The Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have been saints at all times, and they have come from every corner of the earth. They were Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, yet all…
The “Unbreakable (or “Indestructible”) Wall” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is commemorated on the Sunday of All Saints. It is an XI century mosaic icon of the Blachernae type, above the main altar of Kiev's Holy Wisdom Cathedral. The Mother of God is depicted against a golden background,…
On the Seven Arrows Icon, the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted without the Divine Infant. She inclines her head toward her right shoulder, and her heart is pierced with seven arrows or swords, of which four are on the left side and three on the right. A similar image of the Mother of God is also…
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.…
Martyrs Zeno and his servant, Zenas, of Philadelphia
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…
Martyrs Galacteon, Juliana, and Saturninus, of Constantinople
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…
Saint Gregory (Dascalu) was Metropolitan of Wallachia. St Gregory was glorified by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2005, and is commemorated on June 22.