroslavl Monastery.

There, Father Seraphim wrote a serious work on the history of the Tolzhsk Monastery, timed to coincide with its 600th anniversary. He started a beekeeping school for orphan boys, and at the beginning of the war he established an infirmary.

From 1915, Father Seraphim was the vicar of the Uglich Protection Monastery. In February 1920 he was consecrated as Bishop of Uglich, and vicar of the Yaroslavl Diocese.

Vladyka was a member of the so-called "Parallel Synod", which existed with the tacit approval of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon in the Danilov Monastery. It was founded by the Hieromartyr Archbishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky) and it included prominent bishops: Archbishop Andrew (Ukhtomsky), Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky), Bishop Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), and Bishop Gouria (Stepanov).

The reason for the emergence of the "Parallel Synod" was that in the opinion of its members, the Patriarchal Synod, which was under the tight control of the G. P. U, was ineffective and was forced to stand in a conciliatory position. It was conceived as a "permanent Pre-Conciliar Conference" but its main purpose was the preparation of a secret Local Council capable of resolving Church problems without pressure from the authorities. The fundamental decisions of "Danilovtsy" were:

1. Affirmation of the principles of decentralization of Church life as the most effective way to resist the Bolsheviks' control over the Church;

2. Secret installations of bishops and priests. Thus, the "Parallel Synod" was the cornerstone on which the Catacomb Church began to be established.

From July 1922 Vladyka was in prison at Yaroslavl, and after his release in 1924 he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop by His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon. In 1925, Vladyka became the temporary administrator of the Yaroslavl Diocese.

Hieromartyr Metropolitan Joseph (Petrov), as one of the Deputies of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, in case of his arrest, he appointed temporary Deputies in 1925, including Bishop Seraphim. In 1926, on December 16 (29), after the arrest of the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Joseph (Petrov), Vladyka issued an Epistle on assuming the office of Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens. He ran the Church until April 1927, then handed over the administration to Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), who had been released from prison.

It is known that in 1927 Vladyka was summoned to G. P. U. headquarters in Moscow, where he was offered to accept compromising conditions for the legalization of the Church, indicating who to appoint as members of the Synod. The Saint refused to do this, proposing its members of the Synod and among them Metropolitan Kirill (Smirnov). "After all, he's sitting there," the Chekists said.

"But you have him, free him," the Saint replied. After such a reply, he was soon arrested.

After the publication of Metropolitan Sergius' Declaration, the Saint joined the Yaroslavl Opposition, headed by the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Agathangel (commemorated on October 3). With regret, he wrote in January 1928 that he had "hastily and unconditionally" handed over the Deputy Rights to Metropolitan Sergius. He pleaded with Metropolitan Sergius to be courageous and publish another Declaration "to correct the first," which "detracts from service to the Truth, and God does not help lies."

He called on the Metropolitan to look to the oldest hierarch, Metropolitan Agathangel of Yaroslavl, and transfer the Deputy Rights to him. In April 1928, Metropolitan Sergius deprived Vladyka of his kathedra and suspended him from the priesthood. He was arrested and then expelled from Yaroslavl to Mogilev in the Buynichi Holy Spirit Monastery.

In his January 1929 Epistle to the Entire Church, the Saint continued to denounce the politics of Metropolitan Sergius and the grave sin of "the infatuation of our faint-hearted and weak brethren into the new renewal," for which he was soon arrested again (in February 1929) and sentenced to five years in a prison camp. But the Saint's Message was widely circulated throughout the country, and was published in Belgrade.

He was released from the camp and exiled for three years to the Northern Territory, where he headed the secret Church, assigning priests, and performing tonsures. According to the memoirs of his spiritual children, "he weakened physically, but he was strong in spirit." He believed that in an era of persecution there should be no centralized Church Administration. The Bishop must govern his Diocese himself.

Around 1934, Vladyka wrote another Epistle, in which Metropolitan Sergius was suspended from the priesthood for his uncanonical activities beginning in 1927. To approve this Epistle, a "small catacomb council" was held at Arkhangelsk, the decisions of which were to be the basis for all exiled bishops and clergy. There is evidence that the Patriarchal Deputy Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) wrote from exile that the Russian Bishops themselves must rebuke Metropolitan Sergius for his uncanonical actions.

In May 1934, the Saint was arrested once again in Arkhangelsk on charges of creating a new "counter-revolutionary organization of supporters of the true Orthodox Church" and he was sentenced to five years in the Camps. He served his sentence in the Suslov branch of Siblaga. Vladyka was shot in the camp on October 22, 1937 (November 4 New Style).

He was canonized as a Saint with the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Jubilee Bishops' Council of Russia. In August of 2000, the Hieromartyr Seraphim was approved by the Orthodox Church for general Church veneration.

Saint Joannicius the Great was born in Bithynia in the year 752 in the village of Marikat. His parents were destitute and could not provide him even the basics of an education. From childhood he had to tend the family cattle, their sole wealth. Love for God and prayer completely dominated the soul of the child Joannicius. Often, having shielded the herd with the Sign of the Cross, he went to a secluded place and spent the whole day praying, and neither thieves nor wild beasts came near his herd.

By order of the emperor Leo IV (775-780), a multitude of officials went through the cities and towns to draft young men for military service. Young Joannicius was also drafted into the imperial army. He earned the respect of his fellow soldiers for his good disposition, but he was also a brave soldier who struck fear in the hearts of his enemies. Saint Joannicius served in the imperial army for six years. More than once he was rewarded by his commanders and the emperor. But military service weighed heavily on him; his soul thirsted for spiritual deeds and solitude.

Saint Joannicius, having renounced the world, longed to go at once into the wilderness. However, on the advice of an Elder experienced in monastic life, he spent a further two years at the monastery. Here the saint became accustomed to monastic obedience, to monastic rules and practices. He studied reading and writing, and he learned thirty Psalms of David by heart.

After this, commanded by God to go to a certain mountain, the monk withdrew into the wilderness. For three years he remained in deep solitude in the wilderness, and only once a month a shepherd brought him some bread and water. The ascetic spent day and night in prayer and psalmody. After each verse of singing the Psalms Saint Joannicius made a prayer, which the Orthodox Church keeps to this day in a somewhat altered form, “The Father is my hope, the Son is my refuge, the Holy Spirit is my protection.”

By chance, he encountered some of his former companions from military service. The saint fled the wilderness and withdrew to Mount Kountourea to hide himself from everyone. Only after twelve years of ascetic life did the hermit accept monastic tonsure. The saint spent three years in seclusion after being tonsured. Then he went to a place called Chelidon to see the great ascetic Saint George (February 21). The ascetics spent three years together. During this time Saint Joannicius learned the entire Psalter by heart. As he grew older, Saint Joannicius settled in the Antidiev monastery and dwelt there in seclusion until his death.

Saint Joannicius spent seventy years in ascetic deeds and attained to a high degree of spiritual perfection. Through the mercy of God the saint acquired the gift of prophecy, as his disciple Pachomius has related. The Elder also levitated above the ground when he prayed. Once, he crossed a river flooded to overflowing. The saint could make himself invisible for people and make others also hidden from sight.

Once, Saint Joannicius led Greek captives out of prison under the very eyes of the guards. Poison and fire, with which the envious wanted to destroy the saint, did him no harm, and predatory beasts did not touch him. He freed the island of Thasos from a multitude of snakes. Saint Joannicius also saved a young nun who was preparing to leave the monastery to marry; he took upon himself the agonized maiden’s suffering of passion, and by fasting and prayer, he overcame the seductive assault of the devil.

Foreseeing his death, Saint Joannicius fell asleep in the Lord on November 4, 846, at the age of 94.

The Hieromartyrs Nicander, Bishop of Myra, and Hermas the Presbyter, were disciples of the holy Apostle Paul’s follower and fellow ascetic, the holy Apostle Titus of the Seventy (August 25), and they were ordained by him to the priesthood.

Living the ascetic life amid incessant pastoral works, the saints converted many pagans to Christ. For this they were arrested and brought before the city prefect, Libanius. Neither flattery nor threats swayed the holy martyrs to renounce Christ. Then Libanius gave orders that they be tortured.

The saints endured fierce and inhuman torments: they were tied to horses and dragged over stones, their bodies were raked with iron hooks, and they were cast into a hot oven. The Lord helped them endure things that a mere man by his own strength could not endure. Towards the end, iron nails were hammered into their heads and hearts. They were thrown into a pit, then covered over with earth.

After enduring such a cruel death, now they live forever in the joy of the Lord (Mt. 25:21).

No information available at this time.

No information available at this time.

Among the multitude of saints we remember those Christians who dedicated their earthly lives to glorifying God and serving others. In a single lifetime they performed all the spiritual feats of the venerable and devout fathers, confessors, and martyrs.

Among the saints canonized by the Georgian Church, only four have been called “Righteous.” They are Saint Ilia Chavchavadze, well known as the “father” and “uncrowned king” of the Georgian nation, and Saints John, Steven, and Isaiah the Georgians.

It is believed that Holy John, Steven, and Isaiah lived in Jerusalem and guarded the Tomb of our Lord. It is probable that the Georgian Orthodox Church proclaimed them deserving of exceptional honor in recognition of their dedicated service at the Tomb of the Savior.

For several centuries the Georgian Church has glorified the Righteous John, Steven, and Isaiah and asked for their intercessions before the Lord.

Blessed Simon of Yurievets was born in the city of Yurievets in the Povolzhsk or Volga region. Forsaken by his parents, the saint took upon himself the exploit of foolishness for Christ. Both winter and summer he went barefoot, dressed only in a shirt, so that his skin became blackened and withered from fasting.

Thoughtless people often were cruel to him, sometimes beating him. The holy fool never complained, but prayed for those who mistreated him. Blessed Simon was fond of praying on the porches of various churches. The ascetic exploit of self-denial cleansed his soul, and he received from God the gift of clairvoyance: he foresaw many things and predicted the future. Contemporaries, mentioning his name, beheld various miraculous signs.

Just before his death, the saint went to the house of the military commander Theodore Petelin. He, not knowing the saint, in a fit of anger gave orders to beat him. Saint Simon fell grievously ill. He summoned a priest, made his confession, received the Holy Mysteries of Christ and commended his soul to God. The commander later repented of his sin.

The city gathered for the saint’s funeral, and the body of Blessed Simon was buried in Theophany monastery. This occurred on November 4, 1584. In the year 1635, Patriarch Joasaph ordered the Theophany monastery’s Igumen Dionysius to compile an account of the life and miracles of Blessed Simon and gave a blessing to paint his icon. The Feast of Blessed Simon was established in the year 1635.

No information available at this time.

Martyrs Akepsimas the Bishop, Joseph the Presbyter and Aeithalas (Aeithalás) the Deacon of Persia were leaders of the Christian Church in the Persian city of Naesson. His flock devotedly loved their hierarch for his ascetic life and tireless pastoral work.

The emperor Sapor ordered his men to seek out and kill Christian clergy. Saint Akepsimas also was arrested, even though he was already an eighty-year-old man. They took him to the city of Arbela, where he came before the judge Ardarkh, a pagan priest of the sun god. The holy Elder refused to offer sacrifice to the Persian gods. For this he was fiercely beaten and thrown into prison, where on the following day the seventy-year-old priest Joseph and the deacon Aeithalas were severely beaten and thrown into jail with him. For three years the saints were held in confinement, and suffered from hunger and thirst.

Emperor Sapor came to the temple of the god of fire, located not far from Arbela, and wanted to take a look at the three holy martyrs. Exhausted and covered with festering wounds, the saints were brought before the emperor. When he asked them to worship the pagan gods they firmly refused, confessing their faith in Christ instead.

The holy bishop was beheaded, but the presbyter and deacon were taken into the city to be stoned.

The execution of the presbyter Joseph was prolonged for several hours. A guard was placed near the place of execution, so that Christians would not take the body of the holy martyr. On the fourth night a strong windstorm raged near the city, lightning killed the guard, the wind tossed stones about, and the body of Saint Joseph disappeared.

Deacon Aeithalas was taken to the village of Patrias, where he was stoned. Christians secretly buried his body. A tree grew on the saint’s grave, and its fruit brought healings.

The city of Lydda (Lod) is the birthplace of the Great Martyr George the Victorious. His mother's house was there, where he spent his childhood. The Holy Great Martyr George was a Roman soldier, he suffered under Emperor Diocletian in Nicomedia at the beginning of the IV century. His relics were transferred by Christians to their homeland, Lydda, and there he was buried.

The tomb where the relics of the Great Martyr were laid is now located in an Orthodox church dedicated to the Great Martyr George. In the temple itself there is a piece of the relics of Saint George, as well as the chain with which the Great Martyr was bound.

The first church was built here in the VI century. The temple was destroyed several times and was restored in its present form only in 1872, thanks to donations from Russia. The consecration of the restored temple took place on November 3, 1872, the anniversary of the day when it was first consecrated. The Russian Church remembers and celebrates this event until the present day. This Feast is included in the Menaion, in honor of the churches built and dedicated to Saint George in Russia.

It was also in Lydda that the Apostle Peter healed Aeneas, who had been lying paralyzed for eight years (Acts 9:32-35).

The glorious Martyrs Eudoxios, Agapios, Atticus, Marinus, Oceanus, Eustratios, Karterios, Nikopolitianos, Styrax, and Tobias were all soldiers in the city of Sebaste during the reign of Emperor Licinius. When they were examined by the lord of Seville, by Duke Marcellus, and also by Marcus Agricola, they boldly confessed that they were Christians, and were severely tortured in various ways. In the end they were thrown into the fire and burnt alive, thus they all received the unfading crown of martyrdom in the year 315.

These saints are commemorated on November 2 in Greek usage.

Saint Akepsimas, Hermit of Cyrrhus in Syria lived for sixty years in the desert, not far from Cairo. He devoted himself to fasting, silence and prayer. At the command of the patriarch, he came out of solitude and was consecrated a bishop. He died at a venerable old age.

Saint Snandulia of Persia is mentioned in the account of the martyrdom of Saints Joseph the priest and Aethalas the deacon. The historian Sozomen also describes their sufferings in his Church History (Book 2, ch. 13).

Snandulia was a devout Christian of the city of Arbela who visited those who suffered in prison for the sake of Christ. When she learned that Saints Joseph and Aethalas were in the prison, she went with her servants by night and bribed the guards with gold. They allowed her to take the saints to her home until daybreak. They were barely alive and unable to speak. She took them home and put them to bed, tending their wounds, and kissing their shattered hands and feet.

Saint Joseph recovered consciousness and saw Snandulia weeping. He told her that the compassion she had shown for him and for Aethalas was pleasing to God, but he thought that her bitter lamentations were contrary to Christian hope.

She replied, “When one is moved by compassion, it is natural to weep.”

“Nevertheless,” Saint Joseph said, “you should not weep for us, for tortures borne for the sake of Christ are followed by eternal joy.”

The two saints were returned to prison the next morning, as promised. After six months their wounds had healed to some extent. They could stand and walk a little, but Aethalas’s hands hung at his side limp and useless.

Zerothus was appointed as a judge, and he entered the city offering sacrifice to the gods in the various temples. Some of the priests told him about Saints Joseph and Aethalas, who had been tortured on the orders of Prince Ardasabor, the head of all the Magi of Persia. They explained to Zerothus that their execution was being delayed until they recovered from their wounds.

When he heard this, Zerothus ordered that the martyrs be brought before him. He used flattery and then threats in an attempt to persuade them to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. When this proved unsuccessful, the judge had them beaten for a long time.

When they were brought before the judge again, Zerothus tried to get the saints to eat food which had been offered to the idols, but they refused. Then the judge had them beaten again, and ordered other Christians to stone them. Soldiers went to the homes of the Christians to force them to come to the judgment hall. They dug a hole and placed Saint Joseph in it, then put stones in the hands of the Christians and compelled them to stone him.

Saint Snandulia was among these Christians, but she refused to throw stones at the aged priest. Then they gave her a lance and told her to kill Saint Joseph. She said that she would rather drive the lance into her own heart than to wound the saint with it.

Saint Joseph was eventually killed by all the stones that were thrown at him, and the holy deacon Aethalas was also stoned in the same way.

Saint Snandulia stretched forth her arms to needful works and opened her hands to the needy (Proverbs 31:19-20), but she refused to lift her hands to do evil against Saint Joseph.

No information available at this time.

The Holy Princess Anna Vsevolodna was daughter of the Kievan Great Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich (1078-1093) whose wife was daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomachos. She did not wish to marry, and as a virgin she took monastic tonsure in 1082 at the Andreiev Yanchinov monastery built for her at Kiev, but later destroyed under the Tatar invasion. The nun and princess Anna journeyed to Constantinople, from which she returned in the company of the newly-consecrated Metropolitan John the Eunuch. She died in the year 1112.

Saint Nicholas was the author of many church services, but little else about his life is known. He lived in the second half of the 13th century, and the last years of his life coincided with the reign of King Vakhtang III, the son of the holy king Demetre the Devoted.

Saint Nicholas was one of the greatest hymnographers and spiritual figures of his time, but few of his works have been preserved. Catholicos Anton I writes that Nicholas composed numerous canons and services, including a “Canon of Supplication for Rain.” Saint Nicholas enriched the spiritual literature of Georgia with his translations as well. Scholars and historians believe that, as the greatest liturgist of his time, he was probably asked to translate many prayers and services from Greek to Georgian.

Among them, they believe, was the “Canon for the Blessing of Holy Water.”

The famous 19th-century historian Platon Ioseliani writes that other church services belonging to the pen of Saint Nicholas are included among the manuscripts of the Ivḗron Monastery on Mt. Athos.

Saint Nicholas reposed peacefully in the year 1308.

Saint Akepsimas (Ἀκεψιμᾶς) lived in the IV century, during the reign of Emperor Theodosios the Great. After living a cenobitic life in which he was distinguished for his piety, he sought refuge in the desert. He made his home in a cave, and was fed by the meager gifts which nature provided. Sometimes pious people passed by and brought him food. The Saint kept a little, but only that which was necessary for his food, giving the rest to the poor. He would invite his benefactors into the cave where he lived. There he returned their kindness by teaching them the Word of God.

Saint Akepsimas performed many miracles, and departed peacefully to the Lord.

Saint Acindynus suffered martyrdom in Persia along with Saints Pegasias, Aphthonius, Elpidephorus, Anempodistus, and 7,000 other Christians at the time of King Sapor II (310-381). These saints were Sapor’s courtiers, and were secret Christians. When the king began his persecution against Christians, envious pagans denounced them to him. Summoned to Sapor’s presence for trial, the holy martyrs fearlessly confessed their faith in the Holy Trinity. The king ordered them to be beaten with whips.

Sapor told the people that Saints Acindynus, Pegasias, Anempodistus and Elpidephorus would have their heads cut off, and that he would not permit the Christians to bury their bodies.

A tremendous crowd accompanied these saints as they were led outside the city walls for execution, glorifying Christ. On Sapor’s orders, soldiers massacred all the Christians in the procession (about 7,000), including Saint Elpidephorus.

Acindynus, Pegasias, and Anempodistus were burned on the following day with the mother of the emperor. Christians came secretly by night to the place of execution, found the bodies of the holy martyrs unharmed by the fire, and they buried them with reverence.

Saint Marcian of Cyrrhus lived during the fourth century. He went into the desert, where he lived for many years in solitude, unceasing prayer, and strict fasting. He built a small cell, and settled in it. The saint never lit candles for reading at night when he fulfilled his Rule of prayer, for the cell was filled with a divine light.

After several years the monk accepted two disciples, settling them beside him, but he continued to live as a hermit. The Patriarch Flavian of Antioch (February 18) and other bishops entreated the monk to abandon his strict solitude for the benefit of Christians, but he would not agree.

However, while not quitting his cell, he taught those coming to him for instruction and he turned many away from heresy and led them to the Orthodox Faith. Before his end, Saint Marcian instructed his disciple Eusebius to bury him secretly far from his cell, in order to shun posthumous glory and avoid contention among those wanting his relics for nearby churches. Saint Marcian died in the year 388.

The Shuiu-Smolensk Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was painted in the years 1654-1655 in the Resurrection parish of the city of Shuiu, where an unrelenting pestilence raged. Trusting in the mercy of God and the intercession of the Mother of God, the parishioners of the Resurrection church commissioned a certain pious monk to paint the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, an icon long attributed with being a rescuer of the Russian people from enemies and misfortune.

The parishioners spent the whole week in prayer and fasting while the image was being painted. When the icon was finished, the priest and the people took it to the church and set it in a specially built place. From that time the pestilence began to ease, at first in the area of the Resurrection parish, and then also in all the city.

From the Icon of the Mother of God many miracles of healing took place, especially of eye diseases. The icon is also celebrated on July 11, July 28, and Bright Tuesday.