Lives of all saints commemorated on July 9

The Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have been saints at all times, and they have come from every corner of the earth. They were Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, yet all were perfected by the same Holy Spirit.

The Descent of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to rise above our fallen state and to attain sainthood, thereby fulfilling God’s directive to “be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16, etc.). Therefore, it is fitting to commemorate All Saints on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

This feast may have originated at an early date, perhaps as a celebration of all martyrs, then it was broadened to include all men and women who had borne witness to Christ by their virtuous lives, even if they did not shed their blood for Him.

Saint Peter of Damascus, in his “Fourth Stage of Contemplation,” mentions five categories of saints: Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, and Monastic Saints (Philokalia [in English] Vol. 3, p.131). He is actually quoting from the Octoechos, Tone 2 for Saturday Matins, kathisma after the first stichology.

Saint Νikόdēmos of the Holy Mountain (July 14) adds the Righteous to Saint Peter’s five categories. The list of Saint Νikόdēmos is found in his book The Fourteen Epistles of Saint Paul (Venice, 1819, p. 384) in his discussion of I Corinthians 12:28.

The hymnology for the feast of All Saints also lists six categories: “Rejoice, assembly of the Apostles, Prophets of the Lord, loyal choirs of the Martyrs, divine Hierarchs, Monastic Fathers, and the Righteous....”

Some of the saints are described as Confessors, a category which does not appear in the above lists. Since they are similar in spirit to the martyrs, they are regarded as belonging to the category of Martyrs. They were not put to death as the Martyrs were, but they boldly confessed Christ and came close to being executed for their faith. Saint Maximus the Confessor (January 21) is such a saint.

The order of these six types of saints seems to be based on their importance to the Church. The Apostles are listed first, because they were the first to spread the Gospel throughout the world.

The Martyrs come next because of their example of courage in professing their faith before the enemies and persecutors of the Church, which encouraged other Christians to remain faithful to Christ even unto death.

Although they come first chronologically, the Prophets are listed after the Apostles and Martyrs. This is because the Old Testament Prophets saw only the shadows of things to come, whereas the Apostles and Martyrs experienced them firsthand. The New Testament also takes precedence over the Old Testament.

The holy Hierarchs comprise the fourth category. They are the leaders of their flocks, teaching them by their word and their example.

The Monastic Saints are those who withdrew from this world to live in monasteries, or in seclusion. They did not do this out of hatred for the world, but in order to devote themselves to unceasing prayer, and to do battle against the power of the demons. Although some people erroneously believe that monks and nuns are useless and unproductive, Saint John Climacus had a high regard for them: “Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men” (LADDER, Step 26:31).

The last category, the Righteous, are those who attained holiness of life while living “in the world.” Examples include Abraham and his wife Sarah, Job, Saints Joachim and Anna, Saint Joseph the Betrothed, Saint Juliana of Lazarevo, and others.

The feast of All Saints achieved great prominence in the ninth century, in the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-911). His wife, the Holy Empress Theophano (December 16) lived in the world, but was not attached to worldly things. She was a great benefactor to the poor, and was generous to the monasteries. She was a true mother to her subjects, caring for widows and orphans, and consoling the sorrowful.

Even before the death of Saint Theophano in 893 or 894, her husband started to build a church, intending to dedicate it to Theophano, but she forbade him to do so. It was this emperor who decreed that the Sunday after Pentecost be dedicated to All Saints. Believing that his wife was one of the righteous, he knew that she would also be honored whenever the Feast of All Saints was celebrated.

The “Unbreakable (or “Indestructible”) Wall” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is commemorated on the Sunday of All Saints. It is an XI century mosaic icon of the Blachernae type, above the main altar of Kiev's Holy Wisdom Cathedral. The Mother of God is depicted against a golden background, standing with upraised hands on a quadrangular gold platform.

In some Icons of this type [but not in the mosaic Icon], Christ is depicted within a mandorla, an oval or circle, symbolizing the glory of Heaven, or the Divine Light.

The Icon is called the "Unbreakable Wall" because for ten centuries it has remained intact, in spite of the fact that both Kiev's Holy Wisdom Cathedral and the city have been damaged several times. An ancient description of this Icon has been preserved: "A gigantic full-length portrait of the Theotokos.... She stands upon a gold stone, as an unshakable foundation for all who resort to her protection. Her chiton is blue, and she wears a scarlet belt. Hanging from it is an embroidered cloth with which she wipes away so many tears.

There are several possible sources for this Icon's title:

1. The Prophet-King David wrote "God is in the midst of her (i. e. the city of God); she shall not be moved: God shall help her with his countenance" (Psalm 45/46:5).
2. "Thus the Lord showed me; and behold, he stood upon a wall of adamant..." (Amos 7:7, LXX).
3. The Akathist to the Mother of God, Ikos 12. "Rejoice, indestructible wall of kingdoms" - Ikos XII).

According to Kievan tradition, the wall of the church will not perish while the hands of the Mother of God are extended over it.

On the Seven Arrows Icon, the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted without the Divine Infant. She inclines her head toward her right shoulder, and her heart is pierced with seven arrows or swords, of which four are on the left side and three on the right. A similar image of the Mother of God is also found on the icons "Softener of Evil Hearts," and "Simeon's Prophecy," on which the swords are placed somewhat differently: three on the right and left, and the seventh at the bottom.

The "Seven Arrows" Icon is at least 600 years old. For a long time, the holy image was at the landing in the bell tower of the church of the Apostle John the Theologian (near Vologda). The Icon, facing downward, was mistaken for an ordinary board on which people walked, until a paralyzed man in the city of Kadnikov had a vision in which it was revealed that he would receive healing after praying before this Icon. A Moleben was served before the Icon, and the man recovered.

The Icon became especially famous in 1830 during an outbreak of cholera in Vologda.

The real, authentic image (the "Seven Arrows" Icon) is now in the church of Saint Lazarus, in Vologda. The Icon has been in that temple since 1945, after the Great Patriotic War.

Muscovites can pray before the wonderworking copies located in the Moscow region. There are two images of the "Seven Arrows" Mother of God. Both exude an amazing myrrh - an oily liquid which inexplicably appeared on them.

The first copy of the "Seven Arrows" Icon is now in the church dedicated to the Holy Archangel Michael, located in Moscow. The second copy is in the village of Bachurino in the Moscow region.

The Feast Day of this Icon is celebrated on August 13, and on the Sunday of All Saints (First Sunday after Pentecost).

The same Troparion and Kontakion are used for the "Seven Arrows" Icon (August 13), and the "Softener of Evil Hearts" Icon (Sunday of All Saints).

The Hieromartyr Pancratius, Bishop of Taormina, was born when our Lord Jesus Christ yet lived upon the earth.

The parents of Pancratius were natives of Antioch. Hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, Pancratius’ father took his young son with him and went to Jerusalem in order to see the great Teacher for himself. The miracles astonished him, and when he heard the divine teaching, he then believed in Christ as the Son of God. He became close with the disciples of the Lord, especially with the holy Apostle Peter. It was during this period that young Pancratius got to know the holy Apostle Peter.

After the Ascension of the Savior, one of the Apostles came to Antioch and baptized the parents of Pancratius together with all their household. When the parents of Pancratius died, he left behind his inherited possessions and went to Pontus and began to live in a cave, spendng his days in prayer and deep spiritual contemplation. The holy Apostle Peter, while passing through those parts, visited Pancratius at Pontus. He took him along to Antioch, and then to Sicily, where the holy Apostle Paul then was. There the holy Apostles Peter and Paul made Saint Pancratius Bishop of Taormina in Sicily.

Saint Pancratius toiled zealously for the Christian enlightenment of the people. In a single month he built a church where he celebrated divine services. The number of believers quickly grew, and soon almost all the people of Taormina and the surrounding cities accepted the Christian Faith.

Saint Pancratius governed his flock peacefully for many years. However, pagans plotted against the saint, and seizing an appropriate moment, they fell upon him and stoned him. Thus, Saint Pancratius ended his life as a martyr.

The saint’s relics are in the church named for him in Rome. He is also commemorated on February 9.

The Hieromartyr Cyril, Bishop of Gortyna, was bishop at Gortyna on the island of Crete for 50 years. He suffered either under the emperor Decius (249-251), or according to other historical sources, the emperor Maximian (284-305).

Brought to trial before a governor named Lucius, who demanded that he offer sacrifice to idols, the holy Elder steadfastly confessed his faith in Christ and refused to fulfill the soul-destroying command. The governor sentenced Saint Cyril to burning, but the flames did not touch him. Seeing this miracle, many pagans came to believe in Christ. Lucius himself offered up praise to the Christian God and set the saint free.

Saint Cyril continued with his preaching and led many pagans to Christ, but also he grieved that he had not been allowed to suffer for the Savior. It was reported to the governor that Saint Cyril would not cease his preaching, and that he continued to convert people from the darkness of paganism to the light of Christ. Hearing the sentence against him, Saint Cyril rejoiced that he was to be granted a martyr’s death for Truth, and the 84-year-old Elder willingly placed his head beneath the sword.

The Hosiomartyrs Patermuthius and Coprius, and the Martyr Alexander suffered under the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363).

Patermuthius at first was a pagan and also the head of a band of robbers, but then he repented, was baptized and withdrew into the desert. The monk devoted all the rest of his life to attending the sick and burying the dead. For his love of toil and efforts, Patermuthius received from God the gift of wonderworking.

The priest Coprius was an eyewitness of the doings of the venerable Patermuthius and recorded his life and miracles. Saint Coprius narrated this Life to the presbyter Rufinus, who in turn transmitted it to Palladius, Bishop of Hellenopolis, who included the account in his book, the Lausiac History.

Once Saint Coprius entered into a debate with the heretic Manicheus, and seeing that he could not prevail against him in dispute, he suggested that a large fire be lit, and that they should go into it together. In this way, the Lord Himself would decide whose was the true Faith. Manicheus refused to go in first, but Coprius went into the fire, and standing in the midst of the flames, he remained unharmed. The people glorified the faith of Coprius, and they threw the heretic into the fire. He jumped out all scorched and tried to flee, but they caught him and again cast him into the flames. Saint Coprius then calmed the crowd and let Manicheus go.

When the emperor heard about the Egyptian hermits, he ordered them to be brought to him, and he tried to turn them to paganism. He said that he had formerly served Christ, but had learned that only the pagan gods could provide salvation.

Coprius was deceived by these words of the emperor and he denied Christ. By the prayers and tears of his Elder he came to understand what a mistake he had made. He repented and again confessed himself a Christian. The emperor became enraged and ordered that Coprius be tortured. Patermuthius encouraged his brother monk to be brave and endure. One of the soldiers, whose name was Alexander, saw the terrible sufferings of Coprius, and believed in Christ. He was sentenced to be burned alive. Saints Patermuthius and Coprius were beheaded by the sword.

Saint Theodore, Bishop of Edessa, was born in the Syrian city of Edessa. All his life the holy saint was a bright witness of the great deeds of God, glorified in His Saints.

At twelve years of age, after he lost his parents and gave away his inheritance to the poor, he went to Jerusalem, where he was tonsured at the Lavra of the Saint Savva the Sanctified. After twelve years of fervent monastic obedience and then another twenty-four years of full seclusion and great abstinence, the Lord called the valiant ascetic to be a bishop, so that he might enlighten the world. After the death of the Bishop of Edessa, no worthier successor was found than Theodore, and with the mutual consent of the Patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem, and of the clergy and laity, this fine man was chosen bishop.

It was not easy for Saint Theodore to forsake his solitude, but he submitted himself to the will of God and undertook his pastoral guidance of the Edessa Church. This occurred during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Michael and his mother Theodora (842-855). At the time of Saint Theodore’s episcopal consecration, there occurred a great miracle. The people beheld a dove, white as snow, flying about beneath the cupola of the church, which then alit upon the head of the newly-made bishop.

Saint Theodore devoted all his abilities to the governance of his flock. He was a model for the faithful in word, in life, in love. By the good example of his holy ascetic life, he guided the flock entrusted to him by God, onto the path of salvation. Theodore exerted much effort in the struggle with heretics, and with a firm hand he guarded the Church from temptations and false teachings. By his consolation and support for Saint Theodore, the clairvoyant Elder Theodosius the Stylite also served the spiritual community while laboring in asceticism not far from the city, near the monastery of the holy Great Martyr George.

With the blessing of the Elder, Saint Theodore journeyed to Baghdad to the caliph Mavi to complain about unjust measures against the Orthodox. Having come to Mavi, the saint found him seriously ill. Calling on the help of the Lord, the holy bishop threw a bit of earth from the Sepulchre of the Lord into a vessel of water and gave it to the caliph to drink, and the sick one was healed. The grateful Mavi, favorably disposed towards the saint, happily heard his teachings. Finally, together with three close associates, he accepted holy Baptism with the name John.

Shortly afterwards for his open confession of faith in Christ before the Moslems, the caliph John was killed with his three associates. Having appeared in a dream simultaneously to Saint Theodore and to Theodosius the Stylite, he said that he had been granted to suffer for Christ, and was numbered among the ranks of the Martyrs. He promised that soon he would meet them in the Kingdom of Heaven. This was an indication to the saint of God that his own end was approaching. In 848, again in solitude at the Lavra of Saint Savva the Sanctified, he peacefully departed to the Lord. Saint Theodore has left Christians his edifying writings. The Life of Saint Theodore of Edessa was popular reading in Rus during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and was preserved in many manuscripts.

The Little Skḗtē of Saint Anne is a dependency of the Great Skḗtē of Saint Anne, and is located between Saint Anne's and Katounákia, on a rocky slope with little greenery, because of the rocky soil. It consists of ten Kalyves (cells gathered around a church), two of which do not have a temple.

According to written testimonies and Tradition, life at the Little Skḗtē of Saint Anne (Μικραγιάννα) began with the settlement of its first known inhabitants and ascetics: the great luminaries and Spiritual Fathers Saints Dionysios the Rhetorician and his disciple Saint Mētrophánēs. These two Saints came from a dependency of Stoudion Monastery in Constantinople, and they were searching for a quiet, remote place to live. After passing through Karyes and Saint Anne's, they reached a spot which, at that time, was called the Skḗtē of the Lavra.

Saint Dionysios was tonsured at the renowned Stoudion Monastery in Constantinople, where he and Saint Mētrophánēs lived. Desiring a more intensive life of prayer and solitude, the two Saints left the Monastery of their repentance and journeyed to the peninsula of Mount Athos, establishing themselves in a cell near Karyes at the end of the XV or early XVI century. There they devoted themselves to prayer, fasting, and vigilance.

Saint Dionysios was known for his virtue and wisdom, and many disciples were drawn to him. Training others in the monastic life left him with very little time for his own spiritual struggles, and with so many people around him, his soul was not at peace. Therefore, Saint Dionysios and Saint Mētrophánēs went into the wilderness of Mount Athos in search of even greater solitude. Somewhere between Saint Anne’s and Katounákia, they found a cave and made it their abode. This would be the future site of Little Saint Anne’s Skḗtē, and they were the first to settle at this place. In the small and humble cave, they lived a godly life which was equal to that of the Angels.

In their spiritual struggles they fought against the stomach’s need for food, and the body’s need for sleep. Not only did they restrict the types of food they ate, but also the amount they consumed at meals. By limiting their time for sleep, they were able to devote themselves more to repentance and prayer.

Saint Dionysios was honored with the office of Rhetorician by the Great Church of Constantinople, and both he and Saint Mētrophánēs were esteemed as learned men. They attained even greater wisdom, however, by the true philosophy of monasticism, which has been called “life according to the Gospel.” They made such progress in the monastic life, excelling in virtue and holiness, that they became teachers of many holy ascetics, offering them help, encouragement, and support.

By humbling themselves, these Saints were exalted by God, acquiring the richest spiritual gifts, and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Just as no one lights a candle and then covers it, or puts it under a bed, “but sets it on a candlestick, that those who enter in may see the light” (Luke 8:16), so the Lord did not permit the virtue of these Saints to remain hidden. The light of their holy life so shone before men that those who beheld it glorified God (Matthew 5:16). Like most luminous lamps, these Saints shone forth on the Holy Mountain with the radiance of their holiness.

Having Saint Dionysios as his Elder, Saint Mētrophánēs excelled as his disciple, Later, Saint Mētrophánēs, with the blessing of the Athonite Fathers, and of his Elder Saint Dionysios, was asked to leave Mount Athos for a time in order to preach the Word of God in the neighboring villages of Halkidiki. He was also a Spiritual Father, hearing Confessions and ministering to his flock in the Turkish-occupied country.

After fulfilling this obedience, Saint Mētrophánēs returned to the Holy Mountain. and he also made known a famous vision of Hell and Paradise, seen by a certain man named Dēmḗtrios from Stratonίkē.

Saint Dionysios was an excellent calligrapher and writer, and his books may be found in the Greatest Lavra, and in other monasteries, as well as in the Skḗtē of Saint Anne. A manuscript book has been preserved in the Skete’s library with the signature of Venerable Dionysios. The title is "Kouvaras," which is a guide on how to benefit and instruct the brethren. Saint Dionysios describes the art of inner watchfulness and noetic prayer, and he himself was proficient in these disciplines. He also rendered many writings of the Holy Fathers into a simpler form of Greek so that ordinary people could understand them. In modern times, some of these have been printed in Greek theological publications, but many of his writings remain unpublished.

Saint Dionysios was admired by many, and his repose was regarded as something special in the codices of the Monasteries of Dionysiou and Docheiariou. Both of these luminaries lived godly and ascetical lives. Saint Dionysios reposed peacefully on July 9, 1606, although other manuscripts give the date of his repose as October 6, 1596 or 1602. Saint Mētrophánēs went to the Lord shortly afterward.

According to the ever-memorable Father Gerasimos of the Little Skḗtē of Saint Anne, the XX century hymnographer of the Great Church, who composed more than 2,000 Services (including the Service in honor of Saint Dionysios and Saint Mētrophánēs), Hieromonk Dionysios fell asleep in the Lord on October 6, 1606, and his disciple Saint Mētrophánēs reposed shortly thereafter. At Little Saint Anne’s Skḗtē, both Saint Dionysios and Saint Mētrophánēs are commemorated together on July 9 with a solemn celebration in the cave where there was once a temple, in addition to their cell. Proof of their presence is a surviving washbasin from their temple.

Elder Gerasimos, and his equally pious entourage, managed to clean the cave in which Saints Dionysios and Mētrophánēs had spent their ascetic life, through much labor, and then by an appearance and revelation of these Saints. They built a church dedicated to both of these Saints. The roof of the cave has an extension of rock which covers the church. At a certain place water drips constantly, which the Fathers collect and give to devout pilgrims as holy water for their sanctification.

According to Tradition, Saint Dionysios the Rhetorician is depicted standing up straight, with a broad forehead, a large mustache, and a square beard.

The Koloch Icon of the Mother of God manifested itself in the year 1413 during the reign of Basil I, 15 versts from the city of Mozhaisk, in the vicinity of Koloch in the Smolensk governia. A peasant of this village by the name of Luke found the holy icon and took it to his home. One of his household was paralyzed. The sick one put his forehead to the icon with faith and received complete healing.

This became known through the surrounding area, and many of the suffering began to flock to the wonderworking icon, and they received help from the Mother of God. Luke afterwards took the icon to Mozhaisk, and from there to Moscow. At the capital, Metropolitan Photius, together with a gathering of clergy and a multitude of the people, met the holy icon. As the icon was carried through Moscow many of the sick were healed of their infirmities. Later they returned the icon to Mozhaisk.

At the place where the icon appeared, a church was built in honor of the Mother of God. Here the holy icon was housed.

With the offerings of the peasant Luke and other Orthodox, Prince Andrew Dimitrievich built a monastery on this site called the Kolochsk or Mozhaisk.

The Cyprus Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the Panachrana type. In this icon the Mother of God is depicted sitting on a throne with the Divine Infant in Her arms. On either side of Her is an angel.

The prototype of this holy icon manifested itself in the year 392 on the island of Cyprus at the tomb of Righteous Lazarus, the friend of Christ (October 17), and is kept there in a monastery. Renowned copies of the Cyprus Icon are at the Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral, and in the Nikolo-Golutvin church in the village of Stromyn, Moscow diocese (Commemorated on the Sunday of Orthodoxy).

During the week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the Greek Synaxarion has an account of an icon which is probably the Cyprus Icon. On the island of Cyprus a certain Arab was passing by a church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. In order to display his hatred for Christianity, the man shot an arrow at an icon of the Mother of God which hung by the gate. The arrow struck the Virgin’s knee, from which blood began to flow. Overcome with fear, the Arab spurred his horse and rode for home, but was struck dead before he could get there. In this way, he was punished for his impiety.

Other days commemorating the Cyprus Icon are the Day of the Holy Spirit, and April 20. Some copies of the Cyprus Icon have additional names such as “Cleansing,” “Knife,” and “Hawk.”

The Cyprus Icon called “Hawk” was so named because of the way it was discovered. One day, the Christian ruler of Cyprus was hunting with his trained hawk. The hawk became tangled in a thicket while diving after another bird, and the ruler ordered the thicket to be cut away so that the hawk could be rescued. His servants rescued the hawk and also discovered an icon of the Mother of God in the thicket. The ruler later built a monastery on the site.

The “Cleansing” Cyprus Icon was in another monastery on Cyprus, and was famous for healing many people with diseases of the eyes.

The “Stromyn” Cyprus Icon became famous in 1841. An eighteen-year-old girl from Stromyn, a village not far from Moscow, was close to death from an illness. In a dream she saw the Cyprus Icon standing over the entrance to the church, and a voice came from the icon: “Take me into your home and have the priest serve a Molieben with the Blessing of Water, and you will be cured.”

The sick girl was brought to the church and finally located the icon after a long search. The girl obeyed the command of the Most Holy Theotokos, and after the Molieben she felt strong enough to carry the icon back to the church herself. Shortly thereafter, she was completely healed. The “Stromyn” Cyprus Icon continued to work miracles of healing, which the rector of the church reported to the holy Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (November 19).