The Sunday that falls between December 11-17 is known as the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers. These are the ancestors of Christ according to the flesh, who lived before the Law and under the Law, especially the Patriarch Abraham, to whom God said, “In thy seed shall all of the nations of the…
The Righteous Aaron was the son of Amram and Jochebed, and the elder brother of the Prophet Moses the God-seer, and also of Miriam. He was a direct descendent of Levi by both parents. God called him “the Levite” in Exodus 4:14, when He appointed Aaron to be the spokesman for Moses, who…
The youngest son of Jacob, he was called Benoni and then Benjamin (Genesis 35:16-18). Before his death Jacob blessed him in a seemingly backhanded way, saying that “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his prey in the morning, and dividing the spoil in the evening” (Genesis 49:27).…
Information about the holy Prophetess and Judge Deborah may be found in the Book of Judges 4:5-14, and also chapter 5.
The Righteous Hezron (Esrom, or Esron) is mentioned in the Old Testament genealogies: Genesis 46:12, Ruth 4:18, and 1 Chronicles 2:9 (LXX). He was the son of Perez (Phares) and the father of Aram (or Ioram), and an ancestor of the Prophet-King David. According to the New Testament genealogies…
The Righteous Isaac was the second of the Old Testament Patriarchs, and the son of Abraham (Genesis 17:17-22). God tested Abraham to see if he would sacrifice his son (Genesis 22:1-13), and thus Isaac was a type of Christ. He was the husband of Rebecca (Genesis 24:67), and the father of Jacob and…
The Righteous Jacob is mentioned in the book of Genesis, chapters 25-50. He had a dream of a ladder (Genesis 28:12-17). Angels were ascending and descending the ladder, and the Lord was above the ladder (a type of the Mother of God, who united earth to Heaven when she consented to become the mother…
Information about the Righteous Judith may be found in the Old Testament book bearing her name.
Saint Miriam, like her brothers Moses and Aaron, was descended from the tribe of Levi. When Moses was an infant, the Hebrew midwives were ordered to kill any male child when they assisted at childbirths, but they refused to obey. Moses was hidden by his mother for three months, and then, when she…
The Prophet Nathan was an advisor to King David and King Solomon. He is mentioned in the Prayer of Absolution in the Mystery of Confession: “It was God Who pardoned David through the Prophet Nathan when he had confessed his sin....” David had committed adultery with Uriah's wife…
The Old Testament book of Nehemiah tells of how he returned from the Captivity in Babylon in the twentieth year of the Persian King Artaxerxes (445/444 B.C.) to rebuild Jerusalem and to govern the province. He and Ezra purified the Jewish people by making known the Law of Moses, and forcing the men…
The Righteous Noah is mentioned in the Book of Genesis (chapters 5-9). Seeing the wicked deeds of men, God decided to destroy man from the earth, and even cattle, reptiles, and birds. But Noah found favor with the Lord, Who spared him, his sons and their wives. Therefore, God commanded Noah to…
Rebecca was the wife of the Old Testament Patriarch Isaac, and the mother of Jacob and Esau. She is mentioned in Genesis 22:23; Chapters 24-28; and Chapter 49:31. Saint Paul also mentions her (Romans 9:10).
Sarah was the wife of the Old Testament Patriarch Abraham and the mother of Isaac. At first she was called Sarai, and her name was changed to Sarah (Genesis 17:15-16). The three men who visited Abraham at the oak of Mamre told her that she would conceive and have a son (Genesis 18:10). She did not…
The Prophet-King Solomon (ca. 972 - 932 B.C.) was the son of David and Bathsheba. He succeeded his father as King and reigned for forty years. He built the palace and the Temple at Jerusalem, and was renowned for his wisdom. The Old Testament books of Proverbs, the Song of Songs, and the Wisdom of…
The 64-verse story of Susanna is found in the Septuagint Greek as a Preamble to the Book of Daniel. The Latin Vulgate, however, places the story of Susanna at the end of the Book of Daniel, which constitutes the book's thirteenth chapter.
Information about the Righteous Ruth, the wife of Boaz, may be found in the Old Testament book bearing her name.
Saint Mary is the mother of Saint Anna, and the grandmother of the Theotokos.
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Saint Spyridon of Tremithus was born towards the end of the third century on the island of Cyprus. He was a shepherd, and had a wife and children. He used all his substance for the needs of his neighbors and the homeless, for which the Lord rewarded him with a gift of wonderworking. He healed those…
Saint Therapon of Monza was a monk in the monastery of Saint Adrian (May 5) at the River Monza. The monk began his ascetic deeds in Moscow, and then transferred to the city of Kostroma at the Elevation of the Cross monastery, and was tonsured there. The pious monks Adrian and Paphnutius, from the…
The Hieromartyr Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, was a disciple of the great teacher and writer of the Church, Clement of Alexandria. At the beginning of the third century he was chosen bishop of Flavia, Cappadocia. He was arrested during the reign of the emperor Septimus Severus (193-211) and…
The Holy Martyr Synetus (the name is derived from the Greek word meaning “man of reason”) was a Roman by birth, and was a reader in the Roman Church under Pope Sixtus (257-258). He was subjected to torture, and was beheaded for his brave confession of faith in the time of the emperor…
The life of the holy martyr John, Abbot of Zedazeni Monastery, has not been preserved, but the list recalling “the names of the holy fathers who reposed at Zedazeni Monastery after John of Zedazeni,” which was compiled by Catholicos Arsenius II, tells us that Abbot John was…