Saint Sergius of Radonezh was born in the village of Varnitsa, near Rostov, on May 3, 1314. His parents were the pious and illustrious nobles Cyril and Maria (September 28). The Lord chose him while still in his mother’s womb. In the Life of Saint Sergius it is reported that even before the…
Our venerable Mother Euphrosyne (Euphrosynē) was born at the beginning of the fifth century in the city of Alexandria. She was the only child of illustrious and wealthy parents. When she was twelve years old, her mother reposed, and so the girl was raised by her Father, Paphnutios, who was a very…
Saint Euphrosynē, Princess of Suzdal, was born in the year 1212. In holy Baptism she was given the name Theodoulia and she was the eldest daughter of the holy Martyr Michael, Great-prince of Chernigov (September 20). Prince Michael and his wife Theophania did not have children and they often…
Today we commemorate the first translation of the relics of Saint Herman, Archbishop of Kazan, in 1595. After his death on November 6, 1567 he was buried in the church of Saint Nicholas the Hospitable. In 1595, at the request of the inhabitants of Sviyazhsk, the saint’s relics were…
The Holy Martyr Paphnutius hailed from Egypt and struggled in the desert. During the persecution against Christians under Diocletian (284-305), the governor Hadrian commanded that Saint Paphnutius be brought to him. The ascetic, not waiting for those sent to bring him, appeared before the governor,…
Saint Arsenius the Great, a pupil and spiritual son of Gregory of Khandzta, was the youngest son of a certain aristocrat, Mirian, from Meskheti in southern Georgia. On their way to Abkhazeti, Saint Gregory’s companions Theodore and Christopher stopped in Meskheti at the home of…
The Icon was painted in 1991 for the local row of the iconostasis in the church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, which is being renovated after 30 years of desolation (since 1961 it had served as a repository for fertilizer). The first miracle — the flow of tears — was manifested by the…
There is an ancient and deeply revered Assuage my Sorrows Icon of the Mother of God in St. Petersburg, in the church of the Lord's Ascension, on Voznesensky Prospect, near the Ekaterinensky Canal. This Holy Icon was brought from Moscow on September 25,1765 by the merchant Rogovikov (a participant…
During the reign of Emperor Theodsios II (402-450) the city of Constantinople was shaken by earthquakes for nearly four months. At that time several churches, houses, and the city's stone walls collapsed and were destroyed. All the inhabitants of the city were terrified. Patriarch Proclus…