The Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have been saints at all times, and they have come from every corner of the earth. They were Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, yet all…
The “Unbreakable (or “Indestructible”) Wall” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is commemorated on the Sunday of All Saints. It is an XI century mosaic icon of the Blachernae type, above the main altar of Kiev's Holy Wisdom Cathedral. The Mother of God is depicted against a golden background,…
On the Seven Arrows Icon, the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted without the Divine Infant. She inclines her head toward her right shoulder, and her heart is pierced with seven arrows or swords, of which four are on the left side and three on the right. A similar image of the Mother of God is also…
The Hieromartyr Pancratius, Bishop of Taormina, was born when our Lord Jesus Christ yet lived upon the earth. The parents of Pancratius were natives of Antioch. Hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, Pancratius’ father took his young son with him and went to Jerusalem in order to see the…
The Hieromartyr Cyril, Bishop of Gortyna, was bishop at Gortyna on the island of Crete for 50 years. He suffered either under the emperor Decius (249-251), or according to other historical sources, the emperor Maximian (284-305). Brought to trial before a governor named Lucius, who demanded that…
The Hosiomartyrs Patermuthius and Coprius, and the Martyr Alexander suffered under the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Patermuthius at first was a pagan and also the head of a band of robbers, but then he repented, was baptized and withdrew into the desert. The monk devoted all the rest of…
Saint Theodore, Bishop of Edessa, was born in the Syrian city of Edessa. All his life the holy saint was a bright witness of the great deeds of God, glorified in His Saints. At twelve years of age, after he lost his parents and gave away his inheritance to the poor, he went to Jerusalem, where he…
The Little Skḗtē of Saint Anne is a dependency of the Great Skḗtē of Saint Anne, and is located between Saint Anne's and Katounákia, on a rocky slope with little greenery, because of the rocky soil. It consists of ten Kalyves (cells gathered around a church), two of which do not have a…
The Koloch Icon of the Mother of God manifested itself in the year 1413 during the reign of Basil I, 15 versts from the city of Mozhaisk, in the vicinity of Koloch in the Smolensk governia. A peasant of this village by the name of Luke found the holy icon and took it to his home. One of his…
The Cyprus Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the Panachrana type. In this icon the Mother of God is depicted sitting on a throne with the Divine Infant in Her arms. On either side of Her is an angel. The prototype of this holy icon manifested itself in the year 392 on the island of Cyprus at…