On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates all the saints, known and unknown, who have shone forth in its territory. Accordingly, the Orthodox Church in America remembers the saints of North America on this day. Saints of all times, and in every country are seen…
Martyr Hyacinth of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, and those with him
Saint Hyacinth, a native of Caesarea in Cappadocia, was raised in a Christian family. The emperor Trajan made the boy his “cubicularius” (chamberlain), unaware that he was a secret Christian. One day, while the emperor and his entourage were offering sacrifice to idols, the young…
Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow
The Transfer of the Relics of Saint Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia: After the martyric death of Saint Philip (January 9), his body was buried at the Otrocha monastery, in Tver. The monks of the Solovki monastery, where he was formerly igumen, in 1591 requested…
Saint Basil, Bishop of Ryazan and Murom: His memory is celebrated by the Church on June 10 and July 3 (the day of his death in 1295). On June 10, 1609 the holy relics of Bishop Basil at Ryazan were uncovered and transferred to the Dormition cathedral church. Saint Basil I, Wonderworker of Ryazan,…
Right-believing Princes Basil and Constantine Vsevolodovich of Yaroslavl
In their youth, holy Princes Basil and Constantine Vsevolodovich lost their father, Vsevolod, who fell in battle with the Tatars (Mongols). Saint Basil, the elder brother, succeeded to the throne. As prince, he had to face a multitude of concerns, tasks and sorrows. The city and the villages were…
Blessed John, Fool-for-Christ, Wonderworker of Moscow, was born on the outskirts of Vologda. In his youth he toiled at a saltworks, where he was a water-carrier. The saint combined strict fasting and prayer with his heavy work. Later he moved on to Rostov, where he began his exploit of holy…
Saint Νikόdēmos of Kozhe Lake (in the world Nikḗtas) was born in the village of Ivankovo near Rostov into a peasant family. When he was still a young man working with his father in the fields, he heard someone call, “Νikόdēmos! Νikόdēmos!” indicating his future monastic…
The Holy Martyrs Mocius and Mark were arrested as Christians and brought to trial by the governor Maximian. They refused to offer sacrifice to idols, for which they suffered death by beheading in the fourth century.
Saint Alexander, founder of the Monastery of the “Unsleeping Ones”
Saint Alexander, Founder of the Monastery of the “Unsleeping Ones,” was born in Asia and received his education at Constantinople. He spent some time in military service but, sensing a call to other service, he left the world and accepted monastic tonsure in one of the Syrian wilderness…
Saint Anatolius, Patriarch of Constantinople, was born at Alexandria in the second half of the fourth century, at a time when many representatives of illustrious Byzantine families ardently strove to serve the Church of Christ armed with Greek philosophic wisdom. Having studied philosophy, Saint…
There was a young man from the village of Megalo Chorio at Karpenesi (Karpenḗsi) whose name was George. At the age of eleven, he went to Constantinople and lived with a relative who was a grocer. One day, he was carrying a copper tray on his head containing yogurt in clay pots. Suddenly he…
Icon of the Mother of God the “Milk-Giver” of the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos
The “Milk-Giver” Icon of the Mother of God was originally located at the Lavra of Saint Savva the Sanctified near Jerusalem. Before his death, the holy founder of the Lavra foretold that a royal pilgrim having the same name as himself would visit the Lavra. Saint Savva told the brethren…
Saint George the God-bearer and Recluse labored in the Black Mountains near Antioch during a time when the churches and monasteries there flourished. Orthodox Christians from many parts of the world came to settle there, and as a result, tensions often arose between monks of different…