The Hieromartyr Pancratius, Bishop of Taormina, was born when our Lord Jesus Christ yet lived upon the earth. The parents of Pancratius were natives of Antioch. Hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, Pancratius’ father took his young son with him and went to Jerusalem in order to see the…
The Hieromartyr Cyril, Bishop of Gortyna, was bishop at Gortyna on the island of Crete for 50 years. He suffered either under the emperor Decius (249-251), or according to other historical sources, the emperor Maximian (284-305). Brought to trial before a governor named Lucius, who demanded that…
The Hosiomartyrs Patermuthius and Copres, and the Martyr Alexander suffered under the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Patermuthius and his disciple Copres were Egyptian hermits. When the emperor heard about the saints, he ordered them to be brought to him, and he tried to turn them to…
Saint Copres was the disciple of St Patermuthius. These Egyptian hermits suffered during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363) along with the martyr Alexander. When the emperor heard about the saints, he ordered them to be brought to him, and he tried to turn them to paganism. He said that he…
Saint Alexander suffered with the hosiomartyrs Patermuthius and Copres, during the reign of the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). He was a soldier who witnessed the torture of St Copres, and believed in Christ. He was burned alive.
Saint Theodore, Bishop of Edessa, was born in the Syrian city of Edessa. All his life the holy saint was a bright witness of the great deeds of God, glorified in His Saints. At twelve years of age, after he lost his parents and gave away his inheritance to the poor, he went to Jerusalem, where he…
Saints Patermuthius and Copres: Patermuthius at first was a pagan and also the head of a band of robbers, but then he repented, was baptized and withdrew into the desert. The monk devoted all the rest of his life to attending the sick and burying the dead. For his love of toil and efforts,…
The holy priest Copres was an eyewitness of how St Patermuthius tended the sick and buried the dead. He also recorded his life and miracles. St Copres narrated this Life to the presbyter Rufinus, who in turn transmitted it to Palladius, Bishop of Hellenopolis, who included the account in his book,…
Saint Dionysius the Rhetor and his disciple St Metrophanes lived toward the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century, but it is not known where they were born. St Dionysius received the monastic tonsure at the famous Studion Monastery in Constantinople, where he and…
St Metrophanes was the disciple and fellow ascetic of St Dionysius the Rhetor. Although the exact time and place of his birth remain unknown, it is likely that he was born toward the end of the sixteenth century. For a time, he lived with his Elder St Dionysius at the Studion Monastery in…
The Koloch Icon of the Mother of God manifested itself in the year 1413 during the reign of Basil I, 15 versts from the city of Mozhaisk, in the vicinity of Koloch in the Smolensk governia. A peasant of this village by the name of Luke found the holy icon and took it to his home. One of his…
The Cyprus Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the Panachrana type. In this icon the Mother of God is depicted sitting on a throne with the Divine Infant in Her arms. On either side of Her is an angel. The prototype of this holy icon manifested itself in the year 392 on the island of Cyprus at…