Lives of the Saints

Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee <em>Beginning of the Lenten Triodion</em>

Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee Beginning of the Lenten Triodion

The Sunday after the Sunday of Zacchaeus is devoted to the Publican and the Pharisee. At Vespers the night before, the Triodion (the liturgical book used in the services of Great Lent) begins. Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee who scrupulously observed the requirements of…

Forefeast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple

Forefeast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple

The Typikon should be consulted if the Forefeast falls on the Sunday of the Pharisee, the Publican, or Meatfare. Because of the Forefeast of the Meeting of the Lord, the service to Saint Tryphon (February 1) may be moved to Compline or to another day, as the rector decides, unless the parish is…

Martyr Tryphon of Lampsacus Near Apamea in Syria

Martyr Tryphon of Lampsacus Near Apamea in Syria

The Martyr Tryphon was born in Phrygia, one of the districts of Asia Minor, in the village of Lampsacus. From his early years the Lord granted him the power to cast out demons and to heal various maladies. He once saved the inhabitants of his native city from starvation. Saint Tryphon, by the power…

Martyrs Perpetua, a woman of Carthage, and the Catechumens: Saturus, Revocatus, Saturninus, Secundulus and Felicitas

The Holy Martyrs Perpetua, Felicitas and those with them. Vibia Perpetua was from a patrician family, and lived in Carthage. She came to believe in Christ, and was baptized after her arrest as a Christian. A few days later, the twenty-two-year-old woman was taken to prison with her infant son.…

Venerable Peter the Hermit of Galatia Near Antioch, in Syria

Saint Peter of Galatia lived during the IV-V century, and came from the region of the Black Sea. From a young age was distinguished by his fervent piety and his determination to acquire spiritual treasures. When he was seven years old, he went to Galatia and then to Palestine, where his faith grew…

Venerable Vendemianus the Hermit of Bithynia

Saint Vendemianus (Bendemianus) was born in Myzia. In his youth he was a disciple of Saint Auxentius, one of the Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council. He went to the monastery founded by Saint Auxentius (February 14) on Mount Oxia, not far from Chalcedon (Asia Minor), where he lived in…

Venerable Brigid (Bridget) of Ireland

Venerable Brigid (Bridget) of Ireland

Saint Brigid, “the Mary of the Gael,” was born around 450 in Faughart, about two miles from Dundalk in County Louth. According to Tradition, her father was a pagan named Dubthach, and her mother was Brocessa (Broiseach), one of his slaves. Even as a child, she was known for her…

Saint Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov

Saint Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov was head of Moscow’s Novospassky (New Savior) monastery and was confessor to Great Prince Basil the Dark. On May 23, 1462 he was consecrated as Bishop of Rostov by Metropolitan Theodosius of Moscow. In 1466, he retired to the Savior monastery in Yaroslavl,…

Icon of the Mother of God “Socola”

The Socola Icon of the Mother of God was in the church of the Transfiguration in the Orthodox Theological Seminary at the Socola Monastery in Romania. In February 1854, it became famous for the remarkable miracle of shedding tears. After the Divine Liturgy on February 1, 1854, a frightened member…