Lives of the Saints

Afterfeast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple

Afterfeast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple

On this first day of the Afterfeast of the Meeting of the Lord, the Church commemorates the righteous Simeon and Anna the prophetess. The following words are ascribed to Christ in Ode 9 of the Canon: “I am not held by the Elder; it is I Who hold him, for he asks Me for forgiveness.”

Holy, Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver

Holy, Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver

Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver was, according to the testimony of the holy Evangelist Luke, a just and devout man waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him (Luke 2:25). God promised him that he would not die until the promised Messiah, Christ the Lord, came into the…

Holy, Righteous Anna the Prophetess

Holy, Righteous Anna the Prophetess

According to Saint Luke’s Gospel, “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Aser. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband for seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not leave the temple,…

Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich

Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich

The Holy Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich, son of Prince Vladimir and Princess Photina of Uglich, and nephew of Saint Basil (Basilko) of Rostov (March 4), was born on October 1, 1235. Upon the death of his father (in 1248) and his older brother Andrew (in 1261), Saint Roman, at the age of…

Prophet Azariah

The Holy Prophet Azariah1 was son of Oded (or Addo) and lived during the reign of King Asa (910-870 B.C. See 2 Chronicles 15:1) who was the son and successor of Abijah in the kingdom of Judah. Azariah came from the land of Sembatha and urged the people not to worship false “gods,” but…

Martyrs Papias, Diodorus and Claudianus, at Perge in Pamphylia

Saint Papias was martyred with Saints Claudianus and Diodorus at Perge, Pamphylia in 250.

Saint Savva of Ioannina

It is not known where Saint Savva was born. He lived a life of asceticism in the Holy Monastery of the Honorable Forerunner on an island in the lake of Ioannina around the middle of the XV century. He was the Spiritual Father of Saints Nektarios (+ 1550) and Theophanes (+ 1544), who were descended…

Martyr Adrian at Caesarea, Cappadocia

Saint Adrian of Baneas of Caesarea in Cappadocia. suffered martyrdom under Governor Firmilianus. He was put to death by the sword, but entered into eternal life.

Martyr Eubulus at Caesarea, Cappadocia

Saint Eubulus, like Saint Adrian, was from Baneas, in Caesarea of Cappadocia. He went to Caesarea to visit Christians in prison, and was arrested by Governor Firmilianus. He was thrown to the wild beasts, and thereby received the crown of martyrdom.

Martyr Blaise of Caesarea, in Cappadocia

Martyr Blaise of Caesarea, in Cappadocia

Saint Blaise of Caesarea lived in the third century. He was from Caesarea in Cappadocia (Asia Minor) and was a shepherd. When a persecution against Christians began, Saint Blaise surrendered himself into the hands of the torturers. They subjected him to torture, and beat him with leather thongs,…

Saint Simeon, Bishop of Polotsk and Tver

Saint Simeon, Bishop of Tver was descended from the Polotsk princes. He was the seventh bishop of Polotsk and the first bishop of the Tver diocese. The saint’s cathedra was first at Polotsk, but hostile attacks and conflicts with the Lithuanian princes, and the murder of the Polotsk prince…

Saint Nicholas, Enlightener of Japan

Saint Nicholas, Enlightener of Japan

Saint Nicholas (Kasatkin) Equal of the Apostles, Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. Missionary, Founder of the Orthodox Church in Japan, honorary member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. (Name Day: May 9). Saint Nicholas (in the world John Kasatkin) was born on August 1,1836 in the…