Lives of the Saints

Afterfeast of the Elevation of the Cross

Afterfeast of the Elevation of the Cross

From September 15 until the Leavetaking, we sing “O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ. O son of God crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia” at weekday Liturgies following the Little Entrance.

Great Martyr Euphemia the All-praised

Great Martyr Euphemia the All-praised

The Holy Great Martyr Euphemia (Euphēmia / Ευφημία) was the daughter of Christian parents, the senator Philophronos and his wife Theodosia. She suffered for Christ in the year 304 in the city of Chalcedon, on the Bosphorus opposite Constantinople, the Queen of Cities. Priscus, the…

Repose of Saint Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia

Repose of Saint Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia

Saint Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, was a Serb by origin, and struggled on Mt. Athos. By his pious life and education he came to the attention of Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople (1354-1355, 1364-1376), who in 1375 consecrated Cyprian as Metropolitan of Kiev and Lithuania. At…

Saint Sebastiana the Martyr, disciple of Saint Paul the Apostle, at Heraclea

Saint Sebastiana the Martyr, disciple of Saint Paul the Apostle, at Heraclea

The Holy Martyr Sebastiana was a follower of the holy Apostle Paul. During a persecution against Christians under the emperor Dometian (81-96), she was on trial as a Christian before the governor named Georgios in the city of Marcianopolis in the Mizea region. Saint Sebastiana firmly confessed her…

Martyr Melitinḗ of Marcianopolis

Martyr Melitinḗ of Marcianopolis

The Holy Martyr Melitinḗ (Μελιτινή, or Μελιτίνη) lived in the city of Markianopolis in Thrace during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161). Antiochus was the ruler of Thrace at that time. Since he was a fierce persecutor of Christians, he ordered that Melitinḗ be…

Martyrs Victor and Sosthenes at Chalcedon

Martyrs Victor and Sosthenes at Chalcedon

Saints Victor and Sosthenes (Σωσθένης) are mentioned in the Life of the Holy Great Martyr Euphēmia (Ευφημία). The Proconsul Priscus ordered the soldiers Victor and Sosthenes to throw the Saint into a red-hot furnace. In the flames, however, they saw angels who prevented them from…

Venerable Dorotheus the Hermit of Egypt

Saint Dorotheus, Egyptian Hermit, a native of the Thebaid region in Egypt, labored in asceticism for 60 years in the Skete desert, on the Western side of the River Nile. Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis and author of the renowned Lausiac History, had been a disciple of Saint Dorotheus in his youth,…

Martyr Ludmilla the grandmother of Saint Wenceslaus,  Prince of the Czechs

Martyr Ludmilla the grandmother of Saint Wenceslaus, Prince of the Czechs

The Holy Martyr Ludmilla, a Czech (Bohemian) princess, was married to the Czech prince Borivoy. Both spouses received holy Baptism from Saint Methodius, Archbishop of Moravia and Enlightener of the Slavs (Comm. 11 May). As Christians, they showed concern for the enlightening of their subjects with…

New Martyrs Isaac and Joseph of Georgia

New Martyrs Isaac and Joseph of Georgia

The holy martyrs Isaac and Joseph the Georgians were born into a Muslim family, but their Georgian mother, a Christian, secretly raised them according to the Christian tradition. The brothers were so firmly dedicated to the Faith that they journeyed to Byzantium to request that Emperor…

“Support of Humble” Icon of the Mother of God

“Support of Humble” Icon of the Mother of God

The Support of the Humble Icon of the Mother of God appeared in 1420 in the city of Pskov at Kamennoye (Stony) Lake. The circumstances of its miraculous appearance are not known, but perhaps the Holy Icon was found by the people of Pskov as a consolation for the great calamities they endured during…

Saint Procopius

Saint Procopius was born in Bohemia, in the village of Hotun. In his dignity of priest he toiled much to spread the Christian Faith in Czechia. By the River Zasava he founded a monastery in the name of Saint John the Forerunner, where he died in the year 1053.