The third day of the Forefeast of Theophany falls on January 4. The hymns compare the Feast of the Nativity with the coming Feast. “There shepherds saw the Child and were amazed; here the voice of the Father proclaims the only-begotten Son.”
The Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles was established by the Orthodox Church to indicate the equal honor of each of the Seventy. They were sent two by two by the Lord Jesus Christ to go before Him into the cities He would visit (Luke 10:1). Besides the celebration of the Synaxis of the Holy…
Saint Theoktistos lived in the second half of the eighth century, during a period of widespread iconoclastic heresy. The Venerable One was the founder and Igoumen of Cucomo Monastery on the island of Sicily. During that difficult time for the Church, the Orthodox were persecuted by iconoclastic…
Saint Eustathius, Archbishop of Serbia, lived in the second half of the thirteenth century, during the reign of the Serbian king Stephen Urosh (1262-1320). He was born in the diocese of Budim into a pious Christian family, where he received a spiritual upbringing. Distinguished by remarkable…
Saint Aquila the Deacon of the Kiev Caves (14th Century), became famous as a great faster, having spent a long while as a hermit. He ate neither vareny (pirogi) nor sweet food, he ate vegetables seldom and only in small quantities. During fasting periods, he ate only a single prosphoron. Those…
The Monk Confessor Zosimus came from Cilicia and was an inhabitant of the wilderness. During a time of persecution against Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305) Saint Zosimus was seized and subjected to fierce torture for the Faith, but by the power of God he was preserved unharmed.…
Father Nikephoros (Nikēphóros - Nicholas Tzanakakis in the world) was born in 1890 in a mountainous village in Khania, in Sikari, Kastanohori to the west of the prefecture with a healthy climate, with beautiful forests, rich waters, gorges and caves. This village has a peculiarity that we do not…
The Monk Martyr Euthymius, Igumen of the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, and twelve other monks suffered martyrdom for denouncing the Latinizing Patriarchs Michael Paleologos (1261-1281) and John Bekkos (1275-1282) as heretics. Saint Euthymius was drowned in the sea, and the monks were hanged.
The New Martyr Onuphrius, in the world Matthew, was born in Bulgaria in Gabrovo in the Trnovo diocese. Matthew became angry with his parents one day, and said he wished to become a Moslem. Unfortunately, he was overheard by the Hagarenes, who wished to take him away. He regretted these words as…
The Thirteen Syrian fathers arrived in Georgia in the 6th century, having received a blessing for their journey from the Most Holy Theotokos. They settled on Zedazeni Mountain, living an ascetic life of prayer and fasting. Their spiritual leader, Ioane, then sent them to perform good works…
Saint Symeon (Symeón) the future Metropolitan of Smolensk, was born in the city of Tobolsk in Siberia, and was a descendent of theMolyukov family of merchants. His love for the monastic life led him to the Monastery of Saints Boris and Gleb in the city of Rostov. After his tonsure, he remained…