Lives of the Saints

Great and Holy Friday

Great and Holy Friday

Great and Holy Friday On Great and Holy Friday, Christ died on the Cross. He gave up His spirit with the words: “It is finished” (John 19:30). These words are better understood when rendered: “It is consummated.” He had accomplished the work for which His heavenly Father had…

Righteous Job the Long-Suffering

Righteous Job the Long-Suffering

The righteous Job (whose name means “persecuted”), God’s faithful servant, was the perfect image of every virtue. The son of Zarah and Bossorha (Job 42), Job was a fifth-generation descendent of Abraham. He was a truthful, righteous, patient and pious man who abstained from every…

Venerable Micah, disciple of Venerable Sergius of Radonezh

Saint Micah of Radonezh was one of the first disciples of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, and lived with him in the same cell, and under his guidance he attained a high degree of spiritual perfection. For his meekness of soul and purity of heart, Saint Micah was permitted to witness the appearance of…

Martyr Barbarus the Soldier, and those with him, in Morea

The Holy Martyrs Barbarus the Soldier, Bacchus, Callimachus and Dionysius lived during the fourth century and served in the army of the emperor Julian the Apostate. Saint Barbarus was secretly a Christian, and in a war with the Franks he gained victory in single combat against a mighty enemy…

Martyr Barbarus in Thessaly, who was a robber

The Holy Martyr Barbarus, formerly a robber, lived in Greece and for a long time he committed robberies, extortions and murders. But the Lord, Who does not desire the death of a sinner, turned him to repentance. Once, when Barbarus was sitting in a cave and gazing upon his stolen possessions, the…

Saint Seraphim of Labodeia

Saint Seraphim of Labodeia

Saint Seraphim, who struggled on Dobou mountain in Lebadeia in central Greece, was born in the village of Zeli in Boeotia in 1527, and his name in the world was Sotiris. He was the son of pious and virtuous parents, who nurtured him with the living water of the Gospel (John 4:10). From the time he…