Afterfeast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple
The third day of the Afterfeast of the Meeting of the Lord falls on February 5.
Lives of the Saints
Martyr Agatha of Palermo in Sicily
The Holy Virgin Martyr Agatha was the fifteen-year-old daughter of rich and respected Christian parents from the city of Palermo (formerly Panormos) in Sicily. During the persecution under the emperor Decius (249-251), the city prefect of Catania, Quintianus, having heard about Agatha’s…
Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov
Saint Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov, was born in the seventeenth century at the beginning of the decade of the thirties in Podolsk governance. He was descended from a noble family, the Polonitsky-Uglitskys. His parents were the priest Nikita and Maria. The saint was taught Christian piety in…
Martyr Theodula of Anazarbus in Cilicia
The Holy martyr Theodula lived in the city of Anazarbus (Asia Minor) during the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). The prefect of the city, Pelagius, was a very cruel man. His servants sought out Christians throughout the entire region and brought them to…
Martyr Helladius in Cilicia
Saint Helladius witnessed the torture of St Theodula of Anazarbus in Asia Minor. Wishing to ingratiate himself with the governor and to receive honors, he asked the governor Pelagius to turn St Theodula over to him, promising to make her worship the pagan gods. . Helladius subjected St Theodula to…
Martyr Macarius in Cilicia
Saint Macarius came to believe in Christ after witnessing the martyrdom of St Theodula of Anazarbus. He was thrown into a heated oven, together with other Christians, and received the crown of martyrdom.
Martyr Evagrius in Cilicia
Saint Evagrius lived in the city of Anazarbus (Asia Minor) during the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). The prefect of the city, Pelagius, was a very cruel man. His servants sought out Christians throughout the entire region and brought them to trial, where…
Icon of the Mother of God “the Seeker of the Lost”
“Seeker of the Perishing” Icon of the Mother of God From time immemorial the Russian people, with faith in the all-powerful help of the Most Holy Theotokos, considered the title “Seeker of the Perishing” to refer not only to those who are dying, but to those whose souls are…
Icon of the Mother of God “Elets-Chernigov”
The Elets-Chernigov (Chernigov Spruce Tree) Icon of the Mother of God appeared on a spruce or fir tree near Chernigov in the year 1060, in the time of Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, as was recorded in the Synodikon of Bishop Zosimus Prokopovich of Chernigov (1655-1657). The icon was placed in a…
Icon of the Mother of God “the Rescuer of the Drowning”
The Divnogorsk-Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God received the first part of its title from where it was enshrined when it was glorified: the Dormition monastery of Divnogorsk, in the former Ostrogozhsk district in Voronezh governance. Its title of “Sicilian” comes from its place of…