Lives of all saints commemorated on April 27

The Myrrh-bearing women are those women who followed the Lord, along with His Mother. They remained with her during the time of the saving Passion, and anointed the Lord's body with myrrh. Joseph and Νikόdēmos asked for and received the Lord's body from Pilate. They took it down from the Cross, wrapped it in linen cloths and spices, then they laid it in a tomb, and then they placed a great stone over the entrance of the tomb.

According to the Evangelist Matthew (27:57-61) Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joses (Mark 15:40) were there sitting opposite the sepulchre, and they saw where He had been laid. This other Mary was the Mother of God. Not only were these present, but also many other women, as Saint Luke says (24:10).

Today the Church honors Saints Mary Magdalene (July 22), Mary the wife of Cleopas (May 23), Joanna (June 27), Salome, mother of the sons of Zebedee (August 3), Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus (June 4), and the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, who was the stepmother of her husband Joseph’s sons James (October 23) and Joses (October 30). Today we also remember Saint Joseph of Arimathea (July 31), who was a secret disciple (John 19:38), and Saint Νikόdēmos, who was a disciple by night (John 3:3; 19:38).

The holy right-believing Queen Tamara of Georgia is honored twice during the year: on May 1, the day of her repose, and also on the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women.

On this day the Church also remembers All Saints of Thessalonica, Saint Seraphim Bishop of Phanar (December 4,1610), the New Martyr Elias Ardunis (January 31, 1686), and the New Martyr Demetrios of the Peloponnesos (April 13, 1803).

The Holy Apostle and Hieromartyr Simeon, a kinsman of the Lord, was the son of Cleopas, who was the younger brother of Saint Joseph the Betrothed. Thus, Saint Simeon is Joseph's nephew, and a cousin of the Lord. As an adult, he witnessed the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ, believed in Him, and became one of the 70 Apostles. Saint Simeon proclaimed the teachings of Christ, was instructed in the truths of the holy Faith, and denounced idol worship. After the murder of the Holy Apostle James (October 23), the first Bishop of Jerusalem, Christians chose the Apostle Simeon to succeed him.

The Emperors Vespasian and Domitian had ordered that all descendants of King David be put to death. Emperor Trajan (98-117) renewed that decree, and certain heretics and some others denounced Saint Simeon as a descendant of King David, as well as a Christian.

The pagans arrested Saint Simeon, who at that time was more than one hundred and twenty years old. He astonished the judge and his attendants by enduring several days of torture, and then he was crucified in the year 107, during Trajan's reign, when Atticus was consul.

The Parisian Codices contain a Service in honor of Saint Simeon, the poem of the hymnographer Theophanēs. (Some Synaxaristes also commemorate him on September 18).

Saint Stephen, Igumen of the Caves, Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia, pursued asceticism at the Kiev Caves monastery under the guidance of Saint Theodosius (May 3). Saint Theodosius sometimes entrusted him to exhort the brethren with edifying words.

Before the death of Saint Theodosius the monks asked him to appoint Saint Stephen as Igumen, who was the domesticus (chief arranger for the choir). “He grew up under your instruction,” they said, “and he served you. Give him to us.” So Saint Theodosius transferred the guidance of the monastery to Saint Stephen.

During his tenure as Superior, he laid the foundations of a spacious church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, begun under Saint Theodosius. The cells of the brethren were moved near the new church. At the front of the place there were several cells for monks who were entrusted with burying the dead. They served the Divine Liturgy each day, and also commemorated the dead.

In 1078 Saint Stephen was removed from office and driven from the monastery through the malice of an evil monk. He endured this meekly and without bitterness, and continued to pray for those who had turned against him.

Saint Stephen learned that master builders had come from Greece with an icon of the Theotokos, and they told him of the appearance of the Heavenly Queen at Blachernae. Because of this, Saint Stephen also built a church at Klovo in honor of the Theotokos (in memory of the Placing of Her Robe at Blachernae). The monastery was founded in thanksgiving for solicitude of the Most Holy Theotokos for the Caves monastery.

In 1091 Saint Stephen was made Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia, and he participated in the transfer of the relics of Saint Theodosius from the cave to the monastery (August 14). He also labored to convert the inhabitants of Volhynia to Christianity.

Saint Stephen died on April 27, 1094 during the sixth hour of the night.

Saint Eulogios lived in the Thebaid, in Egypt, and his occupation was that of a quarryman (stone cutter). He was called the Xenodokhos (one who receives strangers), because during his life, his greatest concern and pleasure was to offer hospitality in his home, and to provide every assistance to the poor and to pilgrims.

Despite his heavy and laborious work, each evening, as soon as he finished his work, he would run to the marketplace, holding a lantern in the winter, and went looking for strangers, to offer them shelter and every other hospitality. He once hosted Abba Daniel (June 7) and his disciple, when they came to the city and were left without food and shelter.

Saint Eulogios lived for over a hundred years, benefiting his fellow men (Mark 9:41), and he reposed in peace during the VI century. As his name indicates, he was truly a most blessed man.

After his death in Trnovo, Bulgaria on January 14, 1235 Saint Savva was buried in the Cathedral of the Forty Martyrs. On May 6, 1237 his relics were carried in procession from Trnovo to Mileshevo Monastery in Serbia. When the casket was opened, the relics were found to be incorrupt, and produced an ineffable fragrance. In 1253, the Serbian Orthodox Church glorified the holy hierarch Savva as a Saint.

Following the Battle of Kosovo on June 25, 1389, the Serbian nation fell under the Turkish Yoke. During this period the Serbs continued to visit the tomb of Saint Savva, asking him to give them the strength to endure the oppressive persecution they suffered at the hands of the Turks. His icon was placed on their flags, and the faithful turned to the Saint for encouragement, consolation, and healing.

The Serbs revolted in 1595, led by Patriarch John Kantul and others. Sinan Pasha, the Turkish military leader in Belgrade, sent soldiers to crush the rebellion. Sultan Mohammed II ordered that the relics of Saint Savva be burnt. On Great and Holy Friday, the Turks removed the Saint's relics from Mileshevo Monastery. The next day, April 27, they climbed Savinac Hill in the Vrachar district and set fire to the holy relics.

Instead of becoming despondent, the Serbs were inspired to even greater love for Christ, for Holy Orthodoxy, and for Saint Savva. Although the Saint's relics had been destroyed, the people continued to venerate him, and to remember the burning of his relics every year.

After national independence in 1879, there was a proposal to build a memorial church in honor of Saint Savva. In 1895, the three hundredth anniversary of the burning of Saint Savva's relics, plans were made to build a church on the site where his relics were burnt. A temporary chapel was constructed the following year, but it was not possible to build a large cathedral until after World War I. In 1927, Patriarch Barnabas announced a competition for architects to submit designs for the cathedral. In 1935, architects were chosen and construction began.

During World War II, work was halted when the Communists seized power. Only in 1984 did Patriarch German receive government approval to resume construction. On June 25, 1989, Patriarch German served the first Divine Liturgy in Saint Savva's Memorial Cathedral, which towers over the city of Belgrade.

There is a famous Serbian saying: "Sinan Pasha lit the flames, Savva's body burned, but Savva's memory and his glory did not burn."