Lives of the Saints

Synaxis of All Saints

Synaxis of All Saints

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…

Icon of the Mother of God “The Unbreakable Wall”

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,…

"Seven Arrows" Icon of the Mother of God

"Seven Arrows" Icon of the Mother of God

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…

Hieromartyr Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata

Hieromartyr Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata

The Hieromartyr Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, stood firmly for the Orthodox Confession of Faith proclaimed at the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea in the year 325. For this he underwent persecution by the Arians, being repeatedly deprived of his see and banished. The emperor Constantius (337-361),…

Martyrs Zeno and his servant, Zenas, of Philadelphia

Martyrs Zeno and his servant, Zenas, of Philadelphia

The Holy Martyrs Zeno and Zenas lived in the Arabian city of Philadelphia, and led a pious life. Saint Zeno possessed a large fortune, but he distributed his substance to the poor and manumitted slaves. Together with his devoted servant Zenas, he went to the governor and urged him to give up…

Martyrs Galacteon, Juliana, and Saturninus, of Constantinople

Saint Galacteon was drowned in the sea for confessing faith in Christ. Saint Juliana was burned together with her son Saturninus because they were Christians.

Saint Alban, Protomartyr of Britain

Saint Alban, Protomartyr of Britain

Saint Alban (or Albanus), the protomartyr of Britain, was a Roman citizen who lived at Verulamium (modern Saint Albans), a few miles northwest of London, during a time of persecution. Nothing is known about his family or his occupation. The chief magistrate of the city had orders to arrest all…

Saint Gregory, Metropolitan of Wallachia

Saint Gregory (Dascalu) was Metropolitan of Wallachia. St Gregory was glorified by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2005, and is commemorated on June 22.