The paschal season of the Church is preceded by the season of Great Lent, which is also preceded by its own liturgical preparation. The first sign of the approach of Great Lent comes five Sundays before its beginning. On this Sunday the Gospel reading is about Zacchaeus the tax-collector. It tells…
On the Sunday closest to January 25, the Church commemorates the Synaxis of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, remembering all those Orthodox Christians who suffered for Christ at the hands of the godless Soviets during the years of persecution. These include the royal Passion Bearers…
Saint Xenophon, his wife Maria, and their sons Arcadius and John, were noted citizens of Constantinople and lived in the fifth century. Despite their riches and position, they distinguished themselves by their simplicity of soul and goodness of heart. Wishing to give their sons John and Arcadius a…
Today the Church commemorates the transfer of the sacred relics of Saint Theodore of Studion (November 11) from the island of Prinkēpo to Studion Monastery, which occurred in the year 844 (or 845), under Patriarch Methodios of Constantinople (842 - 846). The holy Confessor's relics were preserved…
Saint Xenophon of Robeika was the disciple of Saint Barlaam of Khutyn (+ November 6, 1192). After the latter's repose, and the repose of Venerable Anthony of Dymsk (+ June 24, 1224), Father Xenophon became the third Superior of Khutyn Monastery when Igoumen Isidore fell asleep in the Lord in 1243.…
The Holy Martyrs Ananias the Presbyter, Peter the prison guard, and seven soldiers suffered in Phoenicia in the year 295. During a persecution of Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305), Saint Ananias was brought before Maximus the governor of Phoenicia. He had been arrested for…
Saint Simeon the Elder was so named in order to distinguish him from Saint Simeon the Stylite (September 1). He practiced asceticism in Syria in the fifth century, and in his childhood years went out into the Syrian wilderness and lived in a cave in complete solitude. Unceasing prayer, meditation,…
Saint Joseph, Archbishop of Thessalonica, was brother of Saint Theodore the Studite (November 11), and together they pursued a life of asceticism under the guidance of Saint Platon (April 5) in the monastery at Sakkudion, Bithynia. Because of his ascetic life, Saint Joseph was unanimously chosen…
At the end of the 11th century the Georgian Church underwent a trial of physically and spiritually catastrophic proportions. The Seljuk sultan, Jalal al-Dawlah Malik Shah (1073-1092), captured the village of Samshvilde, imprisoned its leader, Ioane Orbeliani, son of Liparit, ravaged Kvemo (Lower)…
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Our Venerable Mother Paula was born on May 5, 347, and was the daughter of Rogatus and Blessilla, who belonged to the nobility. Her father was a Greek, and her mother was descended from two of the most illustrious families of Rome – the Gracchi, and the Scipios. She married a wealthy man by the…