Feasts and saints with names like “LEO”

Saint Leo the Great, Pope of Rome

Saint Leo the Great, Pope of Rome

Saint Leo I the Great, Pope of Rome (440-461), received a fine and diverse education, which opened for him the possibility of an excellent worldly career. He yearned for the spiritual life, however, and so he chose the path of becoming an archdeacon under holy Pope Sixtus III (432-440), after whose…

Saint Leo, Bishop of Catania in Sicily

Saint Leo, Bishop of Catania in Sicily

Saint Leo was born in Ravenna, Italy, of pious and noble parents. He was famed for his benevolence and charity, as well as his Christian love for the poor and wanderers. After completing his studies, he was ordained as a priest at Ravenna, and later, because of his purity and his most spiritual…

Saint Leo of Cappadocia

Saint Leo of Cappadocia fulfilled the commandment to love his neighbor by suggesting to the Saracens, who had captured three sickly monks, that he take the place of these infirm captives with himself, since he was healthy and able to work. While journeying in the desert, Saint Leo weakened and was…

Martyrs Eutropius, Cleonicus, and Basiliscus of Amasea

Martyrs Eutropius, Cleonicus, and Basiliscus of Amasea

The Holy Martyrs Eutropius, Cleonicus and Basiliscus suffered in the city of Pontine Amasea (Asia Minor) in about the year 308. The brothers Eutropius and Cleonicus, and Basiliscus the nephew of the Great Martyr Theodore the Recruit (February 17), were comrades. After the martyric death of Saint…

Venerable George of Mount Maleon in the Peloponnesus

Venerable George of Mount Maleon in the Peloponnesus

Saint George lived during the ninth century. His parents arranged a marriage for him, but he refused to marry the woman they had chosen. He entered the monastery on Mount Maleon in the Peloponnesus, and many disciples gathered around him. He was able to see the future, and predicted his own death…

Martyrs Leonidas, Chariessa, Nice, Galina, Kalista, Nunechia, Basilissa, Theodora, and Irene, of Corinth

Martyrs Leonidas, Chariessa, Nice, Galina, Kalista, Nunechia, Basilissa, Theodora, and Irene, of Corinth

The Holy Martyr Leonidas and the Holy Martyrs Charissa, Nike (Nika, Victoria), Galina, Kalista (Kalida), Nunekhia, Basilissa, Irene, and Theodora suffered at Corinth in the year 258. They threw them into the sea, but they did not drown. Instead, they walked upon the water as if on dry land, singing…

Martyrs Anatolius and Protoleon, soldiers converted by witnessing the martyrdom of Saint George

Martyrs Anatolius and Protoleon, soldiers converted by witnessing the martyrdom of Saint George

Two illustrious officials, Saints Anatolius and Protoleon, who were secretly Christians, openly confessed Christ after seeing Saint George tortured, then miraculously healed of his wounds. Immediately, and without a trial, they were beheaded with the sword by order of the emperor.

Martyrs Eusebius, Neon, Leontius, Longinus, and others, at Nicomedia

Martyrs Eusebius, Neon, Leontius, Longinus, and others, at Nicomedia

The Martyrs Eusebius, Neon, Leontius, Longinus, and 40 Others were present at the sufferings of the Great Martyr George (April 23), through which they came to believe in Christ. They were then locked up in prison. After the execution of Saint George, the emperor Diocletian (284-305) issued an edict…

Saint Leontius, Patriarch of Jerusalem

Saint Leontios was from Tiberioupolis in Phrygia and was born to wealthy and devout parents around the second half of the XII century. When he was 15-17 years old, his father reposed, so he left his birthplace and studied under a pious priest, then he went to Ptelidίon Monastery of the Mother of…

Venerable Cornelius, Abbot of Paleostrov

Venerable Cornelius, Abbot of Paleostrov

Saint Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, born at Pskov, was the founder of monastic life on Pali island in Lake Onega at the end of the fourteenth century. Despite the desolation of the island, brethren soon gathered near him. He built for them a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy…

Martyrs Marcian, Nicander, Hyperechius, Appolonius, Leonidas, Arius, Gorgias, Pambo, Selenia, and Irene of Egypt

The Holy Martyrs Marcian, Nicander, Hyperechius, Apollonius, Leonidas, Arius, Gorgias, Pambo, and the women martyrs Selenia and Irene were natives of Egypt and suffered during the reign of Maximian (305-311). For their steadfast confession of faith in Christ they were subjected to a fierce…

Martyrs Leontius, Hypatius, and Theodulus at Tripoli in Syria

Martyrs Leontius, Hypatius, and Theodulus at Tripoli in Syria

The Holy Martyrs Leontius, Hypatius, and Theodulus were Roman soldiers. The holy Martyr Leontius, a Greek by origin, served as a military-chief in the imperial army in the Phoenician city of Tripoli during the reign of Vespasian (70-79). Leontius was distinguished for his bravery and good sense,…

Venerable Leontius of the Kiev Far Caves

Venerable Leontius of the Kiev Far Caves

Saint Leontius, Canonarch of the Kiev Caves In his youth he entered the Kiev Caves monastery, where he received tonsure. He was endowed with a fine voice, and when he learned his letters, he fulfilled the obedience of canonarch (leader of church singing). Saint Leontius died at a young age in the…

Venerable Leontius the Hagiorite

Saint Leontius the Clairvoyant of Mt. Athos, was born in Peloponnesian Argos. He labored on Mount Athos for a long time at the monastery of Dionysiou. He spent sixty years at the monastery, and not once did the holy ascetic leave the monastery. For his deep faith and deeds God granted him the gift…

Saint Leontius of Rădăuţi

Saint Leontius of Rădăuţi

Saint Leontius was born in Rădăuţi, Moldavia in the fourteenth century. He was named Laurence when he received the monastic tonsure. In time he was found worthy of ordination to the holy priesthood, and founded a monastery near Rădăuţi, which later became known as…

Venerable Thomas of Mount Maleos

Saint Thomas of Mount Maleos (Maleós) was a military commander before becoming a monk. Strong and brave, he participated in many battles, and brought victories to his countrymen, for which he won much glory and honor. But, striving toward God with all his heart, Saint Thomas forsook the world and…

Hieromartyr Athenogenes, Bishop of Heracleopolis, and his ten disciples

Hieromartyr Athenogenes, Bishop of Heracleopolis, and his ten disciples

Hieromartyr Athenogenes and his Ten Disciples suffered for Christ during the persecution of Christians in the city of Sebastea in Cappadocia. The governor Philomachos arranged a large festival in honor of the pagan gods and called upon the citizens of Sebastea to offer sacrifice to the idols. Most…

Venerable Leonid of Ustnedumsk

Venerable Leonid of Ustnedumsk

Saint Leonid of Ustnedumsk lived in the Poshekhonsk district of Vologda, and he was a farmer by occupation. At age fifty, he saw the Mother of God in a dream, Who directed him to go to the River Dvina to the Morzhevsk Nikolaev hermitage. He was to take from there the Hodēgḗtria Icon of the…

Martyrs Eleutherius and Leonidas of Constantinople, and many infants martyred with them

The Martyrs Eleutherius, Leonides, along with many infants, were cast into a fire at a youthful age during one of the persecutions against Christians.

Venerable Cornelius of Paleostrov, Olonets

Saint Cornelius, the Igoumen of Paleostrov, Olonets was born in Pskov. He entered a monastery and was tonsured as an adult, and at first he began his monastic struggles at Valaam Monastery. Later he passed through Finland to the White Sea and enlightened the pagans there, and more than once he was…

Venerable Leonid of Optina

Leo Nagolkin, the future Saint Leonid, was born in Karachev in the Orlov Province in 1768. As a young man he worked for a merchant, making long and frequent trips on his employer’s business. He met all sorts of people, and this experience helped him later in life when visitors of diverse…

Venerable Anthony, Abbot of Leokhnov, Novgorod

Saint Anthony of Leokhnov, Novgorod, was from the Tver lineage of the Veniaminov nobles. The monk lived as a hermit not far from Novgorod, in the Rublev wilderness at the River Perekhoda. In about the year 1556 he resettled with the wilderness-dweller Tarasius, who lived beyond Lake Ilmen at…

Martyrs and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian in Cilicia, and their brothers, Leontius, Anthimus, and Eutropius

Martyrs and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian in Cilicia, and their brothers, Leontius, Anthimus, and Eutropius

The Martyrs and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian in Cilicia (Arabia), and the Martyrs Leontius, Anthimus and Eutropius. The holy brothers Cosmas and Damian were physicians in Arabia, who believed in Christ. They traveled through the cities and the villages, preaching Christ and healing the sick. The…

Blessed Cleopatra with her son John, in Egypt

Saint Cleopatra and her son John came from the village of Edra near Mount Tabor in Palestine. She was a contemporary of the holy Martyr Varus and witnessed his voluntary suffering. After the execution, Saint Cleopatra brought the body of the holy martyr to her own country and buried him with…

Venerable Leontios of Achaia

Venerable Leontios of Achaia

Saint Leontios (Leóntios) was born in Monemvasia in the Pelopónnēsos. His parents were Andrew and Theodora, and he received the name Leon at his Baptism. His father was sufficiently wealthy and a prominent man. Emperor Andronikos II Palaiológos (1283 – 1328) gave him an important position in…

Saint Theophanó the Wonderworker, wife of Emperor Leo the Wise

Saint Theophanó the Wonderworker, wife of Emperor Leo the Wise

Saint Theophanó was a pious and virtuous Empress, who was greatly praised by the chroniclers of her time because of her evangelical life, her almsgiving, and her exceptional piety. She born in Constantinople, the daughter of Constantine Martinakios and his wife Anna, who raised their daughter with…

Holy Myrrh-bearer Mary, the wife of Cleopas

According to Church Tradition, Saint Mary was the daughter of Saint Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife. She was still very young when the Most Holy Virgin Mary was betrothed to the Righteous Joseph and brought to his house. Thus, Saint Mary became the childhood friend of the Most Holy…