Many of the hymns of Pentecost are repeated in the postfestal services of this week, and references to the Holy Spirit, and to fire, abound. In particular, we are reminded of the Unburnt Bush (Exodus 3:2), the zealous Prophet Elias who ascended to Heaven in a chariot of fire, the three youths in…
The Holy Apostle Jude, one of the twelve apostles of Christ, is descended from King David and Solomon, and was the son of Righteous Joseph the Betrothed (Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord) by his first wife. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian writes in his Gospel, “... neither did his…
Saint Varlaam was known as Vasily Stepanovich Svoezemtsev in life, in monasticism he was given the name Varlaam Vazhsky. Vasily Stepanovich was born around 1390 into the family of the Novgorod Boyar (his father was Stepan Vasilyevich). At baptism he received the name Vasily. He was married and…
The Holy Martyr Zosimos the Soldier lived in the city of Apollonia in Thrace during the reign of Emperor Trajan, a fierce persecutor of Christians (89-117). The Saint was consumed with the desire to become a Christian. When he heard that the persecution of Christians had begun, he forsook the…
Saint Paisius the Great lived in Egypt. His parents, Christians, distributed generous alms to all the needy. After the death of her husband his mother, on the suggestion of an angel, gave her young son Paisius to the clergy of the church. The youth Paisius loved monastic life and spent his time in…
Saint John the Hermit was an ascetic in Palestine. He passed his days in fasting and prayer in a cave near Jerusalem. The uncovetous ascetic had only an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, before which a lampada was always lit. The holy Elder often visited the holy places of Jerusalem, and Mount…
Saint Paisius of Hilandar was born in the year 1722 in Bansko into a pious family. One of his brothers, Laurence, was igumen of Hilandar Monastery, and another was noted as a generous benefactor of Orthodox temples and monasteries. Saint Paisius himself went through his obedience at Rila Monastery.…
Saint Job, the first Patriarch of Moscow, was born into the family of pious tradesmen in Staritsa near Tver in the 1530s. His baptismal name was John. After his death in 1607, the relics of Patriarch Job were buried by the western doors of the Dormition Church of the monastery in Staritsa. Many…