1st Saturday of Great Lent: The Miracle of the Boiled Wheat
Today we remember the miracle of Saint Theodore the Recruit and the boiled wheat. Fifty years after Saint Theodore’s martyrdom, Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), devised a plan to corrupt the Christians during the first week of Great Lent. He knew that Christians purify themselves…
Martyred Holy Fathers who were slain at the Monastery of Saint Savva
Saints John, Sergius, Patrick and others were slain in the Monastery of Saint Savva. During the VIII century the area around Jerusalem was subjected to frequent incursions by the Saracens. The monastery of Saint Chariton was devastated and fell into ruin. Twice the Saracens tried to plunder the…
Monastic Martyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod
Saint Euphrosynos of Blue Jay Lake, (Ephraim in the world) was born in Karelia near Lake Ladoga in the second half of the XVI century. When he was young he lived near Valaam Monastery, and later he moved to Novgorod the Great. After spending some time there, the Saint then withdrew to a place on…
Martyr Photini the Samaritan Woman, her sons, and those with them
The Holy Martyr Photini (Photinḗ/Svetlana) the Samaritan Woman, her sons Victor (named Photinos) and Iosḗs; and her sisters Anatolḗ, Photó, Photida, Paraskevḗ, Kyriakḗ, Nero’s daughter Domnina; and the Martyr Sebastian. The holy Martyr Photini was the Samaritan Woman, with whom the…
Virgin Martyrs Alexandria, Claudia, Euphrasia, Matrona, Juliana, Euphemia, and Theodora
These Saints lived during the reign of the impious Emperor Maximian, who was joint Emperor with Diocletian (286-305, and 307-308) who began a great persecution of Christians. At that time, men and women of all ages confessed Christ, and were put to death. Carrying out the tyrant's decree, but…
Saint Nikḗtas the Confessor, Archbishop of Apollonias in Bithynia
Saint Nikḗtas the Confessor, Archbishop of Apollonias in Bithynia, was noted for his profound knowledge of Holy Scripture, and was a pious and kindly man. During the reign of the Iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820), the saint championed the veneration of holy icons, and so was exiled…
Saint Cuthbert, the wonderworker of Britain, was born in Northumbria around 634. Very little information has come down to us about Cuthbert’s early life, but there is a remarkable story of him when he was eight. As a child, Cuthbert enjoyed games and playing with other children. He could beat…