In the Orthodox Church, the last Sunday before Great Lent—the day on which, at Vespers, Lent is liturgically announced and inaugurated—is called Forgiveness Sunday. On the morning of that Sunday, at the Divine Liturgy, we hear the words of Christ: “If you forgive men their…
The Hieromartyr Theodotus, a native of Galatia in Asia Minor, was Bishop of Cyrenia in Cyprus. During a time of persecution against Christians under the impious emperor Licinius (311-324), Saint Theodotus openly preached Christ, calling on the pagans to abandon idolatry and turn to the true God.…
Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver, was born at Tver, and in his early years received monastic tonsure in the Kiev Caves monastery. Even among the monks of this ancient monastery, distinguished for their piety, Arsenius was noted for his saintly life as well as for his strictness in keeping his…
The Holy Martyr Euthalia lived with her mother and brother in Leontina on the island of Sicily. Euthalia’s mother, a pagan, suffered for a long while with an issue of blood. Once, the Martyrs Alphaeus, Philadelphus and Cyprian (May 10) appeared to her in a dream and told her she would be…
The Holy Martyr Troadius suffered for Christ in Neocaesarea, Pontus under the emperor Decius (249-251), enduring horrible tortures. Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea (November 17) foretold his martyrdom and witnessed his sufferings in a vision. He also saw the soul of Saint Troadius departing from his…
Saint Agathon of Egypt, a contemporary of Saint Macarius the Great (January 19) and a disciple of Saint Lot (October 22), he lived in asceticism in a skete in Egypt. He was distinguished by exceptional meekness, accounting himself the most sinful of men. Once, monks who had heard of his discernment…
400 Martyrs Slain by the Lombards in Sicily refused to participate in idol worship and were massacred by the Lombards (a Germanic tribe) in the year 579. Among those who perished, the names of the presbyter Sanctulus and the hermit Hospicius have been preserved. St Gregory Dialogus (March 12) has…
Saint Sabbatius of Tver pursued asceticism with the blessing of Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver, at a distance 15 versts from Tver. Saint Sabbatius established a monastery there, known for the strictness and holiness of its rule. Such ascetics as Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (September 9) and Saint…
The “Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God appeared on March 2, 1917, the day of Tsar Nicholas’s abdication, in the village of Kolomskoye near Moscow. In February 1917, an elderly woman named Eudokia saw the Mother of God in a dream telling her to go to Kolomskoye to find a large…
Saint Joachim (in the world John Patrikios) was born in 1786 in the village of Kalyvia on the island of Ithaka to devout and virtuous parents, Angelos and Agnes. John lost his mother when he was young. His father married again, but John's stepmother tormented and tortured him. During those…