The Holy Martyrs Proclus and Hilarion were natives of the village of Kallippi, near Ancyra, and they suffered during the time of a persecution under the emperor Trajan (98-117). Saint Proclus was put under arrest first. Brought before the governor Maximus, he fearlessly confessed his faith in…
Saint Michael lived during the reign of Emperor Constantine VI (913-959) until the reign of Basil II, the Bulgar-slayer (976 - 1025). He was born in Cappadocia to devout and wealthy parents, Eudókimos and Anastasó (Ἀναστασῶ). Eustáthios, his paternal grandfather, was a patrician; and…
The Holy Martyrs Theodore the Varangian and his son John lived at Kiev in the tenth century, when the Varangians, ancestors of the present day Swedes and Norwegians took an active role in the governance and military life of Rus. Merchants and soldiers, they opened up new trade routes to Byzantium…
Hosiomartyr Simon of Volomsk, in the world Simon, son of the peasant Michael from the vicinity of Volokolamsk, was born in the year 1586. At 24 years of age, after long pilgrimage through Orthodox monasteries, he received monastic tonsure at the Pinegsk Makariev monastery. In the year 1613 he…
The Holy martyr Golinduc, in Baptism Mary, lived in Persia during the reign of Chosroes I the Elder. She was the wife of the chief magician of the Persian empire. Endowed with a lucid mind, Golinduc perceived the falseness of the pagan wisdom, and she pondered much about what the true Faith might…
Saint John was born the son of a nobleman during the reign of King Davit Kuropalates. For his love of Christ he left his family and the world to be tonsured a monk. After informing the royal court of his decision, Saint John received a blessing from his spiritual father to travel to Greece, where…
Saint Gabriel was a monk of the Ivḗron Monastery on Mt. Athos. In summer he would withdraw to the inaccessible cliffs, and in winter he would return to the monastery and observe a strict rule of silence. Clad in a coarse robe and eating nothing but roots and herbs, Saint Gabriel was truly a…
Icon of the Mother of God “of the Three Hands” on Mount Athos
The Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Three Hands”: The wonderworking icon, before which Saint John of Damascus (December 4) received healing of his amputated hand, was given by him to the Lavra of Saint Savva the Sanctified. In the thirteenth century the icon was in Serbia, and…
Saint Veronica (Bernice), the woman with the issue of blood
The account of the woman with an issue of blood, who had the unusual name of Veronica, may be found in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew (9:20-22), in Saint Mark's Gospel (5:25-34), and also in Saint Luke's Gospel (8:43-49). The Synaxaristes of Saint Νikόdēmos of the Holy Mountain states…
Saint Serapion (Σεραπίων) lived in Alexandria during the reign of Emperor Severus (222-235). He was a devout man who did whatever was beneficial. He was arrested by the archon Aquila, and when he was asked what religion he followed, he confessed courageously that he believed in Christ and…
Venerable Father Paisios (Paϊsios) of the Holy Mountain was born to devout parents, Pródromos (Prodromos) and Eulampίa Enzepίde (Enzepίdē), at Pharasa (Phárasa) in Cappadocia on July 25, 1924. Shortly before the family left for Greece because of the exchange of populations,1 he was baptized…
This Icon is kept in the Moldavian Theophany (now Prodromou)1 Skete on Mount Athos, about an hour's walk from the Lavra of St. Athanasios. In 1863, Igoumen Niphon, accompanied by several monks, went to Moldavia on the Monastery's business. Arriving at Iași, the capital of Moldavia, the Athonite…