Saint Ananias was born in Russia and was tonsured in the Monastery of Saint Antony the Roman at Novgorod. God endowed him with a gift for painting icons, and he exercised this talent for the glory of the Lord. The Venerable Ananias painted "marvelous icons of many holy wonderworkers." For…
The Hieromartyr Pancratius, Bishop of Taormina, was born when our Lord Jesus Christ yet lived upon the earth. The parents of Pancratius were natives of Antioch. Hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, Pancratius’ father took his young son with him and went to Jerusalem in order to see the…
The Hieromartyr Cyril, Bishop of Gortyna, was bishop at Gortyna on the island of Crete for 50 years. He suffered either under the emperor Decius (249-251), or according to other historical sources, the emperor Maximian (284-305). Brought to trial before a governor named Lucius, who demanded that…
The Hosiomartyrs Patermuthius and Coprius, and the Martyr Alexander suffered under the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Patermuthius at first was a pagan and also the head of a band of robbers, but then he repented, was baptized and withdrew into the desert. The monk devoted all the rest of…
Saint Theodore, Bishop of Edessa, was born in the Syrian city of Edessa. All his life the holy saint was a bright witness of the great deeds of God, glorified in His Saints. At twelve years of age, after he lost his parents and gave away his inheritance to the poor, he went to Jerusalem, where he…
The Little Skḗtē of Saint Anne is a dependency of the Great Skḗtē of Saint Anne, and is located between Saint Anne's and Katounákia, on a rocky slope with little greenery, because of the rocky soil. It consists of ten Kalyves (cells gathered around a church), two of which do not have a…
The Koloch Icon of the Mother of God manifested itself in the year 1413 during the reign of Basil I, 15 versts from the city of Mozhaisk, in the vicinity of Koloch in the Smolensk governia. A peasant of this village by the name of Luke found the holy icon and took it to his home. One of his…
The Cyprus Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the Panachrana type. In this icon the Mother of God is depicted sitting on a throne with the Divine Infant in Her arms. On either side of Her is an angel. The prototype of this holy icon manifested itself in the year 392 on the island of Cyprus at…