Lives of all saints commemorated on April 19

On Bright Monday the Church commemorates the Sweet-Kissing (Glykophilousa) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Like the Ivḗron Icon (March 31), the Sweet-Kissing Icon was also saved from the iconoclasts by a pious woman in the ninth century. It also traveled miraculously upon the sea, arriving at Mt. Athos, the “Garden of the Theotokos,” where it was honored by the monks.

A nobleman named Simeon was an iconoclast who shared the emperor Theophilus’s hatred for the holy icons. Simeon’s wife Victoria, on the other hand, venerated icons, especially a certain icon of the Mother of God before which she prayed each day. Simeon could not tolerate his wife’s piety, so he demanded that she give him the icon so he could burn it. Victoria threw the icon into the sea, hoping that it would be preserved through God’s providence.

Years later, the icon appeared on the shores of Mt. Athos near the monastery of Philotheou. The igumen and the brethren of the monastery retrieved the icon and placed it in the church, where it worked many miracles.

In 1830 a pilgrim came to the monastery from Adrianopolis. He listened to the history of the icon and the miracles associated with it, but regarded such things as childish fables. The monk who had related all this was surprised and grieved by the pilgrim’s disbelief, fearing that such doubts indicated an unhealthy spiritual state. He did all that he could to remove the pilgrim’s skepticism, but the man stubbornly adhered to his opinion.

The Mother of God, in her compassion, finally healed the pilgrim’s soul in a rather dramatic way. On the very day that he had his discussion with the monk, the pilgrim was walking on an upper balcony. Suddenly, he lost his footing and began to fall. In his distress he called out, “Most Holy Theotokos, help me!” The Mother of God heard him, and he landed on the ground completely unharmed.

The icon is one of the Eleusa (Tenderness) type. It is unusual in that it shows the Virgin kissing her Child. Christ raises His hand as if to repulse His mother’s caress.

Other Sweet-Kissing (Tenderness) icons are:

Lubyatov (March 19)

Novgorod (July 28)

Pskov (May 21, June 23, August 26, October 7)

Smolensk (March 19)

Sviatogorsk (July 17)

Yaroslavl (May 14)

Like the Panagia Portaitissa, the Glykophilousa Icon is one of those which were saved during the iconoclastic period and brought miraculously to Mount Athos. It originally belonged to Victoria, the devout wife of the senator Symeon. Victoria was one who venerated the holy icons, especially that of the Most Holy Theotokos, before which she prayed each day. Her husband was an iconoclast who found her piety offensive, for he, like Emperor Theophilos (r. 829-842), found the veneration of icons distasteful. Symeon told his wife to give him her icon so that he could burn it. In order to save the icon from being destroyed, she threw it into the sea, and it floated away standing upright on the waves. After a few years, the icon appeared on the shores of Mount Athos near the Monastery of Philotheou, where it was received with great honor and rejoicing by the Abbot and Fathers of the Monastery, who had been informed of its impending arrival through a revelation of the Theotokos.

A spring of holy water sprouted forth on the very spot where they placed the icon on the shore. Every year on Monday of Bright Week there is a procession and blessing of water. Numerous miracles have occurred.

Although there are many miracles of the Glykophilousa Icon, we will mention only a few. In 1713, the Mother of God answered the prayers of the devout Ecclesiarch Ioannikios, who complained about the poverty of the monastery. She assured him that she would provide for the material needs of the monastery.

Another miracle took place in 1801. A pilgrim, after seeing the precious offerings having from the icon, planned to steal them. He stayed in the Temple after the Ecclesiarch closed it. Then he stole the offerings and left for the port of Ivḗron Monastery. There he found a boat that was leaving for Ierissos. After a while the ship sailed, but despite the excellent weather, it remained stationary in the sea. When the Ecclesiarch saw what had happened, the abbot sent monks out in various directions. Two went to the port of Ivḗron and when they saw the immobile ship, they realized what happened. The guilty man who committed this fearful sacrilege asked for forgiveness. The monks were magnanimous and did not want the thief to be punished.

A pilgrim from Adrianopolis visited Philotheou Monastery in 1830. He listened attentively to a monk tell the story of the holy Icon and the miracles associated with it, but he regarded the account as a fictitious tale which only a child might believe. The monk was grieved at the man’s unbelief, and tried to persuade him that everything he had said was absolutely true. The unfortunate pilgrim remained unconvinced.

That very day, as the pilgrim was walking on an upper balcony, he slipped and began to fall. He cried out, “Most Holy Theotokos, help me!” The Mother of God heard him and came to his assistance. The pilgrim landed on the ground completely unharmed.

The Glykophilousa Icon belongs to the Eleousa (the Virgin of Tenderness) category of icons, where the Mother accepts the affection shown by the Child Christ. The icon is commemorated by the Church on March 27 and also on Bright Monday. The icon depicts the Theotokos inclining toward Christ, Who embraces her. She seems to be embracing Him more tightly than in other icons, and her expression is more affectionate.

The Icon is located on a pillar on the left side of the katholikon (main church).

Saint John of the Ancient Caves is so called because he lived during the eighth century in the Lavra of Saint Chariton (September 28). This was called the “Old,” or ancient cave, since it was one the oldest of the Palestinian monasteries. The Lavra was situated not far from Bethlehem, near the Dead Sea.

Saint John in his early years left the world, went to venerate the holy places of Jerusalem, and settled at the Lavra, where he labored in fasting, vigil, and prayer. He was ordained to the holy priesthood, and glorified by his ascetic life.

The Holy Martyrs Christopher, Theonas, and Anthony were officers in the army of the emperor Diocletian (284-305). They were present at the sufferings of the Holy Great Martyr George (April 23), they saw the miracles accomplished by the power of God, and they witnessed Saint George’s faith and unshakable courage.

The soldiers came to believe in the Savior, threw down their golden military belts, and declared themselves Christians in front of the emperor. They were immediately thrown into prison. The next day the emperor urged the former soldiers to renounce Christ, but they firmly confessed their faith and glorified the Savior as the true God.

The emperor ordered that the martyrs be beaten with iron rods, and their bodies to be raked with hooks. The holy martyrs endured all the torments and remained unyielding. Then Diocletian gave orders to burn them. The martyric death of Saints Christopher, Theonas, and Anthony occurred in the year 303.

Hieromartyr Paphnutius of Jerusalem was a bishop. He underwent many sufferings from the pagans and was tortured by fire, wild beasts, and finally was beheaded by the sword.

Some suggest that the hieromartyr Paphnutius was an Egyptian bishop and suffered together with many other Egyptians, exiled to the Palestinian mines during the persecution by Diocletian (284-305).

The myrrh-streaming relics of the hieromartyr were glorified by miracles. The Canon in his honor was composed during the Iconoclast period (before 842). In the final Ode is a petition for the hieromartyr to put an end to the heresy disrupting the Church.

Saint George the Confessor, Bishop of Antioch in Pisidia, lived during the Iconoclast period. In his youth he became a monk, was known for his holiness of life and was made bishop of Antioch in Pisidia.

Saint George was at Constantinople during the iconoclastic persecution under Emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820). He denounced the Iconoclast heresy at a Council of bishops, calling on the emperor to abandon it. When Saint George refused to remove the icons from the church, as ordered by the emperor’s decree, he was exiled to imprisonment (813-820).

Saint Tryphon, Patriarch of Constantinople, was a monk from the time of his youth, distinguished by his meekness, lack of malice, full submission to the will of God, and his firm faith and love for the Church. At this time the emperor Romanus (919-944) ruled in Constantinople. He wanted to elevate his younger son Theophylactus to the patriarchal throne. When Patriarch Stephanos (925-928) died, Theophylactus was only sixteen years old. The emperor then suggested that Saint Tryphon be “locum tenens” of the patriarchal throne until Theophylactus came of age.

Saint Tryphon meekly accepted the burden of patriarchal service and for three years he wisely governed the Church. When Theophylactus turned twenty (931), the emperor told Saint Tryphon to resign the patriarchal throne. Saint Tryphon did not consider it proper to hand over the throne to an inexperienced youth, and he refused to do so. The emperor could not intimidate Saint Tryphon, since his life was blameless. Then Romanus employed the cunning counsels of Bishop Theophilus of Caesarea.

The deceitful bishop went to Saint Tryphon and urged him not to obey the emperor, and not to resign the patriarchal throne. Then Bishop Theophilus craftily obtained Saint Tryphon’s signature on a blank sheet of paper. Not suspecting any treachery, the guileless saint took a clean sheet of paper and wrote: “Tryphon, by the Mercy of God, Archbishop of Constantinople, the New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch.”

When they presented this paper to the emperor, he ordered them to write over the saint’s signature: “I hereby resign the position of Patriarch, because I consider myself unworthy of this office.” When this false document was read before the imperial dignitaries, servants removed Saint Tryphon from the patriarchal chambers.

Saint Tryphon patiently endured the injustice done to him, and returned to his own monastery. He lived there as a simple monk for a year before his death (+ 933). His body was taken to Constantinople and buried with the Patriarchs.

Saint Nikēphóros was born at Constantinople into a rich and illustrious family. His parents, Andrew and Theodora, raised their son in the Christian Faith. After their death, young Nikēphóros distributed all his wealth to the poor and went to Chalcedon. The strict monastic life at the Monastery of Saint Andrew appealed to Nikēphóros, and he remained there with the brethren.

From the very start, the saint displayed unusual fervor in prayer and at work. He had such endurance in asceticism, that soon the igumen sent the saint to a Phoenician island to preach Christ, and he was made igumen of a monastery dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos.

Saint Nikēphóros lived on the island for thirty-three years, and he brought many pagans to Christ. A church was built on the island on the site of a pagan temple.

Sensing the approach of death, the saint was carried aboard a ship and said to the captain, “I am going to the Lord, but take my body to Chalcedon to the monastery of Saint Andrew.” As soon as he said these words, he died.

The ship sailed to Chalcedon, and the brethren of the monastery of Saint Andrew reverently buried the body of the holy ascetic.

The Monkmartyr Agathangelus, in the world Athanasius, was born in the city of Enos, Thrace, and was raised in a strict Orthodox family. After the death of his parents Constantine and Krystalia, he became a sailor. The Turks wanted to convert the skilled and intelligent youth to Islam, but knew that he would not do so of his own free will. So they arrested him in the city of Smyrna, wounded him and threatened him with death, then demanded that he become a Moslem.

The youth was terrified and promised to do as they asked, hoping to escape from the bullies and then go back on his promise. However, he was unable to do this for a long time. Tormented by pangs of conscience, he was able to quit the city and seek refuge on Mount Athos. Igumen Euthymius of Esphigmenou monastery confessed him and blessed him to become a novice.

Saint Athanasius considered even his most intense efforts insufficient to atone for his sin of apostasy. He believed that he had to suffer martyrdom for Christ, and he began to pray about this.

On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent the nineteen-year-old youth was tonsured as a monk with the name Agathangelus.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker appeared to the new monk in a dream and promised to help him. The igumen of the monastery saw this as a special sign, and blessed Saint Agathangelus to bear witness to Christ at Smyrna before those who forced him to become a Moslem.

In the Ottoman courtroom the confessor told how they had compelled him to accept an alien faith. Then he publicly renounced Islam and confessed himself a Christian. They began to cajole and admonish Saint Agathangelus to reconsider his statement. He replied, “I will not give in to you, nor to your threats, nor to your promises. I love only Christ, I follow only Christ, only in my Christ do I hope to know happiness.”

The judge threatened him with death by torture. “I am prepared to endure all for my Christ! I accept every manner of torment with the greatest joy! I ask only that you do not tarry in carrying out your word,” the saint replied.

They bound Saint Agathangelus with heavy chains, hammered his feet into wooden boots, and threw him into prison. With him were two other wrongly condemned Christians. One of them, Nicholas, gave an account of the saint’s martyrdom.

On the following day, Saint Agathangelus was again brought before the judge in fetters. Bravely enduring all the torments which the Turks had readied for him, he again was sent to prison. Nicholas told him that a certain influential man would intervene before the judge for his release, but Saint Agathangelus wrote a note to this man asking that he not attempt to free him, but to pray to God that he be strengthened for martyrdom.

The saint readied himself for the final trial. At midnight, it was revealed to him in a vision that they would execute him no later than five o’clock, and he waited for the appointed hour. At about the fourth hour, a watch was placed over him. Seeing no possibility of converting the confessor from his faith in Christ, the judges decided to execute him. Absorbed in prayer, the martyr did not take notice the preparations for execution, nor the large throng of people.

He was beheaded at the fifth hour of the morning, on April 19, 1818. Christians gathered up the holy relics of the martyr and buried them in the city of Smyrna, in the church of the Great Martyr George.

A portion of the relics of Saint Agathangelus was sent to the Esphigmenou monastery on Mount Athos in 1844.

Saint Simeon the Bare-Foot [Bosoi] was the son of a priest. When he was fifteen years old, he came under the spiritual guidance of Pachomius, the Bishop of Demetriada (Larissa diocese), who tonsured him and ordained him as hierodeacon. Desiring to follow a strict monastic life, Saint Simeon soon went to a monastery near Mount Olympus, and then to Mount Athos, to the Lavra of Saint Athanasius.

By his humility and obedience he gained the respect of the brethren and was ordained hieromonk. After he transferred to the Philotheou monastery, he intensified his God-pleasing labors, he became an example for the brethren, and was unanimously chosen as head of this monastery. Later, through the cunning of the Enemy of mankind, Saint Simeon had to endure the complaints of monks who thought he was too strict.

Leaving it to God to judge the culprits, Saint Simeon left the monastery and went to Mt. Phlamourion on Mt. Pelion. There, in solitude and quiet, with neither roof nor fire, the holy hermit engaged in spiritual struggles dressed in old clothing, with almost no food, in constant prayer either standing or on bended knees. After three years, he was found by certain God-loving people. Inspired with reverence for his way of life, they begged him to allow them to live with him.

After seven years, through the efforts and zeal of Saint Simeon, a monastery was formed. A church was built in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, where he served the Divine Liturgy every day. When the life of the brethren in the wilderness monastery had been put in order, the wise servant left the monastery and began to preach the Word of God in Epirus, Thessaly and Athens.

By his instructions and teaching the saint strengthened the wavering in their faith, and he set those in error on the path to salvation. He made those who were strong in their faith even stronger, and he taught everyone to love one another, and to attend church on Sundays and feastdays.

The boldness of the holy confessor aroused the malice of the opponents of Christianity. In the city of Euripa they slandered Saint Simeon before the city ruler, Ayan, accusing him of converting a Turk to Christianity. The saint was arrested and sentenced to public burning. However, God did not permit the unjust sentence to be carried out.

The condemned one was led to his interrogation in shackles, barefoot [bosoi] and in an old rassa. Saint Simeon, inspired by the Holy Spirit, answered the governor so wisely that Ayan could not impose the death sentence. The saint received his freedom and continued his efforts, sealing his preaching with healings and miracles.

Many followed Saint Simeon and submitted themselves to him. He accepted everyone, blessed them for the monastic life, and sent them to his monastery.

Saint Simeon ended his life at Constantinople. He fell asleep in the Lord and was buried by the Patriarch at Chalke, in a church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. After two years, when the monks of the Phlamourion monastery decided to transfer his holy relics to their monastery, and his grave was opened, an ineffable fragrance came forth, and healings began.

The Life and the Service to Saint Simeon were published at Smyrna in 1646.

The Holy Martyr Theodore was from Pérgē of Pamphylia and was executed by Emperor Antoninus Pius (138 – 161). Out of pious zeal, Saint Theodore destroyed the idols and temples of the pagans.

He was arrested for this, however, and was later subjected to horrible tortures. They placed him on red hot iron grates, and then his feet were tied to horses which dragged him along the ground. Then they threw him into a fiery furnace with the soldiers Sokrátēs and Dionysios. The pagan priest Dióskoros, after witnessing the Saint's martyrdom, also believed in Christ.

First, Saint Theodore was imprisoned, then they crucified him, and wounded him with arrows for three consecutive days. Thus, Saint Theodore was put to death and received a crown of martyrdom and glory.

After her son's death on the cross, Saint Theodore's mother, Philippa, confessed Christ as the True God, and was killed with a sword.

The Holy Martyr Dióskoros was burnt in the fire, and the Martyrs Sokrátēs and Dionysios were executed by being stabbed with a lance in the furnace.