On Wednesday of the sixth week of Pascha, we celebrate the Leavetaking of the Feast. While most Feasts have their Leavetaking on the eighth day, Pascha, the Feast of Feasts, has its Leavetaking on the thirty-ninth day. The fortieth day is the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension, which marks the end…
Saint Patrick lived during the first century and was bishop of the city of Prusa in Bythnia (Asia Minor). He openly and boldly preached Christ the Savior, and denounced the error of the pagans. Therefore, he and the priests, Acacius, Menander and Polyainus were arrested, and brought to Julius, the…
Saint Cornelius of Komel was descended from the boyar (noble) family Kriukov. His brother Lukian served at the court of the Great Prince of Moscow. When Lukian, who was getting old, decided to go to the monastery of Saint Cyril of White Lake, he was followed by Cornelius, who longed for the…
Saint Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, born at Pskov, was the founder of monastic life on Pali island in Lake Onega at the end of the fourteenth century. Despite the desolation of the island, brethren soon gathered near him. He built for them a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy…
The holy Prince John of Uglich was a devout and God-fearing Christian from his youth. He and his brother Demetrius were thrown into prison by their uncle John, and remained there for thirty-two years. Before his death, Prince John received monastic tonsure with the name Ignatius. He was known as a…
Saint Sergius (Stephen, in the world) was a Schema-monk of Shukhtom (or Shukhtov) Monastery, located in the village of Shukhtom 50 km from the city of Cherepovets. His Holy Relics were buried under the floor of the monastery church, which later became the Protection parish church when the monastery…
Saint John, Bishop of the Goths, lived during the eighth century. The future saint was born in answer to the fervent prayer of his parents. From an early age, he lived a life of asceticism. The saint made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and spent three years visiting all the holy places. Then he…
The right-believing Great Prince Demetrios of Moscow was born in 1350. His father died when Demetrios was just a young child, and so he was entrusted to the guidance of Saint Alexis of Moscow (February 12). The holy Prince Demetrios combined Christian piety with his remarkable political talents,…
The Holy Martyr Caluf the Egyptian lived during the third century, and was from the city of Thebes. For his confession of faith in Christ he was arrested and taken before the prefect of the city. He was suspended head downward, and received a cruel beating. The sufferer repeated, “I endure…
The holy Apostles Andrew the First-called and Simon the Canaanite first preached the Christian Faith in Georgia in the 1st century, but at the beginning of the 4th century most of the country was still pagan. After the Theotokos revealed God’s will for her future, the Equal-to-the-Apostles…
There is very little information about Saint Theotime (Θεοτίμη) except that she was beheaded ca. 311, thereby receiving an incorruptible crown from Christ.