Lives of all saints commemorated on June 22

This ancient icon of the Mother of God "Surety of Sinners" of Korets was kept in the castle of the Korets Princes for a long time, and it was called "blessed."

After the death of Samuel, the last of the Orthodox Princes of Korets, his brother John offered to let his sister, Igoumeness Seraphima take the Icon from the Prince's chapel to Holy Resurrection Korets Maidens' Monastery. The solemn transfer of the Icon took place in 1622, on the Thursday after Pentecost. On that day, a Feast Day was established in honor of the "Surety of Sinners" Icon of Korets.

From 1752 to 1795, the fate of the Korets Icon was closely associated with the history of Korets Monastery, which was under the control of the Uniates. According to some reports, the Icon was moved several times during this period, and the "Surety of Sinners" Icon of Korets remained in the possession of the Catholics, who also revered it miraculous.

In 1795, by decree of Empress Catherine II, part of the Monastery was given to Orthodox nuns. The "Surety of Sinners" Icon of Korets was also returned to the Orthodox Monastery. On August 19, 1797 there was a fire in the Monastery. Some of the buildings were destroyed, but the wonderworking Icon was saved.

After the Monastery's restoration, the "Surety of Sinners" Icon was placed in the High Place¹ in the new church of the Dormition, rebuilt with materials from the former trapeza. At this time a gilded silver oklad (with enamels) was made for the Icon.

After reconstruction and repairs in 1880, the consecration of Holy Trinity Monastery took place. The nuns of Holy Resurrection Monastery moved, and the Korets Holy Trinity Stavropegial Convent was formed. Its main shrine is the wonderworking "Surety of Sinners" Icon of Korets.

On August 17, 1998, Igoumeness Natalia (Ilchuk) of Korets Holy Trinity Monastery, sent a petition to Patriarch Alelxei II of Moscow and All Russia to include the Korets Icon of the Mother of God in its list of wonderworking icons of the Mother of God in the Patriarchal Church Calendar.

With the Patriarch's blessing, the celebration of the Korets Icon was approved. In November 2001, there was an attempt to steal the Icon, but the thieves managed to take only her precious oklad. Through public donations a new riza was made, which is a copy of the lost one.

More than once the wonderworking Icon revealed its grace-filled help for the suffering – in 1923, on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, a young man who was possessed by an unclean spirit was healed before the Icon. The following year, from the Feast of the Ascension until the Thursday after Pentecost, there were incessant showers in Volhynia. Miraculously, after a Cross Procession around the church with the Icon, the rain subsided.

Many of the faithful who turned to the Queen of Heaven for her help and intercession in case of any disorders, family problems, and particularly "afflictions of the soul," indicated that after praying before the Icon they received spiritual relief and peace, for she is truly the "Surety of Sinners."

The "Surety of Sinners" Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the Hodegetria (Hodēgḗtria) type. It is a half-length image of the Most Holy Theotokos with the Divine Infant on her left hand, Who holds her right hand with both hands.

The word "surety" means one who acts as a guarantor for us before God. The Most Holy Theotokos prays for all of us, good and evil, sinners and righteous, forgiving all, accepting all with equal love.

The inscription on the Icon reads: “I am the Surety of Sinners for my Son Who has entrusted me to hear them, and those who bring me the joy of hearing them shall receive everlasting joy through me.”

The "Surety of Sinners" Icon of Korets is painted on a wooden board measuring 102 x 76 centimeters. In contrast to the "Surety of Sinners" Icon of the Mother of God at Saint Nicholas Monastery in Odrino (March 7 and May 29), the Korets Icon shows the Mother of God and the Divine Infant inclined toward each other with their cheeks touching.

The Icon is located in Holy Trinity Convent at Korets.

¹ That is, the area behind the altar.

The Hieromartyr Eusebios (his name means pious) the Bishop of Samosata, stood firmly for the Orthodox Confession of Faith, proclaimed at the First Ecumenical Synod at Nicea in the year 325. Therefore, he suffered persecution by the Arians, and was repeatedly deprived of his See and banished. Emperor Constantius (337-361), who supported the Arians, learned that Saint Eusebios kept a conciliar decree regarding the election of the Orthodox Archbishop Meletios (February 12) to the See of Antioch. He was ordered to surrender the decree, but the Saint boldly refused to obey him. The enraged Emperor sent a message that if he did not surrender the decree, then his right hand would be cut off. Saint Eusebios stretched forth both hands to the emissary saying, “Cut them off, but I will not give up the conciliar decree, which denounces the wickedness and iniquity of the Arians.”

Emperor Constantius marveled at the hierarch's audacity, but did not harm him.

During the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), even more difficult times ensued, and an open persecution against Christians began. Saint Eusebios concealed his identity and went about in the garb of a soldier all across Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine, urging Christians not to abandon the Orthodox Faith. He ordained priests and deacons for the desolated churches, and he consecrated hierarchs who renounced the Arian heresy. After Julian the Apostate’s death, he was succeeded by the devout Emperor Jovian (363-364), during whose reign the persecutions stopped. Returning from exile, Saint Meletios convened a local Council at Antioch in the year 379 on the advice of Saint Eusebios. Twenty-seven hierarchs participated, and the Council reaffirmed the Orthodox teaching of the First Ecumenical Council. The Arians signed the conciliar decree, fearing the steadfast defenders of Orthodoxy: the holy hierarchs Meletios, Eusebios and Pelagios, who had great influence with the Emperor. After Jovian's death, the Arian Valentinian (364-378) came to power.

The Orthodox were again subjected to persecution. Saint Meletios was banished to Armenia, Saint Pelagios to Arabia, and Saint Eusebios was condemned to exile in Thrace. After receiving the imperial decree, Saint Eusebios left Samosata by night, in order to prevent tumult among the people who esteemed him. When they learned of the hierarch's departure, the faithful followed after him with tears and begged him to return. The Saint refused the entreaty of those who had come, saying that he had to obey the authorities. The Saint urged his flock to hold fast to Orthodoxy, then blessed them and went to the place of his exile. The Arian Eunomios became Bishop of Samosata, but the people did not accept this heretic. The Orthodox would not go to his church and avoided meeting with him. The heretical Arian perceived that it was impossible to induce the Orthodox flock to follow him.

Emperor Gratian (375-383) succeeded to the throne, and all the Orthodox hierarchs who had been banished under the Arians were brought back from exile. Saint Eusebios also returned to Samosata and continued with the task of building up the Church. Along with Saint Meletios, he appointed Orthodox hierarchs and clergy to the Arian parishes. In the year 380 he arrived in the Arian city of Dolikhina to establish the Orthodox Bishop Marinus there. An Arian woman threw a roof tile at the holy hierarch’s head. As he lay dying, Saint Eusebios asked her for wine and begged those around not to harm her. The Saint's body was taken to Samosata and was buried by his flock. The Saint’s nephew Antiokhos succeeded him and the Church of Samosata continued to confess the Orthodox Faith, which was firmly spread by the efforts of the holy Hieromartyr Eusebios

The Holy Martyrs Zeno and Zenas lived in the Arabian city of Philadelphia, and led a pious life. Saint Zeno possessed a large fortune, but he distributed his substance to the poor and manumitted slaves. Together with his devoted servant Zenas, he went to the governor and urged him to give up idolatry and accept Christ. They were tied to pillars, struck with iron hooks, and their wounds were rubbed with vinegar and salt.

Their sides and chests were scorched with fire, they were thrown in a pit, and boiling oil was poured over the sufferers. The saints endured all the tortures with forbearance and by the power of God they remained alive. Finally, the martyrs were beheaded with a sword (+ 304).

Saint Galacteon was drowned in the sea for confessing faith in Christ. Saint Juliana was burned together with her son Saturninus because they were Christians.

Saint Alban (or Albanus), the protomartyr of Britain, was a Roman citizen who lived at Verulamium (modern Saint Albans), a few miles northwest of London, during a time of persecution. Nothing is known about his family or his occupation.

The chief magistrate of the city had orders to arrest all Christian clergy. One of them, a priest named Amphibalus, fled to Alban’s home in order to hide from the soldiers who wished to kill him. Alban was impressed by the priest’s constant prayer and vigil, and so he questioned Amphibalus about his beliefs. As a result, Alban came to believe in Christ and asked to be baptized.

Eventually, Amphibalus was forced to move on, and Alban changed clothes with him so that he could get away. The soldiers heard there was a priest hiding in Alban’s house, so they came to search it. Seeing Alban dressed in the priest’s clothes, they arrested him and brought him before the judge.

The magistrate was offering sacrifice to idols when Saint Alban appeared before him. After questioning him, he discovered how Alban and the priest had switched clothes. Furious because Alban had allowed a fugitive to escape, the magistrate threatened him with death unless he returned to paganism and revealed where Amphibalus had gone. Saint Alban replied, “I am also a Christian, and I worship the true God.”

After having the saint beaten and tortured, the magistrate threatened him with execution. Saint Alban rejoiced and glorified God. The magistrate ordered the soldiers to take Saint Alban to the Holmhurst Hill to be beheaded. When they came to the river Ver, they saw that the bridge was crowded with people who had come to witness Alban’s martyrdom. Since they could not proceed because of the multitude of people, Saint Alban prayed and made the Sign of the Cross over the river. At once, the waters parted so that they were able to cross over to the other side.

The executioner was so astonished by the miracle that he threw down his sword and refused to behead the saint. He was arrested, and another man was found to behead them both. There is a tradition that Saint Alban became thirsty while climbing the hill and asked for water. A small spring gushed forth near the top of the hill, and he was able to drink from it. Pilgrims used to come and drink from Saint Alban’s well, but it is now dry.

The date of Saint Alban’s martyrdom is uncertain, but it is believed that it took place during the reign of Decius (ca. 251) or Valerian (ca. 257). The eighteenth century Turin manuscript (which may be based on a fifth century source) suggests that Saint Alban may have been executed as early as 209, when the emperor Septimus Severus and his two sons were in Britain. The name of the executioner who was converted has not been preserved. The priest Amphibalus was ultimately caught and put to death at a place called Redbourn, four miles from Verulamium.

When people began to cry out against the magistrate, he put an end to the persecution. In later years a cathedral was built on the site of the martyrdom, and the relics of Saint Alban, the priest Amphibalus, and perhaps even the executioner were enshrined within. Saint Bede (May 27) tells us that miracles frequently took place at Saint Alban’s tomb. When the Danes invaded England in 860, the relics were removed for safekeeping, then later returned.

A new chapel and shrine were built for the relics in the early fourteenth century. Two hundred years later, during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, the marble shrine was destroyed. Much later, the fragments of the shrine were reassembled on its former site. What happened to the relics is uncertain, but it is probable that they were either destroyed or buried in an unmarked spot.

Although Saint Alban is sometimes depicted in military garb, there is no evidence that he was a soldier. After all, he was living in a private home when he was arrested, and not in a barracks. There is a medieval painting in the south aisle beside the Choir in the Abbey which depicts Saint Alban with red hair. A medieval seal, now in the Durham Cathedral Chapter Library, shows him with a thick beard. He is stocky, with a high, round and balding forehead, and a cloak covers his left side and right shoulder.

No information on the life of this saint is available at this time.

No information on the life of this saint is available at this time.

Saint Gregory (Dascalu) was Metropolitan of Wallachia.

St Gregory was glorified by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2005, and is commemorated on June 22.