Saints Eulampius and Eulampia were brother and sister. They lived at the beginning of the fourth century in the city of Nicomedia. Eulampius became upset after reading the decree of the emperor Maximian (284-305) sentencing all Christians to execution. Eulampius was horrified that the emperor was…
Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Vladimir-Volhynia was the third bishop of one of the oldest of Russian dioceses, Vladimir-Volhynia, which was established in the time of Saint Vladimir. The first Vladimir-Volhynia bishop was Stephen, elected under Saint Vladimir himself; the next in succession was…
The Synaxis of the Saints of Volhynia commemorates all the saints of that region, including Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia (October 10) Saint Job of Pochaev (August 28, October 28) Saint Juliana Olshanskaya (July 6) Saint Macarius of Kanev (May 13, September 7) Saint Stephen,…
Blessed Andrew of Totma, the Fool-for-Christ was born in the year 1638 in the village of Ust-Totma and chose to leave the world while still a child. With the blessing of Stephen, igumen of the Resurrection monastery in Galich, Andrew took upon himself the arduous calling of fool-for-Christ. He…
Saint Theotecnus of Antioch was a renowned military commander at Antioch under the emperor Maximian (305-311). One time the emperor arrived in Antioch, demanding that all the inhabitants offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. As a Christian, Theotecnus refused to fulfill the order. The emperor,…
Saint Bassian of Constantinople was born in eastern Syria and became an ascetic in Constantinople, where the pious emperor Marcian (450-457) ruled. The venerable Bassian was the igumen at a monastery where there were three hundred monks. Among them also was Saint Matrona (November 9), who dressed…
Saint Theophilus the Confessor of Bulgaria came from the area surrounding Tiberiada. When he was thirteen, the saint secretly left his home to go off to the monastery on Mount Selenteia. There he matured spiritually under the guidance of the Elder, Saint Stephen. After three years Saint Theophilus…
Saint Ambrose of Optina Alexander Michailovich Grenkov was born Nov. 23, 1812 in the Russian province of Tambov. His parents raised him strictly and with fervent piety. Since he was of a priestly family, it was no surprise when he entered the Tambov theological seminary in 1830. He did well in his…
New Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsy was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church at the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 23, 1997. Saint Peter was born in the Voronezh region, and studied at the Moscow Theological Academy, graduating in 1892, where he then…
In the XIII century, there was a certain Elder who spent his life in ascetical struggles on Mount Athos. He had the pious custom of reading the Akathist Hymn before the Icon of the Mother of God every day. One day, while reading the Akathist, and silently repeating the word "rejoice," the Elder…
26 Monkmartyrs of the Zographou Monastery on Mount Athos In the year 1274 at the Council of Lyons (in France), the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Paleologos decided to buttress his waning power by forming a union with Catholic Rome. This step evoked universal discontent. In 1278, the emperor issued…