Lives of the Saints

Day of Rejoicing

Day of Rejoicing

On Tuesday of Saint Thomas week we remember those Orthodox Christians from all ages who have died in faith, and in the hope of resurrection. There are indications of this commemoration in the sermons of the Fathers of the Church. Saint John Chrysostom, for example, mentions it in his homily…

Commemoration of the Apparition of the Sign of the Precious Cross Over Jerusalem, in 351 AD

Commemoration of the Apparition of the Sign of the Precious Cross Over Jerusalem, in 351 AD

The Precious Cross appeared in the sky over Jerusalem on the morning of May 7, 351 during the reign of the emperor Constantius, the son of Saint Constantine (May 21). At that time the heresy of Arianism, which taught that Christ was merely a creature and not God, was causing great turmoil and…

Repose of Saint Alexis Toth, Confessor and Defender of Orthodoxy in America

Repose of Saint Alexis Toth, Confessor and Defender of Orthodoxy in America

Our holy Father Alexis, the defender of the Orthodox Faith and zealous worker in the Lord’s vineyard, was born in Austro-Hungary on March 18, 1854 into a poor Carpatho-Russian family. Like many others in the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Toths were Eastern Rite Catholics. Alexis’ father…

Martyr Acacius the Centurion at Byzantium

The Holy Martyr Acacius, who lived mostly in the third century, was born at Cappadocia and was a centurion of the Martesian regiment under the military officer Firmus. When the persecution against Christians began on orders from the emperor Maximian Galerius (305-311), Firmus interrogated his…

Repose of Venerable Nilus, Abbot of Sora

Repose of Venerable Nilus, Abbot of Sora

Saint Nilus of Sora, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, was descended from the Maikov nobility. He accepted monasticism at the monastery of Saint Cyril of White Lake (June 9). Here he made use of the counsels of the pious Elder Paisius Yaroslavov, who was afterwards igumen of the…

Saint John Zedazeni of Zaden, Georgia, with his 12 disciples

Saint John Zedazeni of Zaden, Georgia, with his 12 disciples

Our Holy Father John of Zedazeni and his twelve disciples, Abibus of Nekresi, Anthony of Martqopi, David of Gareji, Zenon of Iqalto, Thaddeus of Stepantsminda, Jesse of Tsilkani, Joseph of Alaverdi, Isidore of Samtavisi, Michael of Ulumbo, Pyrrhus of Breti, Stephen of Khirsa, and Shio of Mgvime,…

Venerable Nilus the Myrrhgusher of Lavra of Mount Athos

Venerable Nilus the Myrrhgusher of Lavra of Mount Athos

Today we commemorate the uncovering of the relics of Saint Nilus in 1815. On his deathbed, Saint Nilus told his disciples to bury his body in a small cave beneath the cave where he lived, sternly forbidding anyone to disturb his body. Although the saint did not seek human glory during his life or…

Monastic Martyr Pachomius of Mount Athos

The holy New Martyr Pachomius was from Little Russia, and was captured by Moslem Tatars who made him a slave. He was taken to Usaki, near the ancient city of Philadelphia in Asia Minor, where he was sold to a Moslem tanner. While teaching Pachomius his occupation, the tanner also tried to…

Icon of the Mother of God of Zhirovits

Icon of the Mother of God of Zhirovits

The Zhirovits Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1470 in the vicinity of Zhirovits on the Grodnensk frontier. In the forest, belonging to the Orthodox Lithuanian dignitary Alexander Solton, shepherds beheld an extraordinarily bright light, while peering through the branches of a pear…

Icon of the Mother of God of Lubech

The Lubech Icon of the Mother of God received its name from the city of Lubech, on the outskirts of Chernigov. The icon manifested itself during the eleventh century. The miracles of this icon were described by Saint Demetrius of Rostov. In 1653, when an invasion of the Poles against Lubech was…

Saint Akaki Asistavi of Georgia

Saint Akaki Asistavi of Georgia

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