Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, one of the Three Hierarchs [January 30], was born at Antioch in about the year 347 into the family of a military commander. His father, Secundus, died soon after the birth of his son. His mother, Anthusa, widowed at twenty years of age, did not seek to remarry but rather devoted all her efforts to the raising of her son in Christian piety. The youth studied under the finest philosophers and rhetoricians. But, scorning the vain disciplines of pagan knowledge, the future hierarch turned himself to the profound study of Holy Scripture and prayerful contemplation. Saint Meletius, Bishop of Antioch (February 12), loved John like a son, guided him in the Faith, and in the year 367 baptized him.

After three years John was tonsured as a Reader. When Saint Meletius had been sent into exile by the emperor Valens in the year 372, John and Theodore (afterwards Bishop of Mopsuestia) studied under the experienced instructors of ascetic life, the presbyters Flavian and Diodorus of Tarsus. The highly refined Diodorus had particular influence upon the youth. When John’s mother died, he embraced monasticism, which he called the “true philosophy.” Soon John and his friend Basil were being considered as candidates for the episcopal office, and they decided to withdraw into the wilderness to avoid this. While Saint John avoided the episcopal rank out of humility, he secretly assisted in Basil’s consecration.

During this period Saint John wrote his “Six Discourses on the Priesthood,” a great work of Orthodox pastoral theology. The saint spent four years struggling in the wilderness, living the ascetic life under the guidance of an experienced spiritual guide. And here he wrote three books entitled, “Against the Opponents of Those Attracted to the Monastic Life”, and a collection entitled, “A Comparison of the Monk with the Emperor” (also known as “Comparison of Imperial Power, Wealth and Eminence, with the True and Christian Wisdom-Loving Monastic Life”), both works which are marked by a profound reflection of the worthiness of the monastic vocation.

For two years, the saint lived in a cave in complete silence, but was obliged to return to Antioch to recover his health. Saint Meletius, the Bishop of Antioch, ordained him deacon in the year 381. The following years were devoted to work on new theological writings: “Concerning Providence” (“To the Ascetic Stagirios”), “Book Concerning Virginity,” “To a Young Widow” (2 discourses), and the “Book of Saint Babylos, and Against Julian and the Pagans.”

In the year 386 Saint John was ordained presbyter by Bishop Flavian of Antioch. Saint John was a splendid preacher, and his inspired words earned him the name “Golden-Mouthed” (“Chrysostom”). For twelve years the saint preached in church, usually twice a week, but sometimes daily, deeply stirring the hearts of his listeners.

In his pastoral zeal to provide Christians with a better understanding of Holy Scripture, Saint John employed hermeneutics, an interpretation and analysis of the Word of God (i.e. exegesis). Among his exegetical works are commentaries on entire books of the Holy Scripture (Genesis, the Psalter, the Gospels of Matthew and John, the Epistles of the Apostle Paul), and also many homilies on individual texts of the Holy Bible, but also instructions on the Feastdays, laudations on the Saints, and also apologetic (i.e. defensive) homilies (against Anomoeans, Judaizers and pagans). As a priest, Saint John zealously fulfilled the Lord’s command to care for the needy. Under Saint John, the Antiochian Church provided sustenance each day to as many as 3,000 virgins and widows, not including in this number the shut-ins, wanderers and the sick.

Saint John began his commentary on Genesis at the beginning of Great Lent in 388, preaching thirty-two homilies during the forty day period. During Holy Week he spoke of how Christ was betrayed, and about the Cross. During Bright Week, his pastoral discourse was devoted to the Resurrection. His exegesis of the Book of Genesis was concluded only at the end of October (388).

At Pascha in the following year the saint began his homilies on the Gospel of John, and toward the end of the year 389 he took up the Gospel of Matthew. In the year 391 the Christians of Antioch listened to his commentary on the Epistles of the holy Apostle Paul to the Romans and to the Corinthians. In 393 he explained the Epistles to the Galatians, the Ephesians, Timothy, Titus, and the Psalms. In his homily on the Epistle to the Ephesians, Saint John denounced a schism in Antioch, “I tell you and I witness before you, that to tear asunder the Church means nothing less than to fall into heresy. The Church is the house of the heavenly Father, one Body and one Spirit.”

The fame of the holy preacher grew, and in the year 397 with the death of Archbishop Nectarius of Constantinople, successor to Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint John Chrysostom was summoned from Antioch, and elected to the See of Constantinople. At the capital, the holy archpastor was not able to preach as often as he had at Antioch. Many matters awaited the saint’s attention, and he began with the most important — the spiritual perfection of the priesthood. He himself was the best example of this. The financial means apportioned for the archbishop were channeled by the saint into the upkeep of several hospices for the sick and two hostels for pilgrims. He fasted strictly and ate very little food, and usually refused invitations to dine because of his delicate stomach.

The saint’s zeal in spreading the Christian Faith extended not only to the inhabitants of Constantinople, but also to Thrace to include Slavs and Goths, and to Asia Minor and the Pontine region. He established a bishop for the Bosphorus Church in the Crimea. Saint John sent off zealous missionaries to Phoenicia, to Persia, and to the Scythians, to convert pagans to Christ. He also wrote letters to Syria to bring back the Marcionites into the Church, and he accomplished this. Preserving the unity of the Church, the saint would not permit a powerful Gothic military commander, who wanted the emperor to reward his bravery in battle, to open an Arian church at Constantinople. The saint exerted much effort in enhancing the splendor of the church services: he compiled a Liturgy, he introduced antiphonal singing for the all-night Vigil, and he wrote several prayers for the rite of anointing the sick with oil.

The saintly hierarch denounced the dissolute morals of people in the capital, especially at the imperial court, irrespective of person. When the empress Eudoxia connived to confiscate the last properties of the widow and children of a disgraced dignitary, the saint rose to their defense. The arrogant empress would not relent, and nursed a grudge against the archpastor. Eudoxia’s hatred of the saint blazed forth anew when malefactors told her that the saint apparently had her in mind during his sermon on vain women. A court was convened composed of hierarchs who had been justly condemned by Chrysostom: Theophilus of Alexandria, Bishop Severian of Gabala, who had been banished from the capital because of improprieties, and others.

This court of judgment declared Saint John deposed, and that he be executed for his insult to the empress. The emperor decided on exile instead of execution. An angry crowd gathered at the church, resolved to defend their pastor. In order to avoid a riot, Saint John submitted to the authorities. That very night there was an earthquake at Constantinople. The terrified Eudoxia urgently requested the emperor to bring the saint back, and promptly sent a letter to the banished pastor, beseeching him to return. Once more, in the capital church, the saint praised the Lord in a short talk, “For All His Ways.”

The slanderers fled to Alexandria. But after only two months a new denunciation provoked the wrath of Eudoxia. In March 404, an unjust council was convened, decreeing the exile of Saint John. Upon his removal from the capital, a fire reduced the church of Hagia Sophia and also the Senate building to ashes. Devastating barbarian incursions soon followed, and Eudoxia died in October 404. Even pagans regarded these events as God’s punishment for the unjust judgment against the saint.

In Armenia, the saint strove all the more to encourage his spiritual children. In numerous letters (245 are preserved) to bishops in Asia, Africa, Europe and particularly to his friends in Constantinople, Saint John consoled the suffering, guiding and giving support to his followers. In the winter of 406 Saint John was confined to his bed with sickness, but his enemies were not to be appeased. From the capital came orders to transfer Saint John to desolate Pityus in Abkhazia on the Black Sea. Worn out by sickness, the saint began his final journey under military escort, traveling for three months in the rain and frost. He never arrived at his place of exile, for his strength failed him at Comana.

At the crypt of Saint Basiliscus (May 22), Saint John was comforted by a vision of the martyr, who said, “Despair not, brother John! Tomorrow we shall be together.” After receiving the Holy Mysteries, the hierarch fell asleep in the Lord on September 14, 407. His last words were, “Glory to God for all things!”

The holy relics of Saint John Chrysostom were solemnly transferred to Constantinople in the year 438. The disciple of Saint John, the venerable Isidore of Pelusium (February 4), wrote: “The house of David is grown strong, and the house of Saul enfeebled. He is victor over the storms of life, and has entered into heavenly repose.”

Although he died on September 14, Saint John’s celebration was transferred to this day because of the Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross. Saint John Chrysostom is also celebrated on January 27 and January 30.

Saint Nikephoros (Nikēphóros), Antoninus, and Germanus were beheaded in Caesarea of Palestine during the reign of Maximian by the ruler Firmilian.

Saint Manetha was captured along with Saints Antoninus, Nikēphóros and Germanus. She suffered many tortures. She was led naked through the city, was mocked, and received the crown of martyrdom when she was burned alive.

Saint Damascene was a monk from Constantinople. His parents Kyriakos and Kyriake lived in the Galatea district of the city, and they named their son Diamantes.

Orphaned at a young age, and without parental guidance, the boy became rather undisciplined in his conduct. One day he was caught doing something unlawful, and in order to save himself he agreed to convert to Islam. Later he came to his senses and repented his denial of Christ. Fleeing to the Holy Mountain, he became a monk at the Lavra, receiving the name Damascene.

For twelve years he labored in prayer and asceticism, and was tonsured into the Great Schema. Finally, he revealed to his spiritual Father his desire for martyrdom. Receiving a blessing for this struggle, he cut his hair and dressed as a sailor.

In the church of Hagia Sophia, which had been turned into a mosque, the monk Damascene made the Sign of the Cross and proclaimed Christ as the true God. Since the Moslems did nothing to him, he went to the Sultan Mehmed mosque and repeated his confession of faith, calling the Moslems ignorant and deceived because they did not believe in Christ. Those who heard him thought he was insane.

The next day Saint Damascene went to the vizier’s courtyard and shouted at those he found there, “Your faith is not true. Christ is the true God, and only the faith of Christ is true.” Not surprisingly, he was seized and beaten, then chased away. He continued to proclaim Christ in other places, but everyone thought he was crazy, and they ignored him.

On a Sunday, the holy martyr went to the Tophana mosque, where many Moslems had gathered. Again he was seized and beaten. This time, however, he was sent to the kadi and then to the Grand Vizier, Kara Mustapha. Seeing that the saint would not change his mind and live as a Moslem, the Vizier sentenced him to death.

On November 13, 1681, Saint Damascene was led to the Phanar, where he was forced to kneel before the gates of the Patriarchate. Thanking God for allowing him to fulfill the exploit of martyrdom, he bent his neck and was beheaded. The relics of the holy New Martyr Damascene were taken to Chalki and enshrined in the church of the Holy Trinity.

The history of the Stockholm Icon of the Mother of God is closely connected with the sacred symbol of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (June 26) which appeared in Russia in 1383, on the banks of the Tikhvinka River. The appearance of the Stockholm Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurred during the XVI-XVII centuries, which was a time of great strife between Russia and the Kingdom of Sweden.

Because of their collusion with the opponents of the Orthodox Faith, and for many other sins, the wrath of God fell upon the Russian people. Swedish troops occupied the fortresses of Ivangorod, Yam, Koporje, and Ladoga. After a long siege, Novgorod fell into the hands of the enemy. In 1613, Tikhvin became a battleground. The Swedish general Jakob Delagardi brought his troops to the Dormition Monastery and ordered them to destroy it. Three times the Swedes besieged the holy habitation, but the Queen of Heaven did not withdraw her mercy from the monks, striking fear into their enemies, who had been edging forward on every side.

On September 13, 1613, the eve of the Feast of the Elevation of the Honorable and Life-creating Cross of the Lord, the Swedish regiments retreated when a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. News of this miracle marked the beginning of the liberation of the entire Novgorod region from foreign troops. Soon the Stolbov Peace Treaty was signed between Russia and Sweden in the presence of the Tikhvin Icon. Thus, the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God has been the protector and patron of the Orthodox in their relations with the Swedes.

Under this Treaty many cities were annexed by Sweden, but the Russian population had to remain in those places. The Orthodox, however, could not accept these terms and, after a short time, a mass exodus of people began from the annexed lands to the territory of Russia. Attempts by the Swedish authorities to keep people in their places by promising to reduce fees and duties did not produce the desired results. The Russian landowners and peasants, who did not wish to live in Sweden, a Lutheran country, left the region because they longed for their homes. Among them were citizens of Tikhvin. They could not forget their city with the golden cupolas of its churches, the ringing of bells, and the icons of the saints, so dear to their hearts.

The exodus of the Orthodox from the lands conquered by the Swedes continued in the reign of the most devout Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), called "peace-loving" by the people because of his kindness. During his reign Russia acquired the Stockholm Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

One day, when the Tikhvin merchants came to the Swedish merchant Phoka in order to purchase some supplies, they saw a familiar Icon, an Icon of the Theotokos which resembled the Tikhvin Icon, only smaller. They prayed fervently, gazing at the expensive Icon, and from that time they came often to Phoka.

Time passed, and a rumor reached Tikhvin that the Swedes in Stockholm had found a Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. The soul of every man from Tikhvin was sorrowful at seeing this holy object in the hands of foreigners. They grieved to see their Patroness, the Most Holy Theotokos, in a foreign land. So the merchants decided to redeem the Icon.

It wasn't easy to persuade Phoka, but in the end, afraid of losing his profitable trade connections, he agreed to sell the Icon, asking for 100 gold coins. The matter was settled, and in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of the pious Sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich, the Tikhvin merchants started back again with the newly found holy object in the autumn of 1671. They carried with them the copy of the Tikhvin Icon, adorned with pearls and gemstones. which they had purchased in Stockholm.

On Lake Ladoga, they were caught in a terrible storm. For several days large waves tossed the ship from side to side. The water was covered with ice, and it was snowing. Just when it seemed that there was no hope, everyone on the ship fell to their knees before the Icon of the Theotokos and began to pray. Suddenly the helmsman shouted, "The Monastery! It is the Monastery of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker." The Stockholm Icon followed the same route as the original Tikhvin Icon three hundred years before, along the rivers Svir and Oyat, and then it was brought to Tikhvin by a shipping route.

The miraculous rescue of the merchants, and the fact that the Icon had traveled the same route as the Tikhvin Icon, was regarded as a sign of the wonderworking power of the Stockholm Icon. On November 13, it was placed in Tikhvin's Dormition Cathedral for veneration. In the city, the Icon was greeted by a Cross Procession, and all the churches rang their bells. Together with all the people, the Superior of the Great Monastery of the Dormition knelt before the Icon and exclaimed: "The Sovereign Lady has come! She has come, not to a foreign country, but to her own place, to great and glorious Russia, to this holy monastery, where the Angels brought her ancient Icon to dwell."

The Stockholm Icon of the Queen of Heaven has a beautiful pearl riza, with an embossed crown, and was placed to the left of the Royal Doors, in the main row of the iconostasis of the Savior-Transfiguration Cathedral, which was built on the site of the wooden church established during the reign of Tsar Peter Alekseevich (1696-1725).

In the reign of Tsar Alexander II (1855-1881) the Icon was transferred to a heated cathedral, built in 1870-1872.

Every year on November 13, there is a service in honor of the Stockholm Icon with a Cross Procession.

The last reliable information concerning the Icon dates back to 1928. It comes from a description of the items confiscated by the Soviet government. Since then, all traces of the Stockholm Icon have disappeared.

Some say that the wonderworking Icon was moved to the Russian Museum in the 1930s, but it is no longer there. It is now in the church of Saint Sergius in Stockholm. This church was founded by a group of Russian Orthodox people in the late 1980s, at that time many immigrants from the former Soviet Union were living in Stockholm, but there was not a single church associated with the Moscow Patriarchate. The Savior-Transfiguration Church in Stockholm is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The icons in the altar were painted in Russia, among them is an icon of Saint Sergius, the heavenly patron of the parish. On the walls are icons, both new and old, which were brought to Sweden with the first wave of Russian emigration. Among them there is a particularly revered Stockholm Icon of the Mother of God.

No information available at this time

Saint John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria, was born on Cyprus in the sixth century into the family of the illustrious dignitary Epiphanius. At the wish of his parents he entered into marriage and had children. When the wife and the children of the saint died, he became a monk. He was zealous in fasting and prayer, and had great love for those around him.

His spiritual exploits won him honor among men, and even the emperor revered him. When the Patriarchal throne of Alexandria fell vacant, the emperor Heraclius and all the clergy begged Saint John to occupy the Patriarchal throne.

The saint worthily assumed his archpastoral service, concerning himself with the moral and dogmatic welfare of his flock. As patriarch he denounced every soul-destroying heresy, and drove out from Alexandria the Monophysite Phyllonos of Antioch.

He considered his chief task to be charitable and to give help all those in need. At the beginning of his patriarchal service he ordered his stewards to compile a list of all the poor and downtrodden in Alexandria, which turned out to be over seven thousand men. The saint ordered that all of these unfortunates be provided for each day out of the church’s treasury.

Twice during the week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, he emerged from the doors of the patriarchal cathedral, and sitting on the church portico, he received everyone in need. He settled quarrels, helped the wronged, and distributed alms. Three times a week he visited the sick-houses, and rendered assistance to the suffering. It was during this period that the emperor Heraclius led a tremendous army against the Persian emperor Chosroes II. The Persians ravaged and burned Jerusalem, taking a multitude of captives. The holy Patriarch John gave a large portion of the church treasury for their ransom.

The saint never refused suppliants. One day, when the saint was visiting the sick, he met a beggar and commanded that he be given six silver coins. The beggar changed his clothes, ran on ahead of the Patriarch, and again asked for alms. Saint John gave him six more silver coins. When, however, the beggar sought charity a third time, and the servants began to chase the fellow away, the Patriarch ordered that he be given twelve pieces of silver, saying, “Perhaps he is Christ putting me to the test.” Twice the saint gave money to a merchant that had suffered shipwreck, and a third time gave him a ship belonging to the Patriarchate and filled with grain, with which the merchant had a successful journey and repaid his obligations.

Saint John the Merciful was known for his gentle attitude towards people. Once, the saint was compelled to excommunicate two clergymen for a certain time because of some offense. One of them repented, but the other fellow became angry with the Patriarch and fell into greater sins. The saint wanted to summon him and calm him with kind words, but it slipped his mind. When he was celebrating the Divine Liturgy, the saint was suddenly reminded by the words of the Gospel: “If you bring your gift to the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar … first, be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt. 5:23-24). The saint came out of the altar, called the offending clergyman to him, and falling down on his knees before him in front of all the people he asked forgiveness. The cleric, filled with remorse, repented of his sin, corrected himself, and afterwards was found worthy to be ordained to the priesthood.

There was a time when a certain citizen insulted George, the Patriarch’s nephew. George asked the saint to avenge the wrong. The saint promised to deal with the offender so that all of Alexandria would marvel at what he had done. This calmed George, and Saint John began to instruct him, speaking of the necessity for meekness and humility. Then he summoned the man who insulted George. When Saint John learned that the man lived in a house owned by the church, he declared that he would excuse him from paying rent for an entire year. Alexandria indeed was amazed by such a “revenge,” and George learned from his uncle how to forgive offenses and to bear insults for God’s sake.

Saint John, a strict ascetic and man of prayer, was always mindful of his soul, and of death. He ordered a coffin for himself, but told the craftsmen not to finish it. Instead, he would have them come each feastday and ask if it was time to finish the work.

Saint John was persuaded to accompany the governor Nicetas on a visit to the emperor in Constantinople. While on his way to visit the earthly king, he dreamed of a resplendent man who said to him, “The King of Kings summons you.” He sailed to his native island of Cyprus, and at Amanthos the saint peacefully fell asleep in the Lord (616-620).

Saint Neilos the Ascetic of Sinai, a native of Constantinople, lived during the V century and was a disciple of Saint John Chrysostom, who exerted a tremendous influence upon their lives and their spiritual struggles.¹ After receiving a fine education, the Saint was appointed to the important post of prefect of the capital while still a young man. During this period, Neilos was married and had children, but the couple found courtly life distasteful.

About the year 390, by mutual consent, they decided to abandon the world and entered monasteries. Neilos's wife and daughter went to one of the women’s monasteries in Egypt, while he and his son Theódoulos went to Mount Sinai, where they settled in a cave, which they dug out with their own hands. For forty years this cave served as the abode of Saint Neilos. By fasting, vigil, and prayer, he attained a high degree of spiritual perfection. People began coming to him from every occupation and social rank, from the Emperor down to the farmer, and all of them received counsel and comfort from the Saint.

On Sinai, Saint Neilos wrote many soul-profiting works to guide Christians on the path of salvation. In one of his letters there is an angry denunciation of the Emperor Arkadios, who had unjustly exiled Saint John Chrysostom. The ascetical writings of Saint Neilos are widely known: they are perfectly executed in form, profoundly Orthodox in content, and are clear and lucid in expression. His Ascetic Discourse is found in Volume I of the English Philokalia.

Saint Neilos suffered many misfortunes in the wilderness. Once, Saracens captured his son Theódoulos, whom they intended to offer as a sacrifice to their pagan gods. By the Saint's prayers the Lord rescued Theódoulos, and his father found him with the Bishop of Emessa, who had ransomed the young man from the barbarians. This bishop ordained both of them as presbyters. After ordination they returned to Sinai, where they lived as ascetics together until Saint Neilos reposed. His holy relics were transferred to Constantinople in the reign of Justin II (565-578), and were placed in the church of the Holy Apostles.

The Greek Philokalia has a quote from Saint Neilos beneath his icon: "The state of prayer is a passionless, settled disposition of the soul which, by supreme love, transports the wisdom-loving mind to spiritual heights." (See the English Philokalia, 153 Sections. Concerning Prayer, # 53).

¹ In earlier editions of the Synaxaristes and the Menaion, it was erroneously stated that Saint Neilos lived during the reign of Emperor Maurikios (582-602). This was corrected in later editions, since he was a disciple of Saint John Chrysostom, and was esteemed by Emperor Arkadios because of his virtues.

Blessed John the Merciful of Rostov (also known as “the Hairy”) struggled at Rostov in the exploit of holy foolishness, enduring much deprivation and sorrow. He did not have a permanent shelter, and at times took his rest at the house of his spiritual Father, a priest at the church of the All-Holy, or with one of the aged widows.

Living in humility, patience and unceasing prayer, he spiritually nourished many people, among them Saint Irenarchus, Hermit of Rostov (January 13). After a long life of pursuing asceticism, he died on September 3, 1580 and was buried, according to his final wishes, beside the church of Saint Blaise beyond the altar.

He had “hair upon his head abundantly,” therefore he was called “Hairy.” The title “Merciful” was given to Blessed John because of the many healings that occurred at his grave, and also in connection with the memory of the holy Patriarch John the Merciful (November 12), whose name he shared.

The Holy Prophet Ahijah, (cf. 1/3 Kgs 11:29 ff.) was a contemporary of Solomon, and was born in the city of Shiloh. The prophet predicted to Jeroboam his kingly rule over the ten Tribes of Israel, which God would grant him, snatching them away from the hands of Solomon. Afterwards Ahijah predicted to Jeroboam the perishing of all his line. All the predictions of the prophet were fulfilled. The Prophet Ahijah died in old age 960 years before the birth of Christ.

Saint Nilus the Myrrh-Gusher of Mt Athos was born in Greece, in a village named for Saint Peter, in the Zakoneia diocese. He was raised by his uncle, the hieromonk Macarius. Having attained the age of maturity, he received monastic tonsure and was found worthy of ordination to hierodeacon, and then to hieromonk.

The desire for greater monastic struggles brought uncle and nephew to Mt Athos, where Macarius and Nilus lived in asceticism at a place called the Holy Rocks. Upon the repose of Saint Macarius, the venerable Nilus, aflame with zeal for even more intense spiritual efforts, found an isolated place almost inaccessible for any living thing. Upon his departure to the Lord in 1651, Saint Nilus was glorified by an abundant flow of curative myrrh, for which Christians journeyed from the most distant lands of the East.

Saint Nilus has left a remarkably accurate prophecy concerning the state of the Church in the mid-twentieth century, and a description of the people of that time. Among the inventions he predicted are the telephone, airplane, and submarine. He also warned that people’s minds would be clouded by carnal passions, “and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger.” Men would not be distinguishable from women because of their “shamelessness of dress and style of hair.” Saint Nilus lamented that Christian pastors, bishops and priests, would become vain men, and that the morals and traditions of the Church would change. Few pious and God-fearing pastors would remain, and many people would stray from the right path because no one would instruct them.

The All-Merciful Kykko Icon of the Mother of God: This icon was painted, according to Tradition, by the holy Evangelist Luke. It received its name “Kykkiotisa” from Mount Kykkos, on the island of Cyprus. Here it was placed in an imperial monastery (so designated because it was built with donations from the Emperor), in a church named for it. Before coming to the island of Cyprus, the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God was brought throughout the region by the will of God. At first, it was in one the earliest Christian communities in Egypt, and then it was taken to Constantinople in 980, where it remained in the time of Emperor Alexius Comnenos (end of the eleventh to early twelfth century).

During these years it was revealed to the Elder Isaiah through a miraculous sign, that by his efforts the wonderworking image painted by the Evangelist Luke would be transferred to Cyprus. The Elder exerted much effort to fulfill the divine revelation.

When the icon of the Mother of God arrived on the island, many miracles were performed. The Elder Isaiah was instrumental in building a church dedicated to the Theotokos, and placing the Kykko Icon in it. From ancient times up to the present day, those afflicted by every sort of infirmity flock to the monastery of the Mother of God the Merciful, and they receive healing according to their faith. The Orthodox are not the only ones who believe in the miraculous power of the holy icon, but those of other faiths also pray before it in misfortune and illness.

Inexhaustible is the mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos, Mediatrix for all the suffering, and Her icon fittingly bears the name, the “Merciful.” The wonderworking “Kykkiotisa” Icon of the Mother of God possesses a remarkable peculiarity: from what time period is unknown, but it is covered by a half shroud from the upper left corner to the lower right, so that no one is able to see the faces of the Mother of God and the Divine Infant. The depiction of the Mother of God appears to be of the Hodēgḗtria (“Directress”) type, as is also the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The head of the Mother of God is adorned with a crown.

A copy of this icon is particularly venerated at the women’s Nikolsk monastery in the city of Mukachev.

The Holy Great Martyr Menas (Mēnás), an Egyptian by birth, was a military officer and served in the Kotyaeion region of Phrygia under the centurion Firmilian during the reign of Emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). He was praised and admired for his bravery in battle, his patience, and his self-discipline.

In 298, the Emperors published an edict ordering everyone to worship the idols. Those serving in the Legions were ordered to capture and persecute Christians. As soon as Saint Menas heard this impious decree he threw down his soldier’s belt (a sign of military rank) and withdrew to a mountain above Kotyaeion, where he lived an ascetical life of fasting and prayer. He spent a long time in the wilderness, suffering great privation and laboring in feats of prayer, fasting, and nocturnal vigils. Thus, the Saint purified himself of every passion of soul and body.

When his heart was strengthened with godly zeal, and his soul aflame with love for God, divine grace came upon him and he had a vision. He regarded this as a sign that he was to follow the path of martyrdom. Therefore, he left the mountain and went into the city, where the people were celebrating a pagan festival.

At that time, Saint Menas was approximately fifty years old. Standing in the midst of the crowd, he shouted: "There is only one true God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Your "gods" are demons, and your idols have been fashioned by craftsmen. These inanimate objects are nothing but metal, wood, and stone."

Those who heard his voice left their dancing and their games and went to see who had disrupted their idolatrous festival, marveling at his boldness. They seized and beat him, then brought him before Pyrrhus, the City Prefect. When he saw Menas he asked him who he was, and why he was creating a disturbance. The Saint replied, "I am an Egyptian, a servant of Jesus Christ, the Ruler of all things. I was a soldier and I served in the Imperial Army for most of my life. But since the Emperor has chosen to follow the path of idolatry, and to persecute Christians, I chose to dwell with the wild animals in the wilderness rather than obey the impious commands of those who do not know God."

When the Prefect heard this he became enraged and had the Saint thrown into prison.

The next morning, Pyrrhus urged Saint Menas to return to the Army, offering to restore his former rank if he would offer sacrifice to the pagan "gods." Menas refused, and so he was subjected to many cruel tortures. The Prefect urged him to submit to the edict and offer sacrifice to the idols, but the Martyr remained firm in his Faith, saying that he would never deny Christ. Pyrrhus ordered further torments, but seeing that he could not persuade Saint Menas, he ordered that he be taken outside the city and beheaded. As he was being led to the place of execution, he asked his friends (who were secret Christians) to take his body back to Egypt for burial when the persecution had ceased. These friends gathered Martyr’s relics at night and hid them until the persecution was over. Later, they were brought to Egypt and placed in a church dedicated to Saint Menas southwest of Alexandria.

Saint Menas received the crown of martyrdom in the year 304. By God's grace he continues to work miracles for those who entreat him with faith and love. He is known for healing various illnesses, delivering people from demonic possession, and is a protector, especially during times of war.

In 1942, General Erwin Rommel had conquered almost all of North Africa, and was heading toward Alexandria. The Nazis had reached El Alamein,¹ where they camped for the night, intending to attack Alexandria in the morning. Saint Menas, however, did not allow this to happen. At midnight (October 23-24), certain people noticed Saint Menas coming out of his ancient church leading camels into the German camp. Overcome by panic, weakness, and confusion, Rommel's troops fled. The battle ended on November 4th with the enemy in full retreat. It is regarded as a turning point in the whole war. Later, Winston Churchill said: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat."

The Allies offered that place to Patriarch Christophoros of Alexandria so that the church of Saint Menas could be rebuilt.

We pray to Saint Menas to ask for his help in finding lost objects.

¹ A corruption of the name of Saint Menas.

The Holy Martyr Victor at Damascus was a soldier during the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius the Philosopher (161-180). When the emperor began a persecution against Christians, Victor refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Such obligatory sacrifices were a test of a soldier’s loyalty to the gods, the emperor and the state. The saint was given over to torture, but he came through all the torments unharmed. By the power of prayer he was victorious over a sorcerer, who from that point gave up give sorcery and became a Christian.

Through Saint Victor’s prayers, blind soldiers suddenly received their sight. Witnessing the miracle worked by the Lord through Saint Victor, Stephanida, the young Christian wife of one of the torturers, openly glorified Christ, for which she was condemned to a cruel death. She was tied to two palm trees bent to the ground, which when released, sprung back and tore her apart. She was fifteen years old.

The torturer ordered that the holy Martyr Victor be beheaded. Hearing the commander’s order, Saint Victor told his executioners that they would all die in twelve days, and that the commander would be captured by the enemy in twenty-four days. As he foretold, so it came to pass.

The martyrs suffered in the second century at Damascus, where their venerable relics were buried.

The Holy Martyr Vincent of Spain from his childhood was the disciple of a wise pastor Valerian, the bishop of the city of Augustopolis (now Saragossa, Spain). When he reached mature age, the virtuous, educated and eloquent Vincent was ordained deacon by Bishop Valerian. Since the bishop himself was not adept in speech, he gave a blessing to his deacon, an eloquent orator, to preach in church and among the people.

Diocletian (284-305) sent the governor Dacian to the city of Valencia, Spain with full authority to find and execute Christians. People denounced the wise bishop and his deacon to the governor, who arrested them. The soldiers, mounted on horses, dragged the Elder and his disciple behind them in chains from Augustopolis to Valencia, and there they cast them into prison beaten and tortured, giving them neither food nor water.

They subjected the bishop to the first interrogation. The Elder spoke quietly, but seemed tongue-tied and uncertain. Then Saint Vincent came forward and made the most eloquent speech of his life before the judges and assembled people. After he sent the bishop back to prison, the persecutor gave orders to torture the holy deacon.

The martyr underwent many torments: while nailed to a cross, he was whipped and burned with red-hot rods. When he was removed from the cross, he then himself joyfully climbed back upon it, saying that the executioners were lazy and had not fulfilled their master’s orders. They became angry and tortured him again, until they were all exhausted.

After the tortures they threw the martyr back into prison. That night the astonished guard heard him singing Psalms, and saw an unearthly radiant light in the prison. The next morning the holy martyr was condemned to be burned on a gridiron. Christians took the saint’s body and buried it with reverence. This occurred in the year 304.

Saint Stephanida witnessed the martyrdom at Damascus of the Holy Martyr Victor, a soldier, during the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius the Philosopher (161-180). He was tortured, but he came through all the torments unharmed. By the power of prayer he was victorious over a sorcerer, who from that point gave up give sorcery and became a Christian.

Through Saint Victor’s prayers, blind soldiers suddenly received their sight. Witnessing the miracle worked by the Lord through Saint Victor, Stephanida, the young Christian wife of one of the torturers, openly glorified Christ, for which she was condemned to a cruel death. She was tied to two palm trees bent to the ground, which when released, sprung back and tore her apart. She was fifteen years old.

The martyrs suffered in the second century at Damascus, where their venerable relics were buried.

Saint Theodore the Confessor, Abbot of the Studion was born in the year 758 at Constantinople into a family of the imperial tax-collector Photinus and his spouse Theoctiste, both pious Christians. Saint Theodore received a good education from the best rhetoricians, philosophers and theologians in the capital city.

During this time the Iconoclast heresy had become widespread in the Byzantine Empire, and it was supported also by the impious emperor Constantine Kopronymos (741-775). The views of the emperor and his court conflicted with the religious beliefs of Photinus, who was a fervent adherent of Orthodoxy, and so he left government service. Later, Saint Theodore’s parents, by mutual consent, gave away their substance to the poor, took their leave of each other and accepted monastic tonsure. Their son Theodore soon became widely known in the capital for his participation of the numerous disputes concerning icon-veneration.

Saint Theodore was accomplished in oratory, and had a command of the terminology and logic of the philosophers, so he frequently debated with the heretics. His knowledge of Holy Scripture and Christian dogma was so profound that no one could get the better of him.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council put an end to dissension and brought peace to the Church under the empress Irene. The Ecumenical Council, as the highest authority in the life of the Church, forever condemned and rejected Iconoclasm.

Among the Fathers of the Council was Saint Platon (April 5), an uncle of Saint Theodore, and who for a long time had lived the ascetic life on Mount Olympos. An Elder filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, Saint Platon, at the conclusion of the Council, summoned his nephew Theodore and his brothers Joseph and Euthymius to the monastic life in the wilderness.

After leaving Constantinople, they went to Sakkoudion, not far from Olympos. The solitude and the beauty of the place, and its difficulty of access, met with the approval of the Elder and his nephews, and they decided to remain here. The brothers built a church dedicated to Saint John the Theologian, and gradually the number of monks began to increase. A monastery was formed, and Saint Platon was the igumen.

Saint Theodore’s life was truly ascetic. He toiled at heavy and dirty work. He strictly kept the fasts, and each day he confessed to his spiritual Father, the Elder Platon, revealing to him all his deeds and thoughts, carefully fulfilling all his counsels and instructions.

Theodore made time for daily spiritual reflection, baring his soul to God. Untroubled by any earthly concern, he offered Him mystic worship. Saint Theodore unfailingly read the Holy Scripture and works of the holy Fathers, especially the works of Saint Basil the Great, which were like food for his soul.

After several years of monastic life, Saint Theodore was ordained a priest according to the will of his spiritual Father. When Saint Platon went to his rest, the brethren unanimously chose Saint Theodore as Igumen of the monastery. Unable to oppose the wish of his confessor, Saint Theodore accepted the choice of the brethren, but imposed upon himself still greater deeds of asceticism. He taught the others by the example of his own virtuous life and also by fervent fatherly instruction.

When the emperor transgressed against the Church’s canons, the events of outside life disturbed the tranquility in the monastic cells. Saint Theodore bravely distributed a letter to the other monasteries, in which he declared the emperor Constantine VI (780-797) excommunicated from the Church by his own actions for abusing the divine regulations concerning Christian marriage.

Saint Theodore and ten of his co-ascetics were sent into exile to the city of Thessalonica. But there also the accusing voice of the monk continued to speak out. Upon her return to the throne in 796, Saint Irene freed Saint Theodore and made him igumen of the Studion monastery (dedicated to Saint John the Baptist) in Constantinople, in which there were only twelve monks. The saint soon restored and enlarged the monastery, attracting about 1,000 monks who wished to have him as their spiritual guide.

Saint Theodore composed a Rule of monastic life, called the “Studite Rule” to govern the monastery. Saint Theodore also wrote many letters against the Iconoclasts. For his dogmatic works, and also for his Canons and Three-Ode Canons, Saint Theoctistus called Saint Theodore “a fiery teacher of the Church.”

When Nikēphóros seized the imperial throne, deposing the pious Empress Irene, he also violated Church regulations by restoring to the Church a previously excommunicated priest on his own authority. Saint Theodore again denounced the emperor. After torture, the monk was sent into exile once again, where he spent more than two years.

Saint Theodore was freed by the gentle and pious emperor Michael, who succeeded to the throne upon the death of Nikēphóros and his son Staurikios in a war against barbarians. Their death had been predicted by Saint Theodore for a long while. In order to avert civil war, the emperor Michael abdicated the throne in favor of his military commander Leo the Armenian.

The new emperor proved to be an iconoclast. The hierarchs and teachers of the Church attempted to reason with the impious emperor, but in vain. Leo prohibited the veneration of holy icons and desecrated them. Grieved by such iniquity, Saint Theodore and the brethren made a religious procession around the monastery with icons raised high, singing of the troparion to the icon of the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands (August 16). The emperor angrily threatened the saint with death, but he continued to encourage believers in Orthodoxy. Then the emperor sentenced Saint Theodore and his disciple Nicholas to exile, at first in Illyria at the fortress of Metopa, and later in Anatolia at Bonias. But even from prison the confessor continued his struggle against heresy.

Tormented by the executioners which the emperor sent to Bonias, deprived almost of food and drink, covered over with sores and barely alive, Theodore and Nicholas endured everything with prayer and thanksgiving to God. At Smyrna, where they sent the martyrs from Bonias, Saint Theodore healed a military commander from a terrible illness. The man was a nephew of the emperor and of one mind with him. Saint Theodore told him to repent of his wicked deeds of Iconoclasm, and to embrace Orthodoxy. But the fellow later relapsed into heresy, and then died a horrible death.

Leo the Armenian was murdered by his own soldiers, and was replaced by the equally impious though tolerant emperor Michael II Traulos (the Stammerer). The new emperor freed all the Orthodox Fathers and confessors from prison, but he prohibited icon-veneration in the capital.

Saint Theodore did not want to return to Constantinople and so decided to settle in Bithynia on the promontory of Akrita, near the church of the holy Martyr Tryphon. In spite of serious illness, Saint Theodore celebrated Divine Liturgy daily and instructed the brethren. Foreseeing his end, the saint summoned the brethren and bade them to preserve Orthodoxy, to venerate the holy icons and observe the monastic rule. Then he ordered the brethren to take candles and sing the Canon for the Departure of the Soul From the Body. Just before singing the words “I will never forget Thy statutes, for by them have I lived,” Saint Theodore fell asleep in the Lord, in the year 826. At the same hour Saint Hilarion of Dalmatia (June 6) saw a vision of a heavenly light during the singing and the voice was heard, “This is the soul of Saint Theodore, who suffered even unto blood for the holy icons, which now departs unto the Lord.”

Saint Theodore worked many miracles during his life and after his death. Those invoking his name have been delivered from fires and from the attacks of wild beasts, and have received healing, thanks to God and to Saint Theodore the Studite. On January 26 we celebrate the transfer of the relics of Theodore the Studite from Cherson to Constantinople in the year 845.

Those with stomach ailments entreat the help of Saint Theodore.

Saint Maximus of Moscow, the Fool for Christ. Nothing is known about his parents, or the time and place of birth. Saint Maximus chose one of the most difficult and thorny paths to salvation, having taken upon himself the guise of a fool for the sake of Christ. Summer and winter Maximus walked about almost naked, enduring both heat and cold. He had a saying, “The winter is fierce, but Paradise is sweet.”

Russia loved its holy fools, it esteemed their deep humility, it heeded their wisdom, expressed in the proverbial sayings of the people’s language. And everyone heeded the holy fools, from the Great Princes down to the least beggar.

Blessed Maximus lived at a difficult time for the Russian people. Tatar incursions, droughts, epidemics were endemic and people perished. The saint said to the unfortunate, “Not everything is by the weave of the wool, some is opposite… They have won the fight, submit, and bow lower. Weep not, you who are beaten; but weep, you who are unbeaten. Let us show tolerance, and in this at least, we shall be human. Gradually, even green wood will burn. God will grant salvation if we bear all with patience.”

But the saint did not only speak words of consolation. His angry denunciations frightened the mighty of his world. Blessed Maximus would often say to the rich and illustrious, “The house has an icon corner, but the conscience is for sale. Everyone makes the Sign of the Cross, not everyone prays. God sees every wrong. He will not deceive you, nor will you deceive Him.”

Blessed Maximus died on November 11, 1434 and is buried at the church of the holy Princes Boris and Gleb. Miraculous healings began occurring from the relics of God’s saint. In an encyclical of 1547, Metropolitan Macarius enjoined “the singing and celebration at Moscow for the new Wonderworker Maximus, Fool-for-Christ.” That same year on August 13 the incorrupt relics of Blessed Maximus were uncovered. The church of Saints Boris and Gleb, where the saint was buried, burned in the year 1568. On the site a new church was built, which they consecrated in the name of Saint Maximus, Fool-for-Christ. The venerable relics of Saint Maximus were placed in this church.

Saint Martyrius was a monk in the Veliki Luki (Great Meadows) Monastery, and shared a cell with Elder Bogolep. These holy ascetics ate only once a day. After the services in church, they would fulfill the rule of prayer in their cell, then they would work during the night milling corn.

Later, Saint Martyrius went to live at Zelenets (Green Island), and founded a monastery in the midst of the swamps. By 1582, he was already the igumen of the monastery, which had twelve monks. Several benefactors donated to the monastery, including Theodore Syrkov, Simeon Bekbulatov (the ruler of Kasim), and Tsar Theodore, who donated land.

Saint Martyrius fell asleep in the Lord in 1603. He is also commemorated on March 1.

Saint Stephen was the son of King Milutin and the father of King Dushan. He was blinded on the orders of his father. Saint Nicholas (December 6) appeared to him in the church of Ovche Polje (Sheep Pasture) and said, “Do not be afraid. Your eyes have been given to me, and I shall return them to you at the appropriate time.”

Saint Stephen lived in Constantinople for five years at the Monastery of the Pantocrator. He surpassed not only the monks, but also all the inhabitants of Constantinople, in his spiritual struggles, patience, and meekness. At the end of the five years, Saint Nicholas appeared to him again. Making the Sign of the Cross over his eyes, he restored Stephen’s sight. In gratitude for this miracle, Stephen built the Dečani Monastery in Serbia.

In his old age, Saint Stephen was drowned by his son, receiving the crown of martyrdom in 1336.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The holy Apostles Erastus, Sosipater (April 28), Olympas (January 4), Rodion (April 8), Quartus and Tertius (October 30) were disciples of Saint Paul. They all lived during the first century.

The Apostle to the Gentiles speaks of them in the Epistle to the Romans, “And Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, a brother” (Rom 16: 23).

Saint Sosipater, a native of Achaia, was Bishop of Iconium, where he also died. Saint Paul mentions him in Romans 16:21.

Saint Olympas was mentioned by the holy Apostle Paul (Rom 16:15). He was also a companion of the Apostle Peter. Saint Rodion (Herodion), was a kinsman of the Apostle Paul (Romans 16:11), and left the bishop’s throne at Patras to go to Rome with the Apostle Peter. Saints Rodion and Olympas were beheaded on the very day and hour when Saint Peter was crucified.

Saint Quartus endured much suffering for his piety and converted many pagans to Christ, dying peacefully as a bishop in the city of Beirut.

Saint Tertius is mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans, “I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord” (Rom 16:22). Saint Tertius, to whom Saint Paul dictated the Epistle to the Romans, was the second Bishop of Iconium, where also he died.

The Martyr Orestes the Physician lived in the city of Tyana in Cappadocia during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-311). Several Greek and Slavic sources state that Saint Orestes was a learned and skillful physician (γιατρός, врач), though there is not much information about this period of his life. He was also an illustrious and capable soldier. From childhood he had been a devoted servant of Christ, offering a sacrifice of praise to God with a pure heart, and refusing to worship the demons which the pagans call "gods."

At the Emperor's command, the military officer Maximinus was sent to Tyana to stamp out Christianity, which by then had spread throughout Cappadocia. Orestes was among the first brought to trial before Maximinus. Courageously, he confessed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The prosecutor offered the Saint riches, honors and fame if he would become an idolater, but Saint Orestes would not agree to this.

Maximinus tried in many ways, to force him to deny Christ. Even with the pressures they exerted upon him, they were unable to convince him to worship the idols. Then they stripped him naked, beat him up, and flogged him as a punishment. Afterward, he was put in jail for seven days.

At the end of the seventh day he was taken to a pagan temple to offer sacrifice and worship to the idols. Maximinus asked him, "Do you still refuse to convert to the worship which is offered with such reverence by our august emperors?"

Orestes replied that he was a willing subject when it came to political and earthly matters. Apart from that, however, he would not recognize any king except the one true God.

Maximinus ordered that Orestes be taken to a pagan temple and once again, demanded that he worship the idols. When he refused, forty soldiers took turns, one after the other, beating the holy martyr with lashes, with rods, with rawhide, and then they tormented him with fire. Saint Orestes cried out to the Lord, “Establish with me a sign for good, let those who hate me see it and be put to shame” (Psalm 85/86:17).

The Lord heard the prayer of His faithful servant. The earth began to tremble, and the idols toppled and were smashed. Everyone rushed out of the temple, and when Saint Orestes came out, the entire temple collapsed.

Infuriated, Maximinus ordered the holy martyr to be locked up in prison for seven days giving him neither food nor drink, and to resume the torture on the eighth day. They hammered twenty nails into the martyr’s legs, and then tied him to a wild horse. Dragged over the stones, the holy martyr departed to the Lord in the year 304, and his relics were thrown into the sea.

In 1685, when Saint Dēmḗtrios, later the Bishop of Rostov, (October 28) had just finished writing the Life of Saint Orestes to be printed by the Kiev Caves Lavra, he became tired and fell asleep. Saint Orestes appeared to him one night in a dream, during the Nativity Fast, just before Matins. With a joyful countenance, he said, "I suffered more torments for Christ than these."

Then the Martyr bared his chest and showed Saint Dēmḗtrios the deep wound in his left side. "Here," he said, "they pierced me with a spear."

Then Saint Orestes showed him his right elbow and said, "Here they cut off my arm."

Next, he showed him his left arm with a similar wound, saying "They cut off this arm here."

After this he bent over and showed him one leg, and then the other, with wounds behind the knee. He said, "My legs were cut off with a scythe."

After this the Martyr stood up and looked the writer in the face, and declared, "Now you see that I suffered more torments for Christ than you have described.”

The humble monk wondered whether this was Saint Orestes, one of the Five Martyrs of Sebaste (December 13). As if in answer to his thoughts the Martyr said, “I am not that Orestes, but him whose Life you have just finished writing.”

Just then, the bells rang for Matins, and the vision ended.

The Persian Martyr Mίlos was once a General. Later, he was chosen as the Bishop of Telepolis (Susa, or Shushan in Syriac), where the Prophet Daniel saw visions.¹ Because of his devout ascetical life, Saint Mίlos received from God the gifts of prophecy and healing. He was ordained by Bishop Bēthlapát of Geddēgoupólis. When the pagans expelled him from the city of Susa, his episcopal See, he fled to Jerusalem. From there, he went to Alexandria, where he met Saint Anthony the Great (January 17).

After two years the Hierarch returned to Persia, where he and his disciples were arrested by the ruler Basiliskos. Saint Mίlos was put to death by the sword. His disciples² Ebórēs, Papas, and the Deacon Senóei (or Sebórēs), were killed with wooden clubs and stones. Thus, they all received the immortal crown of martyrdom in the year 341.

¹ Daniel 8:2 (LXX).

² Some sources say there were two disciples: Abrosim and Sinon. Others list three disciples: Ebórēs, Papas, and the Deacon Senóei (or Sebórēs). The difference in the names might be explained by alternate transcriptions of the Persian names into other languages. Papas may be a proper name, or it may be that Ebórēs was a priest. If that is the case, however, one would expect to see the title πρεσβύτερος.

Saint Theosteriktos (Θεοστήρικτος) was the Igoumen of Symbola Monastery on Mount Olympus in Bithynia (others say Peletiki Monastery at Triglia). He lived during the reign of Constantine V Copronymos (741-755), who persecuted the Orthodox because they venerated icons.

On Holy Thursday, the governor, Michael Lachonodrakon attacked Theosteriktos’s monastery. Thirty-eight monks were placed under arrest, while others were tortured and mutilated. Igoumen Theosteriktos had his nose cut off, and he was put in jail in Constantinople with Saint Stephen the Younger (November 28) and many others.

When the iconoclastic persecution had ceased, Saint Theosteriktos returned to his monastery, which he rebuilt with the help of Saint Nikḗtas of Medikion (April 3).

Saint Theosteriktos reposed in peace. He is also commemorated on February 17.

The 9th century was one of the most difficult periods in Georgian history. The Arab Muslims wreaked havoc throughout the region of Kartli, forcibly converting many to Islam with fire and the sword. Many of the destitute and frightened were tempted to betray the Faith of their fathers.

At that time the valorous aristocrat and faithful Christian, Prince Constantine, was living in Kartli. He was the descendant of Kakhetian princes, hence his title “Kakhi.”

As is meet for a Christian believer, Saint Constantine considered himself the greatest of sinners and often said, “There can be no forgiveness of my sins, except through the spilling of my blood for the sake of Him Who shed His innocent blood for us!”

While on a pilgrimage to the holy places of Jerusalem, Constantine distributed generous gifts to the churches, visited the wilderness of the Jordan, received blessings from the holy fathers, and returned to his motherland filled with inner joy. After that time Constantine would send thirty thousand pieces of silver to Jerusalem each year.

In the years 853 to 854, when the Arab Muslims invaded Georgia under the command of Buga-Turk, the eighty-five-year-old Prince Constantine commanded the army of Kartli with his son Tarkhuj.

Outside the city of Gori an uneven battle took place between the Arabs and the Georgians. Despite their fierce resistance, the Georgians suffered defeat, and Constantine and Tarkhuj were taken captive.

The captive Constantine-Kakhi was sent to Samarra (a city in central Iraq) to the caliph Ja’far al Mutawakkil (847-861). Ja’far was well aware of the enormous respect Constantine-Kakhi received from the Georgians and all the Christian people who knew him. Having received him with honor, he proposed that Constantine renounce the Christian Faith and threatened him with death in the case of his refusal. Strengthened by divine grace, the courageous prince fearlessly answered, “Your sword does not frighten me. I am afraid of Him Who can destroy my soul and body and Who has the power to resurrect and to kill, for He is the true God, the almighty Sovereign, Ruler of the world, and Father unto all ages!”

The enraged caliph ordered the beheading of Saint Constantine-Kakhi. Bowing on his knees, the holy martyr lifted up a final prayer to the Lord. Saint Constantine-Kakhi was martyred on November 10, 852, the day on which Great-martyr George is commemorated. The holy martyr’s body was hung from a high pillar to intimidate the Christian believers, but after some time it was buried.

A few years later a group of faithful Georgians translated Saint Constantine’s holy relics to his motherland and reburied them there with great honor. In that same century the Georgian Orthodox Church numbered Prince Constantine-Kakhi of Kartli among the saints.

Celebrated by the whole Christian world, Great-martyr George was slain by Emperor Diocletian in the year 303.

The holy martyr is appropriately considered the intercessor for all Christians and the patron saint of many. He is regarded with special reverence among the Georgian people, since he is believed to be the special protector of their nation. Historical accounts often describe how Saint George appeared among the Georgian soldiers in the midst of battles.

The majority of Georgian churches (in villages especially) were built in his honor and, as a result, every day there is a feast of the great-martyr George somewhere in Georgia. The various daily commemorations are connected to one of the churches erected in his name or an icon or a particular miracle he performed.

November 10 marks the day on which Saint George was tortured on the wheel. According to tradition, this day of commemoration was established by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino, the Enlightener of Georgia. Saint Nino was a relative of Saint George the Trophy-bearer.

She revered him deeply and directed the people she had converted to Christianity to cherish him as their special protector.

The Founding of the Church of the Great Martyr George in Georgia: Georgia was enlightened with the Christian faith by the holy Equal of the Apostles Nino (January 14), a kinswoman of the holy Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer (April 23). Therefore, Georgia has special veneration for Saint George as its patron saint.

The name Georgia is derived from George (this name is preserved now in many languages of the world). Saint Nino established a feastday in his honor. It is celebrated in Georgia on November 10, in remembrance of the sufferings of Saint George. In 1891, near the village of Kakha in the Zakatalsk region of the Caucasus, a new church in place of the old was built in honor of the holy Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer, and many of the heterodox Bogomils came in droves to it.

The Holy Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius of Ephesus suffered during the persecution against Christians by the emperor Diocletian (284-305). They beat them and burned them. After this, they tied the saints to wild horses, which dragged them over the stones, after which the Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius died. Believers gathered the remains of the saints and reverently buried them.

Saint Matrona, Abbess of Constantinople was born in the city of Perge Pamphylia (Asia Minor) in the fifth century. They gave her in marriage to a wealthy man named Dometian. When her daughter Theodota was born, they resettled in Constantinople. The twenty-five-year-old Matrona loved to walk to the temple of God. She spent entire days there, ardently praying to the Lord and weeping for her sins.

At the church the saint met two pious Eldresses, Eugenia and Susanna, who from their youth lived there in asceticism, work and prayer. Matrona began to imitate the God-pleasing life of an ascetic, humbling her flesh by abstinence and fasting, for which she had to endure criticism by her husband.

Her soul yearned for a full renunciation of the world. After long hesitation, Saint Matrona decided to leave her family and entreated the Lord to reveal whether her intent was pleasing to Him. The Lord heard the prayer of His servant. Once, during a light sleep, she had a dream that she had fled from her husband, who was in pursuit of her. The saint concealed herself in a crowd of monks approaching her, and her husband did not notice her. Matrona accepted this dream as a divine directive to enter a men’s monastery, where her husband would not think to look for her.

She gave her fifteen-year-old daughter to be raised by the Eldress Susanna, and having cut her own hair and disguised herself in men’s attire, she went to the monastery of Saint Bassion (October 10). There the Nun Matrona passed herself off as the eunuch Babylos and was accepted as one of the brethren. Apprehensive lest the monks learn that she was a woman, the saint passed her time in constant quietude and much work. The brethren marveled at the great virtue of Babylos.

One time the saint was working in the monastery vineyard with the other monks. The novice monk Barnabas noted that her ear-lobe was pierced and asked about it. “It is necessary, brother, to till the soil and not watch other people, which is not proper for a monk,” answered the saint.

After a certain while it was revealed in a dream to Saint Bassion, the igumen of the monastery, that the eunuch Babylos was a woman. It was also revealed to Acacius, igumen of the nearby Abraham monastery. Saint Bassion summoned Saint Matrona and asked in a threatening voice why she had entered the monastery: to corrupt the monks, or to shame the monastery.

With tears the saint told the igumen about all her past life, about her husband, hostile to her efforts and prayers, and about the vision directing her to go to the men’s monastery. Convinced that her intent was pure and chaste, Saint Bassion sent Saint Matrona to a women’s monastery in the city of Emesa. In this monastery the saint dwelt for many years, inspiring the sisters by her high monastic achievement. When the Abbess died, by the unanimous wish of the nuns the Nun Matrona became head of the convent.

The fame of her virtuous activities, and miraculous gift of healing, which she acquired from the Lord, spread far beyond the walls of the monastery. Dometian also heard about the deeds of the nun. When Saint Matrona learned that her husband was coming to the monastery and wanted to see her, she secretly went off to Jerusalem, and then to Mount Sinai, and from there to Beirut, where she settled in an abandoned pagan temple. The local inhabitants learned of her seclusion, and began to come to her. The holy ascetic turned many from their pagan impiety and converted them to Christ.

Women and girls began to settle by the dwelling of the nun and soon a new monastery was formed. Having fulfilled the will of God, revealed to her in a dream, the saint left Beirut and journeyed to Constantinople where she learned that her husband had died. With the blessing of her spiritual Father, Saint Bassion, the ascetic founded a women’s monastery in Constantinople, to which sisters from the Beirut convent she founded also transferred. The Constantinople monastery of Saint Matrona was known for its strict monastic rule and the virtuous life of its sisters.

In extreme old age Saint Matrona had a vision of the heavenly Paradise and the place prepared for her there after 75 years of monastic labor. At the age of one hundred, Saint Matrona blessed the sisters,and quietly fell asleep in the Lord.

Saint Theoktίstē was born in the city of Methymna on the island of Lesbos. She was orphaned at an early age, so her relatives sent her to a monastery to be raised by the nuns. The girl was quite happy to forsake this sinful world. She loved the monastic life, the long Church Services, monastic obedience, the strict fasting, and unceasing prayer. She learned much of the chants, prayer, and psalmody by heart.

On the radiant Feast of Christ's Resurrection in the year 846, when Theoktίstē was eighteen years old, she left the Monastery with the blessing of the Igoumeness, and went to a nearby village to visit her sister, remaining there overnight. Some Arabs invaded the settlement, captured all the inhabitants, and forced them onto a ship. By morning, they were at sea.

The brigands took the captives to the desolate island of Paros so that they might examine them in order to set a price on each when they were sold at the slave market. The Lord helped the young maiden to escape, and the Arabs did not catch her. Saint Theoktίstē lived on the island for the next 35 years. An old church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos served as her abode, and her food was sunflower seeds. She spent all her time in prayer.

Once, a group of hunters landed upon the island. One of them, pursuing his prey, went far from the coast into the forest, and suddenly he saw the church and went inside in order to pray. Afterward, the hunter saw what seemed to be a human form in a dim corner, not far from the holy altar table, Brushing aside thick cobwebs. He drew nearer and heard a voice say, “Stay there, and come no closer, for I am a naked woman, and I am ashamed.”

The hunter gave the woman his outer garment and she came out from her place of concealment. He saw a grey-haired woman with worn face, who called herself Theoktίstē. In a faint voice, she told him of her life, which she had devoted to God.

When Saint Theoktίstē finished her story, she asked the hunter, if he should happen to come to this island again, to bring her a particle of the reserved Gifts. In all the time she had lived in the wilderness, she had not been able to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ even once.

A year later, in 881, the hunter returned to the island and brought a small vessel with a particle of the Holy Mysteries. Saint Theoktίstē approached the Holy Gifts and fell to the ground, praying with tears for a long time. Standing up, she took the vessel and received the Body and Blood of Christ "with faith, reverence, and in the fear of God."

The next day, the hunter found the dead body of Saint Theoktίstē in the church. After digging a shallow grave, he placed her in it. Then brazenly, he cut off one of her hands, in order to take a relic of the Saint with him. All night the ship was tossed upon a tempestuous sea. In the morning, it ended up at the very place from which it started. Then the man realized that his taking the relic was not pleasing to God.

Returning to the grave, he placed the hand with the Saint's body. Then the ship was able to sail away without difficulty. .On the journey, the hunter told his companions all that had happened on the island. After hearing his story, they all decided to return to Paros at once, that they might venerate the relics of the great ascetic, However, they did not find her holy body in the grave.

Saint Onesiphorus the Confessor of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves pursued the ascetic life in the Kiev Caves monastery. He was a presbyter and had the gift of clairvoyance. He died in the year 1148 and was buried in the Near Caves beside Saint Spyridon (October 31). His memory is also celebrated on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.

The Martyr Alexander of Thessalonica was arrested by pagans for confessing the Christian Faith. Under the emperor Maximian (284-305)he not only admitted being a Christian, but when told to offer sacrifice to the gods, he overturned the idolatrous sacrifice in indignation. The emperor gave orders to behead the saint.

When the execution was done, the emperor and the executioner saw how an angel came forth bearing the soul of the holy Martyr Alexander up to the heavens. The emperor permitted Christians to bury the body of the saint with honor in the city of Thessalonica, which they did with joy.

The Holy Martyr Anthony, a Syrian, lived during the fifth century and was a stone-mason. With the blessing of the bishop of the Syrian city of Apamea, he started to build a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity. When the pagan townspeople learned of this, they rushed into his house by night and murdered him with a sword.

Saint John the Dwarf of Egypt struggled in the Egyptian desert in the fifth century in the monastery of Saint Pimen the Great (August 27). It was to this monastery that the young John came with his brother Daniel.

Once, Saint John told his elder brother that he did not want to be concerned about clothing and food, and that he wished to live like the angels in Paradise. Daniel allowed him to go to a deserted place, so that he would be afflicted. John went out from the cell and removed his clothing. It was very cold at night, and after a week John became hungry.

One night John went back to the monastery and began to knock on the door of the cell. “Who is it?” Daniel asked.

“It is I, your brother John.”

Daniel replied, “John has become an angel, and is no longer among men.”

John continued to knock, but Daniel would not let him in until morning. Then he said, “You are a man and must work again if you want to eat.” Saint John wept bitterly, asking for forgiveness.

After being brought to his senses Saint John went to Saint Pimen, known for his firm and steadfast will, and having asked guidance, he promised to be obedient in all things. Testing the patience of the young monk, Saint Pimen gave him an unusual obedience. For three years Saint John carried water and poured it on a dry stick, until it became covered with leaves and bore abundant fruit. His Elder took the fruit to the brethren saying, “Take and eat the fruit of obedience.”

Later, Abba John himself became a guide of many people on the way of salvation, among whom were Saint Arsenius the Great (May 8) and Saint Thais (May 10).

Saint John was the author of the Life of Saint Paisius the Great (June 19).

Saint Eustolia, a native of Rome, had come to Constantinople and entered one of the women’s monasteries. The virtuous and strict monastic life of the saint gained her the love and respect of the sisters. Not only monastics, but also many laypeople came to her for advice and consolation.

Saint Eustolia died in the year 610.

Saint Sopatra of Constantinople was the daughter of the emperor Mauricius (582-602). She was inclined towards monasticism, and met Saint Eustolia in the church of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae. After speaking with the saint, Sopatra finally decided to leave the world and submit her will to her guide, Saint Eustolia. She transformed the palace building, which her father had given her, into a monastery known for its strict monastic Rule.

Saint Sopatra died in the year 625.

Saint Nectarius, the great wonderworker of modern times, was born Anastasius Kephalas in Selebria, Thrace on October 1, 1846.

Since his family was poor, Anastasius went to Constantinople when he was fourteen in order to find work. Although he had no money, he asked the captain of a boat to take him. The captain told him to take a walk and then come back. Anastasius understood, and sadly walked away.

The captain gave the order to start the engines, but nothing happened. After several unsuccessful attempts, he looked up into the eyes of Anastasius who stood on the dock. Taking pity on the boy, the captain told him to come aboard. Immediately, the engines started and the boat began to move.

Anastasius found a job with a tobacco merchant in Constantinople, who did not pay him very much. In his desire to share useful information with others, Anastasius wrote down short maxims from spiritual books on the paper bags and packages of the tobacco shop. The customers would read them out of curiosity, and might perhaps derive some benefit from them.

The boy went about barefoot and in ragged clothing, but he trusted in God. Seeing that the merchant received many letters, Anastasius also wanted to write a letter. To whom could he write? Not to his parents, because there were no mail deliveries to his village. Not to his friends, because he had none. Therefore, he decided to write to Christ to tell Him of his needs.

“My little Christ,” he wrote. “I do not have an apron or shoes. You send them to me. You know how much I love you.”

Anastasius sealed the letter and wrote on the outside: “To the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven.” On his way to mail the letter, he ran into the man who owned a shop opposite the one in which he worked. The man asked him where he was going, and Anastasius whispered something in reply. Seeing the letter in his hands, the man offered to mail it for him, since he was on his way to the post office.

The merchant put the letter in his pocket and assured Anastasius that he would mail it with his own letters. The boy returned to the tobacco shop, filled with happiness. When he took the letter from his pocket to mail it, the merchant happened to notice the address. Astonished and curious, the man could not resist opening the letter to read it. Touched by the boy’s simple faith, the merchant placed some money in an envelope and sent it to him anonymously. Anastasius was filled with joy, and he gave thanks to God.

A few days later, seeing Anastasius dressed somewhat better than usual, his employer thought he had stolen money from him and began to beat him. Anastasius cried out, “I have never stolen anything. My little Christ sent me the money.”

Hearing the commotion, the other merchant came and took the tobacco seller aside and explained the situation to him.

When he was still a young man, Anastasius made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During the voyage, the ship was in danger of sinking in a storm. Anastasius looked at the raging sea, and then at the captain. He went and stood beside the captain and took the helm, praying for God to save them. Then he took off the cross his grandmother had given him (containing a piece of the Cross of Christ) and tied it to his belt. Leaning over the side, he dipped the cross into the water three times and commanded the sea, “Silence! Be still.” At once, the wind died down and the sea became calm.

Anastasius was saddened, however, because his cross had fallen into the sea and was lost. As the boat sailed on, sounds of knocking seemed to come from the hull below the water line. When the ship docked, the young man got off and started to walk away.

Suddenly, the captain began shouting, “Kephalas, Kephalas, come back here.” The captain had ordered some men into a small boat to examine the hull in order to discover the source of the knocking, and they discovered the cross stuck to the hull. Anastasius was elated to receive his “Treasure,” and always wore it from that time forward. There is a photograph taken many years later, showing the saint in his monastic skufia. The cross is clearly visible in the photo.

On November 7, 1875, Anastasius received monastic tonsure at the Nea Moni Monastery on Chios, and the new name Lazarus. Two years later, he was ordained a deacon. On that occasion, his name was changed to Nectarius.

Later, when he was a priest, Father Nectarius left Chios and went to Egypt. There he was elected Metropolitan of Pentapolis. Some of his colleagues became jealous of him because of his great virtues, because of his inspiring sermons, and because of everything else which distinguished Saint Nectarius from them.

Other Metropolitans and bishops of the Patriarchate of Alexandria became filled with malice toward the saint, so they told Patriarch Sophronius that Nectarius was plotting to become patriarch himself. They told the patriarch that the Metropolitan of Pentapolis merely made an outward show of piety in order to win favor with the people. So the patriarch and his synod removed Saint Nectarius from his See. Patriarch Sophronius wrote an ambiguous letter of suspension which provoked scandal and speculation about the true reasons for the saint’s removal from his position.

Saint Nectarius was not deposed from his rank, however. He was still allowed to function as a bishop. If anyone invited him to perform a wedding or a baptism he could do so, as long as he obtained permission from the local bishop.

Saint Nectarius bore his trials with great patience, but those who loved him began to demand to know why he had been removed. Seeing that this was causing a disturbance in the Church of Alexandria, he decided to go to Greece. He arrived in Athens to find that false rumors about him had already reached that city. His letter of suspension said only that he had been removed “for reasons known to the Patriarchate,” and so all the slanders about him were believed.

Since the state and ecclesiastical authorities would not give him a position, the former Metropolitan was left with no means of support, and no place to live. Every day he went to the Minister of Religion asking for assistance. They soon tired of him and began to mistreat him.

One day, as he was leaving the Minister’s office, Saint Nectarius met a friend whom he had known in Egypt. Surprised to find the beloved bishop in such a condition, the man spoke to the Minister of Religion and Education and asked that something be found for him. So, Saint Nectarius was appointed to be a humble preacher in the diocese of Vitineia and Euboea. The saint did not regard this as humiliating for him, even though a simple monk could have filled that position. He went to Euboea to preach in the churches, eagerly embracing his duties.

Yet even here, the rumors of scandal followed him. Sometimes, while he was preaching, people began to laugh and whisper. Therefore, the blameless one resigned his position and returned to Athens. By then some people had begun to realize that the rumors were untrue, because they saw nothing in his life or conversation to suggest that he was guilty of anything. With their help and influence, Saint Nectarius was appointed Director of the Rizarios Seminary in Athens on March 8, 1894. He was to remain in that position until December of 1908.

The saint celebrated the services in the seminary church, taught the students, and wrote several edifying and useful books. Since he was a quiet man, Saint Nectarius did not care for the noise and bustle of Athens. He wanted to retire somewhere where he could pray. On the island of Aegina he found an abandoned monastery dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which he began to repair with his own hands.

He gathered a community of nuns, appointing the blind nun Xenia as abbess, while he himself served as Father Confessor. Since he had a gift for spiritual direction, many people came to Aegina to confess to him. Eventually, the community grew to thirty nuns. He used to tell them, “I am building a lighthouse for you, and God shall put a light in it that will shine forth to the world. Many will see this light and come to Aegina.” They did not understand what he was telling them, that he himself would be that beacon, and that people would come there to venerate his holy relics.

On September 20, 1920 the nun Euphemia brought an old man in black robes, who was obviously in pain, to the Aretaieion Hospital in Athens. This was a state hospital for the poor. The intern asked the nun for information about the patient.

“Is he a monk?” he asked.

“No, he is a bishop.”

The intern laughed and said, “Stop joking and tell me his name, Mother, so that I can enter it in the register.”

“He is indeed a bishop, my child. He is the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Pentapolis.”

The intern muttered, “For the first time in my life I see a bishop without a panagia or cross, and more significantly, without money.”

Then the nun showed the saint’s credentials to the astonished intern who then admitted him. For two months Saint Nectarius suffered from a disease of the bladder. At ten thirty on the evening of November 8, 1920, he surrendered his holy soul to God. He died in peace at the age of seventy-four.

In the bed next to Saint Nectarius was a man who was paralyzed. As soon as the saint had breathed his last, the nurse and the nun who sat with him began to dress him in clean clothing to prepare him for burial at Aegina. They removed his sweater and placed it on the paralyzed man’s bed. Immediately, the paralytic got up from his bed, glorifying God.

Saint Nectarius was buried at the Holy Trinity Monastery on Aegina. Several years later, his grave was opened to remove his bones (as is the custom in Greece). His body was found whole and incorrupt, as if he had been buried that very day.

Word was sent to the Archbishop of Athens, who came to see the relics for himself. Archbishop Chrysostomos told the nuns to leave them out in the sun for a few days, then to rebury them so that they would decay. A month or two after this, they opened the grave again and found the saint incorrupt. Then the relics were placed in a marble sarcophagus.

Several years later, the holy relics dissolved, leaving only the bones. The saint’s head was placed in a bishop’s mitre, and the top was opened to allow people to kiss his head.

Saint Nectarius was glorified by God, since his whole life was a continuous doxology to the Lord. Both during his life and after his death, Saint Nectarius has performed thousands of miracles, especially for those suffering from cancer. There are more churches dedicated to Saint Nectarius than to any other modern Orthodox saint.

Saints Euthymius and Neophytus, founders of the Dochiariou Monastery on Mount Athos, an uncle and his nephew, belonged to the highest Byzantine aristocracy. Saint Euthymius, while still in the world, was the friend of Saint Athanasius of Mount Athos (July 5), and he later became a novice and disciple of the great ascetic. For his sincere love of the brethren, gentleness and his particular zeal in the ascetic life, Saint Athanasius granted the monk the duty of steward, which Saint Euthymius fulfilled as though entrusted to him by God Himself.

Saint Euthymius settled with several of the monks in the locale of Daphne, where he founded a monastery dedicated to Saint Nicholas, which he called Dochiariou in memory of his obedience. Guiding his own younger brethren, Saint Euthymius taught the necessity of attention towards self, to all the stirrings of the soul, explaining that the struggle of Christians, according to the Apostle Paul, is not “against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and against powers, and against the world-rulers of this darkness” (Eph 6:12).

The peaceful ascetic life of the monks was disturbed by the Saracens. The monk led all the brethren into the forest. Returning, they found the monastery razed to its very foundations. Saint Euthymius did not lose heart, and the monastery was rebuilt.

Saint Neophytus, in the world, was a companion of the emperor Nikēphóros Phocas (963-969). Upon the death of his parents he came to Mount Athos, where he was tonsured in the monastery of his uncle Saint Euthymius. Before his death, Saint Euthymius handed over the administration of the monastery to his nephew.

Under the spiritual guidance of Saint Neophytus, the small monastery grew into a Lavra. Asking the emperor Nikēphóros to become a benefactor of the monastery, Saint Neophytus enlarged the monastery to its present size. Saint Neophytus was deigned to be chosen “protos” (head of the governing Council of Elders of the Holy Mountain) and for many years he labored there. After taking leave of the Council in his declining years, he returned to the Dochiariou monastery, where peacefully he fell asleep in the Lord.

The wonderworking "Quick to Hear" Icon of the Mother of God is kept at Dokheiarίou Monastery on Mount Athos, and is believed to date from the XI century, during the time of Saint Neophytos, the Igoumen of the Monastery. After the wonderworking Portaitissa Icon, the most famous Icon on Mount Athos is an ancient fresco of the Panagia located outside on the east wall of the trapeza, and to the right of the entrance. In 1664 the Monk Neilos, the steward of the trapeza, often passed before the Icon holding a lit torch in his hand so he could carry out his duties in the trapeza. One day, he heard a voice say to him: "Do not come this way again with your torches, darkening my Icon with smoke."

Neilos did not pay much attention to the voice, thinking that someone was playing a joke on him. It was not long before he heard the voice again saying, "O monk, unworthy of the name, how long will you continue to darken my Icon with smoke?"

Upon hearing the voice, Neilos was struck blind. Then he remembered that he had heard the voice before, and realized that he deserved this punishment, for he did not heed the command of the Mother of God, but had ignored it in his ignorance.

The next morning, the brethren found him laying on the floor of the corridor before the Icon, unable to see them. When they learned why Neilos had been punished, the monks were terrified. From that time on, they passed by the Icon with great reverence, and hung an unsleeping lamp before it.

Neilos, however, did not want to return to his cell. He remained before the Icon in a stasidi, calling upon the Theotokos with tears and lamentations to forgive him for the sin he had committed. He begged her to restore his sight, as a sign of her forgiveness, so that he might gaze upon her Icon and glorify her.

He was not disappointed in his hopes, for the Mother of God heard the prayers of her repentant servant. He heard her voice a third time, saying, "Monk, your prayer has been heard. You are forgiven, and you shall receive your sight again. Declare to the other Fathers and brethren who struggle here that I am the Mother of God, and that after God, I am the shelter and help and mighty protector of this Monastery of the Archangels, providing for it as its defender and guide. From now on, let the monks come to me for all their needs, and I will hear them quickly, as well as all Orthodox Christians who come to me with reverence, for I am called Quick to Hear."

Very soon this miracle and the promise of the Theotokos became known throughout the Holy Mountain, and monks from the other Monasteries came to Dokheiarίou to venerate the Icon, and to see the monk who had regained his sight. The corridor was closed off and a chapel was built to house the "Quick to Hear" Icon. One of the most devout and accomplished Hieromonks is appointed to be present in the chapel. He is known as the prosmonarios (προσμονάριος), and he is there most of the time to chant Canons of Supplication before the Icon, which he censes every evening and morning, tending the chapel, and trimming the oil lamps.

The "Quick to Hear" Icon venerated not only on the Holy Mountain, but also by Orthodox Christians all over the world. Countless miracles of healing are worked by the Mother of God through her Holy Icon. The blind receive their sight, paralytics are healed, barren women conceive children, and captives are set free when they approach the Theotokos with faith and reverence.

A copy of the "Quick to Hear Icon" was painted on Mount Athos and was sent as a gift from the Russian and other devout monks of the Holy Mountain to Archbishop Tikhon (later Patriarch of Moscow) of the Aleutian Islands and North America. In May of 1906 that copy of the famous "Quick to Hear” Icon at Dokheiarίou Monastery was carried to Saint Tikhon's Monastery (in Waymart, PA) in a solemn Cross Procession, along with several others, including one of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon.

The relics of several saints were placed in the Icon. These include the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratēlátēs (Feb. 8), Saints Cosmas and Damian the Unmercenary Physicians, Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki (Nov. 14), and the Holy New Martyr Constantine of Mount Athos, who was born on the island of Hydra and suffered at the hands of the Turks on the island of Rhodes on November 14, 1800.

The "Quick to Hear" Icon is now on the iconostasis of Saint Tikhon's Monastery church.

The Synaxis of the Chief of the Heavenly Hosts, Archangel Michael and the Other Heavenly Bodiless Powers: Archangels Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jehudiel, Barachiel, and Jeremiel was established at the beginning of the fourth century at the Council of Laodicea, which met several years before the First Ecumenical Council. The 35th Canon of the Council of Laodicea condemned and denounced as heretical the worship of angels as gods and rulers of the world, but affirmed their proper veneration.

A Feastday was established in November, the ninth month after March (with which the year began in ancient times) since there are Nine Ranks of Angels. The eighth day of the month was chosen for the Synaxis of all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven since the Day of the Dread Last Judgment is called the Eighth Day by the holy Fathers. After the end of this age (characterized by its seven days of Creation) will come the Eighth Day, and then “the Son of Man shall come in His Glory and all the holy Angels with Him” (Mt. 25:31).

The Angelic Ranks are divided into three Hierarchies: highest, middle, and lowest.

The Highest Hierarchy includes: the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones.

The six-winged SERAPHIM (Flaming, Fiery) (Is 6:2) stand closest of all to the Most Holy Trinity. They blaze with love for God and kindle such love in others.

The many-eyed CHERUBIM (outpouring of wisdom, enlightenment) (Gen 3:24) stand before the Lord after the Seraphim. They are radiant with the light of knowledge of God, and knowledge of the mysteries of God. Through them wisdom is poured forth, and people’s minds are enlightened so they may know God and behold His glory.

The THRONES (Col 1:16) stand after the Cherubim, mysteriously and incomprehensibly bearing God through the grace given them for their service. They are ministers of God’s justice, giving to tribunals, kings, etc. the capacity for righteous judgment.

The Middle Angelic Hierarchy consists of three Ranks: Dominions, Powers, and Authorities:

DOMINIONS (Col 1:16) hold dominion over the angels subject to them. They instruct the earthly authorities, established by God, to rule wisely, and to govern their lands well. The Dominions teach us to subdue sinful impulses, to subject the flesh to the spirit, to master our will, and to conquer temptation.

POWERS (1 Pet 3:22) fulfill the will of God without hesitation. They work great miracles and give the grace of wonderworking and clairvoyance to saints pleasing to God. The Powers assist people in fulfilling obediences. They also encourage them to be patient, and give them spiritual strength and fortitude.

AUTHORITIES (1 Pet 3:22, Col 1:16) have authority over the devil. They protect people from demonic temptations, and prevent demons from harming people as they would wish. They also uphold ascetics and guard them, helping people in the struggle with evil thoughts.

The Lowest Hierarchy includes the three Ranks: Principalities, Archangels, and Angels:

PRINCIPALITIES (Col 1:16) have command over the lower angels, instructing them in the fulfilling of God’s commands. They watch over the world and protect lands, nations and peoples. Principalities instruct people to render proper honor to those in authority, as befits their station. They teach those in authority to use their position, not for personal glory and gain, but to honor God, and to spread word of Him, for the benefit of those under them.

ARCHANGELS (1 Thess 4:16) are messengers of great and wondrous tidings. They reveal prophecies and the mysteries of the faith. They enlighten people to know and understand the will of God, they spread faith in God among the people, illuminating their minds with the light of the Holy Gospel.

ANGELS (1 Pet 3:22) are in the lowest rank of the heavenly hierarchy, and closest to people. They reveal the lesser mysteries of God and His intentions, guiding people to virtuous and holy life. They support those who remain steadfast, and they raise up the fallen. They never abandon us and they are always prepared to help us, if we desire it.

All the Ranks of the Heavenly Powers are called angels, although each has its own name and position by virtue of their service. The Lord reveals His will to the highest ranks of the angels, and they in turn inform the others.

Over all the Nine Ranks, the Lord appointed the Holy Archangel Michael (his name in Hebrew means “who is like unto God”), the faithful servitor of God, as Chief Commander. He cast down from Heaven the arrogantly proud Lucifer and the other fallen spirits when they rebelled against God. Michael summoned the ranks of angels and cried out, “Let us attend! Let us stand aright before our Creator and do not consider doing what is displeasing unto God!”

According to Church Tradition, and in the church services to the Archangel Michael, he participated in many other Old Testament events.

During the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt he went before them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Through him the power of the Lord was made manifest, annihilating the Egyptians and Pharaoh who were in pursuit of the Israelites. The Archangel Michael defended Israel in all its misfortunes.

He appeared to Joshua Son of Navi and revealed the will of the Lord at the taking of Jericho (Josh 5:13-16). The power of the great Chief Commander of God was manifest in the annihilation of the 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib (4/2 Kings 19:35); also in the smiting of the impious leader Heliodorus (2 Macc. 3: 24-26); and in the protection of the Three Holy Youths: Ananias, Azarias and Misail, thrown into the fiery furnace for their refusal to worship an idol (Dan 3:22-25).

Through the will of God, the Chief Commander Michael transported the Prophet Habbakuk (December 2) from Judea to Babylon, to give food to Daniel in the lions’ den (Dan. 14:33-37).

The Archangel Michael disputed with the devil over the body of the holy Prophet Moses (Jude 1:9).

The holy Archangel Michael showed his power when he miraculously saved a young man, cast into the sea by robbers with a stone about his neck on the shores of Mt Athos. This story is found in the Athonite Paterikon, and in the Life of Saint Neophytus of Docheiariou (November 9).

From ancient times the Archangel Michael was famed for his miracles in Rus. In the Volokolamsk Paterikon is a narrative of Saint Paphnutius of Borov with an account of Tatar tax-gatherers concerning the miraculous saving of Novgorod the Great: “Therefore Great Novgorod was never taken by the Hagarenes… when… for our sins the godless Hagarene emperor Batu devoured and set the Russian land aflame and came to Novgorod, and God and the Most Holy Theotokos shielded it with an appearance of Michael the Archangel, who forbade him to enter into it. He [Batu] was come to the Lithuanian city and came toward Kiev and saw the stone church, over the doors of which the great Archangel Michael had written and spoken to the prince his allotted fate, ‘By this we have forbidden you entry into Great Novgorod’.”

Intercession for Russian cities by the Most Holy Queen of Heaven always involved Her appearances with the Heavenly Hosts, under the leadership of the Archangel Michael. Grateful Rus acclaimed the Most Pure Mother of God and the Archangel Michael in church hymns. Many monasteries, cathedrals, court and merchant churches are dedicated to the Chief Commander Michael.

In old Kiev at the time of the accepting of Christianity, a cathedral of the Archangel was built, and a monastery also was named for him. Archangel cathedrals are found at Smolensk, Nizhni Novgorod, Staritsa, at Great Ustiug (beginning of the thirteenth century), and a cathedral at Sviyazhsk. In Rus there was not a city where there was not a church or chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael.

One of the chief temples of the city of Moscow, the burial church in the Kremlin, is dedicated to him. Numerous and beautiful icons of the Chief Commander of the Heavenly Hosts are also in his Cathedral. One of these, the Icon “Blessed Soldiery,” was painted in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The saintly soldiers, Russian princes, are depicted under the leadership of the Archangel Michael.

We invoke Saint Michael for protection from invasion by enemies and from civil war, and for the defeat of adversaries on the field of battle. He conquers all spiritual enemies.

Holy Scripture and Tradition give us the names of the Archangels:

Gabriel: strength (power) of God, herald and servitor of Divine omnipotence (Dan 8:16, Luke 1:26). He announces the mysteries of God.

Raphael: the healing of God, the curer of human infirmities (Tobit 3:16, 12:15)

Uriel: the fire or light of God, enlightener (2 Esdras 5:20). We pray for him to enlighten those with darkened minds.

Selaphiel: the prayer of God, impelling to prayer (2 Esdras 5:15). He prays to God for mankind.

Jehudiel: the glorifying of God, encouraging exertion for the glory of the Lord and interceding for the reward of efforts.

Barachiel: distributor of the blessings of God for good deeds, entreats the mercy of God for people.

Jeremiel: the raising up to God (2 Esdras 4:36)

On icons the Archangels are depicted in according to the character of their service:

Michael tramples the devil underfoot, and in his left hand holds a green date-tree branch, and in his right hand a spear with a white banner on which is outlined a scarlet cross, or sometimes a fiery sword.

Gabriel with a branch from Paradise, presented by him to the Most Holy Virgin, or with a shining lantern in his right hand and with a mirror made of jasper in his left.

Raphael holds a vessel with healing medications in his left hand, and with his right hand leads Tobias, carrying a fish for healing (Tobit 5-8).

Uriel in his raised right hand holds a naked sword at the level of his chest, and in his lowered left hand “a fiery flame.”

Selaphiel in a prayerful posture, gazing downwards, hands folded on the chest.

Jehudiel holds a golden crown in his right hand, in his left, a whip of three red (or black) thongs.

Barachiel is shown with a white rose on his breast.

Jeremiel holds balance-scales in his hand.

Each person has a guardian angel (Matt 18:10), and every nation also receives its own guardian angel from God (Dan. 10:13). When a church is consecrated, it also receives a guardian angel (Palladius, Dial. Ch. 10).

No information available at this time.

The holy martyr Hieron was born in the city of Tiana in great Cappadocia. Raised by a pious mother, he was a kindly and good Christian.

The co-ruling emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (284-305) sent a large military detachment headed by Lysias to Cappadocia to eradicate Christianity there, and also to conscript healthy and strong men into the imperial army. Among those pressed into service, Lysias also ordered his men to draft Hieron, who was distinguished by his great physical strength and dexterity. But Hieron refused to serve emperors who persecuted Christians. When they attempted to seize him by force and bring him to Lysias, he took a stick and started beating the soldiers who had been sent to bring him. The soldiers scattered, ashamed of being defeated by a single man. Hieron then hid himself in a cave with eighteen other Christians. Lysias would not risk losing his soldiers by storming the cave.

Upon the advice of Cyriacus, one of Hieron’s friends, Lysias lifted the siege of the cave and withdrew his detachment. Then Cyriacus persuaded Hieron not to offer resistance to the authorities. He and the other new conscripts and accompanying soldiers were sent to the nearby city of Melitene.

Soon Hieron had a vision in his sleep, in which his impending martyrdom was foretold. Lysias told the soldiers gathered at Melitene to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Hieron and another thirty-two soldiers refused to do this, and openly confessed their faith in Christ. Then the persecutor gave orders to beat the martyrs, and to cut off Hieron’s arm at the elbow. After cruel tortures they threw the martyrs into prison barely alive, and they beheaded them four days later.

A certain rich and illustrious Christian by the name of Chrysanthus ransomed Hieron’s head from Lysias. When the persecutions finally ceased, he built a church on the place where they executed the holy martyrs, and he placed the venerable head in it. The bodies of all the executed saints were secretly buried by Christians. In reign of the emperor Justinian, during the construction of the church of Hagia Eirene (Holy Peace), the venerable relics were uncovered and found incorrupt.

The other martyrs are: Hesychius, Nicander, Athanasius, Mamas, Barachius, Callinicus, Theogenes, Nikon, Longinus, Theodore, Valerius, Xanthius, Theodoulus, Callimachus, Eugene, Theodochus, Ostrychius, Epiphanius, Maximian, Ducitius, Claudian, Theophilus, Gigantius, Dorotheus, Theodotus, Castrichius, Anicletus, Themelius, Eutychius, Hilarion, Diodotus and Amonitus.

Saint Lazarus the Wonderworker of Mt Galesius near Ephesus was born in Lydia, in the city of Magnesium. An educated young man who loved God, Lazarus became a monk at the monastery of Saint Savva, the founder of great ascetic piety in Palestine. He spent ten years within the walls of the monastery, winning the love and respect of the brethren for his intense monastic struggles.

Ordained to the holy priesthood by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Saint Lazarus returned to his native country and settled near Ephesus, on desolate Mount Galesius. Here he saw a wondrous vision: a fiery pillar, rising up to the heavens, was encircled by angels singing, “Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered.”

On the place where the saint beheld this vision, he built a church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ and took upon himself the feat of pillar-dwelling. Monks soon began to flock to the great ascetic, thirsting for spiritual nourishment by the divinely-inspired words and blessed example of the saint, and a monastery was established there.

Having received a revelation about the day of his death, the saint told the brethren. Through the tearful prayers of all the monks, the Lord prolonged the earthly life of Saint Lazarus for another fifteen years.

Saint Lazarus died at 72 years of age, in the year 1053. The brethren buried the body of the saint at the pillar upon which he had struggled in asceticism. He was glorified by many miracles after his death.

Saint Lazarus is also commemorated on July 17.

No information available at this time.

Saint Cyril the wonderworker of New Lake reposed on February 4, 1532.

In May 1648, during the reign of Alexei Mihailovich, a popular rebellion against Moscow broke out among some of those who were members of the Tsar's retinue. Peter Trahanitov, the head of the artillery, the Deacon Eleazar, and many others were killed and robbed. The rebellious crowd proceeded to the Beautiful Porch and demanded the extradition of the boyar Boris Morozov, the royal tutor and kinsman. They had already broken into his house and looted the property. The boyar, with some difficulty, managed to hide from the hands of the angry mob, and soon he took refuge in the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. When Igoumen Amphilokhios and the brethren learned he would be staying with them, he sent the monk Jonah to him with the icon and the Life of Saint Cyril. The boyar graciously accepted the icon and was moved by the Saint's Life. After that, his soul was filled with joy and delight, but then his tormenting fears and grief returned, and he wanted to venerate Saint Cyril's grave.

After having a Moleben served at the grave and praying to the Saint with tears, the boyar said to the Igoumen and the brotherhood: "Holy Fathers, pray to God and His Most Pure Mother, and the venerable wonderworker Cyril for me. If God is merciful to me, by the prayers of Saint Cyril, and if I return to the royal city, and the great sovereign and his royal council take pity on me and restore me to my former rank, then I will build a stone church here in honor of the glorious Resurrection of Christ and in honor of Saint Cyril."

The delighted Igoumen and the brotherhood responded with their fervent good wishes. After distributing alms, the boyar returned to the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. After a short time, after the excitement in Moscow subsided, the boyar was summoned by the Tsar and restored to his former position. The following year, in 1649, Morozov began to fulfill his promise. On September 4, at his orders, the Archimandrite Athanasios of the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and the Elder Sabbatius Yushkov were at the foundation of the stone temple. In their presence they began to dig ditches, and when they came to the place where Saint Cyril's tomb was, a completely intact coffin was found among the roots of a tree.

Without a patriarchal decree and the blessing of the Metropolitan and the Archimandrite, Elder Sabbatius did not dare to take the coffin from the earth in order to open and to examine It. The coffin was placed on some boards, and the discovery was reported to Metropolitan Barlaam of Rostov, Patriarch Joseph, and the boyar Morozov. Morozov, after receiving the news, told the Tsar all this and informed him about the Life and miracles of the venerable Cyril. In October, the Patriarch, at the Tsar's suggestion, sent Archbishop Marcellus of Vologda with a Gramota instructing him to go to New Lake and examine the relics of the Saint, and move the relics to a temporary room, arrange a celebration, and report everything to the Tsar and Patriarch.

Archbishop Marcellus arrived at New Lake Monastery with Archimandrite Athanasios of Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and, from the same monastery, the cellarer Sabbatius with the Elders of the cathedral. On November 7, Igoumen Amphilokhios ordered them to remove the coffin from the earth, and then open it in order to inspect the Saint's relics and clothing. After the hierarch completed his inspection he placed the relics in a new coffin and moved it into the wooden church of the Resurrection of Christ.

On the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos Vespers was served at the cathedral in the evening. In the morning, before the Liturgy, a Moleben to the All-Merciful Savior, the Theotokos, and All Saints was served, with the blessing of water. Many sick persons were healed at the celebration. People took pieces of wood from the old coffin and brought them home because they had faith in their healing power.

Saint Cyril is commemorated on November 7 (the discovery of his relics), on January 23 (Synaxis of All Saints of Kostroma), and on the third Sunday after Pentecost (Synaxis of All Saints of Novgorod).

The Martyrs Melasippus and Karina and their son Antoninus, and 40 children converted by their martyrdom at Ancyra suffered during the reign of the emperor Julian the Apostate in the city of Ancyra in Phrygia in the year 363. The holy Martyrs Melasippus and Karina, lacerated by iron hooks and exhausted, died under torture.

Their son Antoninus, whom the persecutor forced to watch the torture of his parents, spat in the face of the apostate emperor. For this he was subjected to cruel tortures, but he remained unharmed, and then he was beheaded. Forty other youths, seeing that the Lord had preserved His confessor Antoninus unharmed by tortures, believed in Christ, and they openly confessed their faith and endured martyrdom..

Saints Auctus and Taurion suffered martyrdom with Saint Thessalonica, the daughter of a pagan priest. When the impious father learned that his daughter had become a Christian, he ruthlessly beat her and threw her out of the house, with no means of providing for herself. Saints Auctus and Taurion attempted to intercede for the girl, and to reason with the embittered father. The pagan priest denounced them both to the authorities, and they were arrested.

After confessing their faith in Christ before the torturers and undergoing cruel torments, the saints were then beheaded. Soon after their martyric death, Saint Thessalonica also died. Her body was reverently buried in the city of Amphypolis in Macedonia, together with the holy Martyrs Auctus and Taurion.

The “Joyful” (Взыграние) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared near Moscow on November 7, 1795. Nothing is known of the Icon's history, except that many miracles have taken place before it.

For many years, the Icon was one of the symbols of the Saint Nicholas – Ugresh Monastery (now called Dzerzhinsk). The history of the Monastery is associated with the name of the Holy Prince Dēmḗtrios of the Don, and the Battle of Kulikovo, 15 versts from Moscow. On his way there, he saw an icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in the branches of a tree. Not knowing where it came from, the Prince took it as a sign of God's blessing and vowed to establish a monastery on the site if he were victorious.

Thus, the Saint Nicholas – Ugresh Monastery was built, and also a cathedral church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, where the miraculous Icon of the Mother of God known as "Joyful" was later kept.

After the Revolution, the Icon disappeared when the Monastery was looted. By the mercy of God, one of the copies of the wonderworking Icon painted in 1814 has been preserved. Today, this ancient image is part of the collection of the Moscow State Museum.

However, in the Saint Nicholas – Ugresh Monastery there is another "Joyful" Icon of the Mother of God. At the beginning of the XXI century, believing Christians, who wished to remain anonymous, transferred a copy of that icon which they found at the Monastery in the 1990s. It belongs to the same iconographic type, but there are some differences from the original. There was Cross Procession as the brethren of the Monastery and its parishioners met the Icon at the gates, and it was placed in the Monastery's Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, where it is kept for the faithful to venerate.

Icons of this name are to be found in the Novodevichii Monastery in Moscow, and at Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos. In appearance, the “Joyful” Icon resembles the Πελαγονιτίσσα Icon, a variant of the Glykophylousa (“Sweet-Kissing”), or Eleousa (Merciful) type.

The Icon is sometimes called “Child Jumping for Joy.”

Saint Theodotus was an innkeeper. When seven virgins who lived near Corinth were drowned in a lake, he buried their bodies under the cover of night. For this reason, he was tortured and beheaded.

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.