"Mark was an idolater from Cyrene of Pentapolis, which is near Libya. Having come to the Faith of Christ through the Apostle Peter, he followed him to Rome. While there, at the prompting of Peter himself and at the request of the Christians living there, he wrote his Gospel in Greek... Afterwards, travelling in Egypt, he preached the Gospel there and was the first to establish the Church in Alexandria. The idolators, unable to bear his preaching, seized him, bound him with ropes, and dragged him through the streets until he, cut to pieces on rocks, gave up his soul. It is said that he completed his life in martyrdom about the year 68. He is depicted in holy icons with a lion next to him, one of the living creatures mentioned by Ezekiel (1:10), and a symbol of Christ's royal office, as St Irenaeus of Lyons writes." (Great Horologion)

Licinius was co-emperor with Constantine the Great. At his accession, he had agreed to tolerate Christianity in his territories, but soon turned to persecuting the Christians, and to a variety of carnal sins. He conceived a passion for Glaphyra, a Christian virgin handmaid of the Empress Constantia. When Glaphyra told Constantia of this, the Empress sent her away to Amasia in the East for her protection. There she was received and protected by Bishop Basil of that city. Licinius learned where Glaphyra was hiding and ordered that both she and the bishop be brought to him as prisoners. The soldiers who came for her found that she had already died, so they returned with only Bishop Basil, who was subjected to cruel tortures, then beheaded. His body was cast into the sea, but, with the help of an angel of God, his people found his body, retrieved it from the sea, and returned it to Amasia.   The Prologue adds, "The Emperor Constantine raised an army against Licinius, overcame him, arrested him and sent him into exile in Gaul, where he ended his God-hating days."

Early in the second century a pagan named Catallus bought Hesperus, his wife Zoë, and their sons Cyriac and Theodulus as slaves. All of them were Christians, and would not eat anything that had been sacrificed to idols — they would throw all such food to the dogs and go hungry themselves. When Catallus learned of this, he was enraged and began to torture them cruelly, beginning with the children. When none of them could be moved from his confession of Christ, the entire family was cast into a hot furnace, where they gave up their souls to God. Their bodies remained unburnt.

These holy martyrs were husband and wife. During the persecutions of Diocletian, the governor Arian demanded that Timothy hand over his sacred books (these were rare at that time, and as a Reader he was entrusted with their care). Timothy refused, saying that he would no more do so than a father would hand over his own children to death. He was brutally tortured and, when he refused to yield, the governor summoned Timothy's wife Maura, thinking that she would urge her husband to bow to the idols, but instead she confessed herself to be a Christian too. She in turn was subjected to many tortures, and finally the couple were crucified facing one another, where they hung for nine days, encouraging one another in the Faith, before they met their blessed end. They had been married for less than a month when they received their crowns.

The Apostle's main commemoration is September 26. Today is commemorated a miracle that took place at his grave every year on this date in Ephesus.   The Apostle reposed when he was more than one hundred years old; he was the only one of the Apostles not to die a martyr. Knowing that his death approached, he took seven of his disciples and told them to dig a grave in the form of a cross. He then lay down in the grave and died, and was buried by his disciples. When the faithful later opened his grave, they found it to be empty. But on this date every year a fine powder, called manna by the people, poured forth from the grave, and was used by the faithful for healing of ailments of body and soul.

He is counted as the greatest of the Old Testament Prophets. His incomparably beautiful verses foretell Christ in many places. He chastised, comforted, and counseled the pious king Hezekiah; but when he denounced the impiety and lawlessness of Hezekiah's son Manasseh, he was sawn in two outside Jerusalem, receiving a martyr's crown. His name means "The Lord is helper."   The Fifth Biblical Ode, "Out of the night my spirit waketh at dawn unto Thee, O God..." is taken from Isaiah.

Saint Epiphanios was born a Jew in Palestine, but he and his sister came to faith in Christ and were baptized together. Epiphanios gave all his possessions to the poor and became a monk. He knew St Hilarion the great (October 31), and traveled among the monks of Egypt to learn their ways and wisdom. The fame of his virtue spread so widely that several attempts were made to make him bishop, first in Egypt, then in Cyprus. Whenever Epiphanios heard of these plans, he fled the area. He was finally made bishop by means of a storm: told to go to Cyprus, he took ship instead for Gaza, but a contrary wind blew his ship directly to Cyprus, where "Epiphanios fell into the hands of bishops who had come together to elect a successor to the newly-departed Bishop of Constantia, and the venerable Epiphanios was at last constrained to be consecrated, about the year 367." (Great Horologion). He guarded his flock faithfully for the remainder of his life, working many miracles, defending the Church against the Arian heresy, and composing several books, of which the best-loved is the Panarion (from the Latin for 'bread-box'), an exposition of the Faith and an examination of eighty heresies. He was sometimes called the 'Five-tongued' because he was fluent in Hebrew, Egyptian, Syriac, Greek, and Latin.   Saint Germanos was the son of a prominent family, in Constantinople. He became Metropolitan of Cyzicus, then was elevated to the throne at Constantinople in 715. It was he who baptized the infant Constantine, who for his whole life was nicknamed "Copronymos" because he defecated in the baptismal font (though he was neither the first nor the last infant to do so). At this incident, Patriarch Germanos is said to have prophesied that the child would one day bring some foul heresy upon the Church, which he did, becoming a notorious iconoclast as emperor. Germanos openly opposed the decree of the Emperor Leo the Isaurian which began the persecution of the holy icons. For this he was deposed and driven into exile in 730. He lived the rest of his life in peace. Saint Germanos is the composer of many of the Church's hymns, notably those for the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple.

A devout Christian from his early youth, he was kidnapped from his native Chios and impressed into the army. When he openly confessed himself a Christian, his commander ordered him to make sacrifice to the gods. When he resolutely refused, the commander ordered him to be beaten with iron flails, then had his tongue cut out. But even without a tongue, Isidore was miraculously enabled to speak, and clearly proclaimed the name of Christ. At the same moment, the commander was struck mute. The commander then ordered by signs that Isidore be beheaded. Isidore went to his death rejoicing and praising God. This occurred during the persecutions of the Emperor Decius.

His name in his native Coptic, Pachom, means "eagle." He was an Egyptian pagan who entered the Roman army at a young age. While quartered at Thebes, he was amazed at the kindness of the local Christians, who brought food and drink to the soldiers. Learning who they were, he believed in Christ and vowed, once released from the army, to serve him for the rest of his life. At the end of his military service, he was baptised and became the disciple of the hermit Palamon, with whom he lived for ten years.   At a place called Tabennisis an angel appeared to him dressed in the robes of a monk and gave him a tablet on which was written a rule for a cenobitic monastery — one in which the brethren live communally rather than as hermits, something that had not been seen before among Christians. The angel commanded him to found such a monastery. Pachomius set to work, building many cells though there was no one to live there but himself and his brother John. When John questioned the unnecessary building, Pachomius only said that he was following God's command, without saying who would live there or when.   But soon men began to assemble there, and in time so many came to be his disciples that he eventually founded nine monasteries housing thousands of monks. The rule that he gave (or had been given) for these monasteries became the model for all communal Christian monasticism thereafter. St Pachomius reposed in 346, before his great Egyptian fellow-strugglers St Anthony the Great and St Athanasius the Great.   Entertaining angels unawares: Christian believers' simple acts of kindness toward their pagan oppressors may have seemed foolish to many, but it was such acts that opened the eyes of Pachomius to the light of Christ, and which bore incalculably great fruit: the founding of the monastic life which is still the backbone of Christ's Church.

Andronicus is counted as one of the Seventy. He and his fellow-worker Junia are mentioned by St Paul in his Epistle to the Romans: "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were in Christ before me" (Romans 16:7). Some, troubled that a woman is mentioned as an Apostle, have attempted to translate "Junia" as "Junias," a man's name; but the Fathers are united in treating her as "Junia." It may be that they were husband and wife, like Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18), but the ancient witnesses do not tell us.   Andronicus became Bishop of Pannonia, but did not stay in one place, instead travelling throughout the world to proclaim the Gospel. Both Andronicus and Junia were granted the gift of wonder-working. Both of them suffered for Christ and were finally martyred.

'Saint Patrick was Bishop of Prusa, a city in Bythinia (the present-day Brusa or Bursa). Because of his Christian faith, he was brought before Julius (or Julian) the Consul, who in his attempts to persuade Patrick to worship as he himself did, declared that thanks was owed to the gods for providing the hot springs welling up from the earth for the benefit of men. Saint Patrick answered that thanks for this was owed to our Lord Jesus Christ, and explained that when He, Who is God, created the earth, He made it with both fire and water, and the fire under the earth heats the water which wells up, producing hot springs; he then explained that there is another fire, which awaits the ungodly. Because of this, he was cast into the hot springs, but it was the soldiers who cast him in, and not he, who were harmed by the hot water. After this St Patrick was beheaded with the presbyters Acacius, Menander, and Polyaenus. Most likely this was during the reign of Diocletian (284-305).' (Great Horologion)

Saint Constantine was born in 272, the son of Constantius Chlorus, ruler of the western part of the Roman Empire, and St Helen. When his father died in 306 he was proclaimed successor to the throne. The empire was ruled at that time by several Caesars, each with his own territory. When Constantine learned that the Caesars Maxentius and Maximinus had joined against him, he marched on Italy. It was there that, on the eve of a decisive battle outside Rome, he saw in the sky a radiant Cross with the words "In this sign conquer." He ordered that a battle-standard be made bearing the image of a cross and inscribed with the Name of Jesus Christ. The following day he and his forces attacked and won a spectacular victory. He entered Rome in triumph and in 312 was proclaimed "Emperor of the West" by the Senate. (His brother-in-law Licinius ruled in the East.) Soon thereafter he issued his "Edict of Milan," whereby Christianity was officially tolerated for the first time, and persecution of Christians ceased. (Many believe, mistakenly, that the Edict made Christianity the only legal religion; in fact, it proclaimed freedom of religion throughout the Empire).   Licinius, though he pretended to accept the Edict, soon began persecuting Christians in his domain. In response, Constantine fought and defeated him in 324, becoming sole Emperor of the entire Roman Empire. In 324 he laid the foundations of a new capital in the town of Byzantium; in 330 he inaugurated the new capital city, naming it "New Rome" and "Constantinople." In 325 he called the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea, attending its sessions himself. Shortly before his repose in 337, he received Holy Baptism; he died on Holy Pentecost, at the age of sixty-five, and was interred in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.   St Constantine's holy mother Helen, in her role as "Augusta" of the Empire, founded countless churches. She traveled to Jerusalem and found the True Cross on which the Lord was crucified. In the Holy Land she established churches at the sites of Christ's Nativity and burial, which still stand today in much-modified form. She died at about eighty years of age.

He was from Amasea on the Black Sea, and was a nephew of St Theodore the Tyro (February 17). He was a fellow-martyr of Eutropius and Cleonicus (March 3), but is commemorated because, after they were crucified, he was shut in prison. A new governor replaced the one who had killed Basiliscus' companions, and Basiliscus prayed in tears that he not be deprived of a martyr's death. The Lord Jesus appeared to him, promised that his prayer would be answered, and told him to go to his village to say farewell to his mother and brothers. The new governor, Agrippa, sent soldiers to the village and had Basiliscus brought back to him. On the way to Amasea, many wonders were worked throught the Saint, and many were brought to Christ. Brought before the governor, Basiliscus again refused to worship the idols or deny Christ: he was beheaded in Comana and his body thrown into the river. Upon the holy Saint's execution, Agrippa instantly went mad, remaining so until he smeared himself with some of the Martyr's blood, which immediately healed him. Convinced by this wonder of the truth of the Faith, Agrippa was baptised. All of this happened during the reign of Diocletian.

Little is recorded of his earthly life, except that he was a monk and ascetic on Cyprus who rose to episcopal rank, and that he was martyred during a persecution of Christians. His body rested for centuries in a church in Cyprus. Then in 806, during the reign of the Emperor Nikephoros, The Saint appeared to the church's caretaker, warned him that infidels were about to attack Cyprus, and ordered that his relics be transferred to Constantinople. Without hesitation the caretaker had the casket containing St Therapon's relics put in a ship bound for the Capital. During the journey a great storm arose, but the waters around the ship remained calm, and a sweet scent filled the ship. The caretaker opened the casket and found that it was full to overflowing of a fragrant myrrh which exuded from the holy martyr's relics. In Constantinople, a church was built over the Saint's relics, which became known as a powerful source of healing for those who approached in faith.

He entered monastic life in early youth, and in time rose to the rank of Bishop in Chalcedon. As a hierarch, he showed outstanding compassion for the poor, caring for many orphans, widows and beggars. When the Emperor Leo the Armenian attacked the holy icons, Nicetas stood against him, and was driven into exile, where he reposed after much hardship and suffering.

"St Cyril was... from Alexandria, born about the year 376, the nephew of Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who also instructed the Saint in his youth. Having first spent much time with the monks of Nitria, he later became the successor to his uncle's throne in 412. In 429, when Cyril heard tidings of the teachings of the new Patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius, he began attempting through private letters to bring Nestorius to renounce his heretical teachings about the Incarnation; and when the heresiarch did not repent, Saint Cyril, together with Pope Celestine of Rome, led the Orthodox opposition to his error. Saint Cyril presided over the Third Ecumenical Council of the 200 holy Fathers in the year 431, who gathered in Ephesus under Saint Theodosius the Younger. At this Council, by his most wise words he put to shame and convicted the impious doctrine of Nestorius, who, although he was in town, refused to appear before Cyril. Saint Cyril, besides overthrowing the error of Nestorius, has left to the Church full commentaries on the Gospels of Luke and John. Having shepherded the Church of Christ for thirty-two years, he reposed in 444." (Great Horologion)   Today we commemorate St Cyril's repose. He is also commemorated on January 18, the date of his restoration to his see in Alexandria after he had been driven out by Nestorians.

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

For twenty-eight years he lived the ascetical life on Mt Athos as a disciple of St Gregory of Mt Sinai. Later, he founded the monastery of St Mamas, also on Mt Athos. In 1350 he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople. After four years, he resigned the patriarchal throne to return to the Holy Mountain, but was called back to the throne, where he remained until his death in 1363. He wrote the definitive lives of St Gregory the Sinaite and St Theodosius of Trnovo. He was known to St Maximos Kapsokalyvia (the Hut-burner), who foretold his death: On his final journey to Serbia, on which he died, the Patriarch stopped on Mt Athos, where St Maximos saw him and said, "This elder will not see his flock again, because I hear behind him the hymn over the grave, 'Blessed are those that are undefiled in the way...'"

In the struggle against the Arian heresy, Meletius, Patriarch of Antioch, was deposed, and the emperor Constantius demanded that Eusebius surrender the document that proved his legitimate appointment to the Patriarchal throne. Eusebius said he would not surrender it without the permission of all who had signed it and, when imperial soldiers threatened to cut off his right hand, he held out both his hands to them. When Constantius heard of this, he was struck with admiration and ceased his persecution of the bishop. As the Arian heresy continued to rage, Eusebius stood strong, and was finally exiled by order of the Emperor Valens. When the messenger bearing the edict of banishment arrived, Eusebius warned him to keep quiet lest the people, hearing why he had come, should kill him. Then Eusebius left the city on foot, under cover of darkness, in order to protect the messenger from harm. Upon the death of Valens, Eusebius returned to from exile and traveled throughout Syria (though he was now a very old man), appointing priests and bishops known for their Orthodoxy. About 380, as he was entering a village to enthrone a bishop, an Arian woman threw a tile at him from a rooftop, fracturing his skull. As he lay dying, he made all the bystanders swear not to take any revenge.   Saint Gregory the Theologian corresponded with Eusebius, and esteemed him so highly that in a letter to him he wrote, 'That such a man should deign to be my patron also in his prayers will gain for me, I am persuaded, as much strength as I should have gained through one of the holy martyrs.'

The wonderful story of the Forerunner's conception and birth is told in the first chapter of the Gospel according to Luke. Together with the Most Holy Theotokos and Christ Himself, both his conception and his birth are commemorated as Feasts of the Church. His name, Johanan in Hebrew, means "The Lord is Gracious."   The Prologue adds: "The news of the angel's appearing to Zacharias, of his dumbness and of the loosening of his tongue at the exact moment that he wrote 'John', was carried throughout all Israel, coming to Herod's ears. So, when he sent men to kill all the infants around Bethlehem, he sent men off to Zacharias' family house in the hills, to slay John also. But Elisabeth hid the child in good time. The king was enraged at this, and sent an executioner to the Temple to kill Zacharias (for it was then his turn to serve in the Temple again). Zacharias was killed between the court and the Temple, and his blood clotted and solidified on the paving slabs, and remained as an enduring witness against Herod. Elisabeth hid herself and the child in a cave, where she soon died. The young John remained in the wilderness alone, in the care of God and His angels." See September 5.

Though the daughter of a Roman senator and a great beauty, she fled the world and entered a monastery in Mesopotamia. (So great was her beauty that the abbess had her stand behind a screen while reading to her monastic sisters.) At that time the Emperor Diocletian sent a certain Selenus, along with his nephew Lysimachus, on a mission to find and destroy Christians in the East. Though Selenus was a fierce persecutor of the Christians, Lysimachus felt sympathy for them and secretly protected them whenever he could. Selenus and his party came to Nisibis, where Febronia's virtue and holiness had already become well-known, though she was still only twenty years old. Selenus summoned her and made every effort to convince her to renounce her faith. When she stood firm, she was first viciously dismembered then beheaded. Lysimachus gathered her relics and took them to the monastery for burial. At the monastery he, together with many soldiers, were baptized. The holy Febronia's relics worked many healings, and she herself appeared to the other nuns on the anniversary of her repose, standing in her usual place among her sisters. Her relics were translated to Constantinople in 363.

Saint John of Damascus (December 4), the great defender of Orthodoxy against the iconoclasts, was falsely accused of plotting against the Caliph of Damascus through the intrigues of the iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian (reigned 717-741). The Caliph ordered St John's hand to be cut off for his suspected treachery. The saint asked for the severed hand, and passed the night praying fervently for the aid before an icon of the most holy Theotokos. Waking in the morning, he found his hand miraculously restored, with only a scar around the wrist where it had been completely severed. In thanksgiving, St John had a silver hand mounted on the icon. When he became a monk in the monastery of St Sabbas in the Holy Land, he took the icon with him. It remained there until it was given to St Sabbas (Sava) of Serbia (January 14), who brought it to Serbia. Later it was miraculously taken to the Hilandar Monastery on the Holy Mountain (carried, according to legend, from Serbia to Mt Athos by an unguided donkey), where it may now be found.

For the lives of these two great Apostles, we can only recommend a reading of the entire New Testament, which contains accounts of their lives and many of their inspired writings. St Peter, after preaching in Judea, Antioch and parts of Asia, came to Rome, where he was crucified by order of the Emperor Nero, about the year 66. Being led to the cross, he begged the executioner to crucify him upside-down, because he felt unworthy to partake of the same death as the Savior.   St Paul's apostolic labors extended from Arabia to Spain. He also ended his earthly course in Rome, beheaded by order of Nero, some say at the same time that St Peter was crucified.

Though each of the Twelve Apostles has his own Feast day, on this day they are commemorated together. Of the Twelve, only St John the Theologian died in peace; the rest met a martyr's end. Following are their individual feast days and the manner of their end. Roman citizens could not be crucified: crucifixion was considered a shameful death unworthy of a citizen. For this reason the Apostle Paul was 'privileged' to be beheaded.  Peter: June 29, January 16. Crucified upside down.  Andrew: November 30. Crucified.  James the Son of Zebedee: April 30. Beheaded.  John the Theologian: September 26, May 8. Died in peace in a wondrous way.  Philip: November 14. Crucified.  Bartholomew: June 11, August 25. Crucified, then flayed and beheaded.  Thomas: October 6. Pierced with five spears.  Matthew the Evangelist: November 16. Burned to death.  James the Son of Aphaeos: October 9. Crucified.  Thaddeus (or Jude the brother of James): June 19. Crucified.  Simon the Zealot: May 10. Crucified.  Matthias: August 9. Stoned, then beheaded with an axe when dead.  Paul: June 29. Beheaded.

This brightly-shining Saint of our own day was born in Russia in 1896. In 1921 his family fled the Russian Revolution to Serbia, where he became a monk and was ordained a priest. From the time of his entry into monastic life he adopted a severely ascetical way of life: for the rest of his life he never slept in a bed, sleeping only briefly in a chair or prostrated before the icons. He ate one meal a day, in the evening. Teaching seminarians in Serbia, he instructed them each day to devote six hours to divine services, six hours to prayer (not including the divine services!), six hours to good works, and six hours to rest (these six hours obviously included eating and bathing as well as sleeping). Whether his seminarians followed his counsels we do not know, but he himself not only followed but exceeded them.   In 1934 he was made Bishop of Shanghai (in the Russian Church Abroad), where he served not only the Russian emigre community but a number of native Chinese Orthodox; from time to time he served the Divine Liturgy in Chinese. When the Communists took power in China, he labored tirelessly to evacuate his flock to safety, first to the Philippines, then to various western countries including the United States. He served as Bishop in Paris and Brussels, then, in 1962 was made Archbishop of San Francisco. Throughout his life as monk and hierarch he was revered (and sometimes condemned) for his ascetical labors and unceasing intercessions. During his life and ever since, numerous miraculous healings of all manner of afflictions have been accomplished through his prayers. Once, in Shanghai, a caretaker, investigating strange noises in the cathedral after midnight, discovered Bishop John standing in the belltower, looking down on the city and praying for the people. Years later, when he visited Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, the priest responsible for hosting him found the saint walking through the halls of the monastery, standing outside the door of each room and praying for the monk or seminarian sleeping within. When the Archbishop had prayed outside each room, he returned to the beginning of his circuit and began praying again; and so he spent the entire night.   Even as Archbishop, he lived in near-absolute poverty. His appearance was striking: His cassock was made of blue Chinese "peasant cloth," crudely decorated with crosses stitched by orphans who had been in his care in Shanghai. His Bishop's "miter" was often a cloth cap to which he had glued paper icons. Even in the United States, even while serving the Divine Liturgy (which he did every day), he went barefoot in all seasons. (Eventually, after he was hospitalized with an infected foot, his Metropolitan ordered him to wear shoes; thereafter, he wore sandals). Needless to say, he was an embarrassment to those who like their bishops to make a more worldly appearance, but among his various flocks throughout the world, there were always those who recognized him as a Saint in his own lifetime.   Following his repose in 1966, a steady stream of healings and other miracles was accomplished through his intercessions, and in 1996 he was glorified as a Saint of the Church. His incorrupt and wonder-working relics can be venerated at his cathedral in San Francisco. At St John's funeral, the eulogist told his mourners (and all of us): because Archbishop John was able to live the spirituality of the Orthodox Church so fully, even in modern, western, urban society, we are without excuse.   Footnote: An acquaintance of Monk John once met him on a train in Serbia. When asked his destination, Monk John replied, "I'm going to straighten out a mistake. I've gotten a letter meant for some other John whom they intend to make a bishop." The same person met him again on his return journey and asked if he had been able to resolve his problem. John answered, "The mistake is much worse than I thought: they did make me a bishop."

One of the greatest of the Desert Fathers, he lived in asceticism at Scetis in Egypt. After the death of St Anthony the great, Abba Sisoës became a hermit in Anthony's cave, saying "Thus in the cave of a lion, a fox makes his dwelling." In his own lifetime he was granted the grace to heal the sick, drive out unclean spirits, and even raise the dead.   As his death approached after a long life in the desert, his brethren gathered around him. His face began to shine, and he said, "See, Abba Anthony is here!" then, "See, the choir of the prophets is here!" Seeing that he seemed to be speaking with someone, his brethren asked him who it was. He replied, "The Angels are here, and I am asking them for time to repent." Amazed, they asked him what he could have to repent of, to which he replied, "Brethren, I do not know if I have even begun to repent." Finally, his face became as bright as the sun, and he said, "See, the Lord is here, and He says, 'Bring Me the vessel of the desert.'" With this, he gave his soul up to God, and his entire dwelling was filled with light and sweet fragrance.   Some of his teaching, as told in the Prologue: "St Sisoës taught his monks: 'When temptation comes to a man, that man must give himself over to the will of God, and acknowledge that the temptation comes upon him because of his sins. If something good comes to pass, he must acknowledge that it comes about by the providence of God.' A monk asked him: 'How can I please God and be saved?' The saint replied: 'If you desire to please God, withdraw from the world, separate yourself from the earth, leave aside creation and draw near to the Creator, unite yourself to God with prayers and tears, and you will find rest in this world and in the next.' A monk asked Sisoes: 'How can I acquire humility?' The saint replied: 'When a man learns to regard every man as better than himself, he thus acquires humility.' Ammon complained to Sisoes that he could not memorise the wise sayings that he had read, to be able to quote them in conversation with others. The saint replied: 'It is not necessary. That which is necessary is to acquire purity of mind and to speak from this purity, placing one's hope in God.'"

He was born in Antioch during the years that Christ walked in the flesh in Palestine. His parents, hearing of Christ's miracles and teaching, journeyed to Jerusalem, bringing their young son Pancratius. There all three of them saw and listened to Jesus Himself, and met the disciple Peter as well. After the Ascension, Pancratius and his parents were baptised in Antioch (some accounts say by the Apostle Peter himself). The Apostle Peter installed Pancratius as bishop of Taormina in Sicily, where he worked great wonders and brought many to Christ.   A pagan general named Aquilinus, hearing that Taormina had become Christian, set out with his army to destroy the town. Pancratius instructed the faithful not to fear and went out to confront the army, armed only with the sign of the Cross. When the army came near the town, the soldiers were seized with confusion and fear, fell on their own weapons and attacked one another, and finally withdrew in terror. Thus the city was saved by the prayers of the holy bishop. Later, pagans stoned him to death, granting him a martyr's end. His relics may still be venerated in Rome.

During a persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Licinius, Leontius and several of his companions came before the Imperial governor in Nikopolis of Armenia, and declared themselves as Christians. They were whipped and thrown into prison, where they were given no food or drink; but a Christian noblewoman secretly brought them water, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them in their cell to comfort them. Such was the power of their faith that, at their trial, two of their jailers proclaimed their conversion to Christianity. Many others came forward in the same way, until the company of Christians numbered forty-five in all. The judge ordered that they all have their arms and legs hacked off and that they then be burned to death.

"Saint Olga, renowned for her wisdom and sobriety, in her youth became the wife of Igor, Great Prince of Kiev, who ruled during the tenth century. After her husband's death, she herself ruled capably, and was finally moved to accept the Faith of Christ. She travelled to Constantinople to receive Holy Baptism. The Emperor, seeing her outward beauty and inward greatness, asked her to marry him. She said she could not do this before she was baptized; she furthermore asked him to be her Godfather at the font, which he agreed to do. After she was baptized (receiving the name of Helen), the Emperor repeated his proposal of marriage. She answered that now he was her father, through Holy Baptism, and that not even among the heathen was it heard of a man marrying his daughter. Gracefully accepting to be outwitted by her, he sent her back to her land with priests and sacred texts and holy icons. Although her son Svyatoslav remained a pagan, she planted the seed of faith in her grandson Vladimir (see July 15). She reposed in peace in 969." (Great Horologion)

He was made bishop by the Apostle Peter and sent to Gaul as a missionary. Some believe that he was Simon the Leper, whom the Lord healed, later named Julian in Baptism. In Gaul, despite great difficulty and privation, he converted many to faith in Christ and worked many miracles — healing the sick, driving out demons, and even raising the dead. In time the local prince, Defenson, was baptised along with many of his subjects. He reposed in peace.

He, along with his wife Priscilla, is mentioned in the book of Acts and in St Paul's Epistle to the Romans. He and his wife were Jews who moved to Corinth when the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Italy. They were working as tentmakers in Corinth when they met and worked with St Paul, also a tentmaker by trade, who brought them to faith in Christ. From that time onward they worked diligently to spread the Gospel of Christ. The Prologue says that they died at the hands of pagans, the Great Horologion that the circumstances of their repose are unknown.

"Holy Julitta was of noble birth. She was widowed young, and left with a newborn child, Cyricus. She lived in Iconium, a city of Lycaonia, and was a very devout Christian. She had her son baptised immediately after his birth and, when he was three years old, instructed him in the Faith and taught him to pray insofar as a child of that age is capable of learning. When Diocletian launched a persecution of Christians, much innocent blood was shed in the city of Iconium. Julitta took her son and hid from the wrath of the pagans in the town of Seleucid, but things were no better there. Julitta was arrested as a Christian and brought to trial. Seeing Julitta so courageously proclaim her faith in the Lord Jesus, the judge, to distress her and make her waver, took the child in his arms and began to kiss it. But Cyricus shouted: 'I am a Christian; let me go to my mother!', and he began to scratch the judge, turning his face away from him. The judge was furious, threw the child to the ground and kicked it, and the child rolled down the stone steps and gave his holy and innocent soul to God. Seeing how Cyricus suffered before her, Julitta was filled with joy and gave thanks to God that her son had been counted worthy of the wreath of martyrdom. After harsh torture, Julitta was beheaded, in the year 304. The relics of Ss Cyricusand Julitta have wonderworking power to this day. A part of the relics of these saints is to be found in Ochrid, in the Church of the Holy Mother of God, the Healer." (Prologue. In the Prologue, the name of Cyricus is spelled "Cerycus." It is changed here for consistency with other sources.)

"In the time of Diocletian, a fierce persecutor of Christians called Philomarchus came to Sebaste. He arrested and killed many Christians in the town. When he saw Athenogenes and his disciples, he told the elder to sacrifice to the idols, that they should not perish as had the other Christians. Athenogenes replied: 'O Torturer, those whom you describe as having perished have not perished, but are in heaven and make merry with the angels!' There was a touching moment when a deer, which had been hand-fed by the compassionate Athenogenes, ran up to him and, seeing him in such straits, shed tears. Wild animals of the hills had more pity on the martyrs than did the pagans! After harsh torture, during which an angel of God comforted them, they were all beheaded, first the priests and fellow workers of Athenogenes and then Athenogenes himself, and went to their heavenly home in the year 311." (Prologue)   The Great Horologion adds "There is a second Martyr Athenogenes commemorated today, mentioned by St Basil... it is said that as this Athenogenes approached the fire, wherein he was to die a martyric death, he chanted the hymn O Joyous Light in praise of the Holy Trinity." This is one way that we know that the vesperal hymn Gladsome Light was in use before the time of St Basil the Great.

She was born in Antioch of Pisidia to pagan parents; her father was a pagan priest. When she was about twelve years old her mother died, and she was given into the care of a woman who told her of the Gospel of Christ. She was immediately filled with love for Christ and consecrated her life to His service. Her father, hearing of this, was furious and disowned her. When she was fifteen years old, she was brought before the governor Olymbrius, who first desired to marry her and, when she refused, ordered her to make sacrifice to the idols. She refused and proclaimed herself a Christian. For this she was harshly tortured, imprisoned, and finally beheaded. While she was in prison she was tormented by demons, but drove them away by her prayers. For this reason she is especially invoked for deliverance from demonic possession. One of her hands is preserved at Vatopedi Monastery on the Holy Mountain, and some of her relics are preserved at an Albanian Monastery dedicated to her.

She was sought as a bride by many because of her exceptional beauty and wisdom as well as her noble birth. She was betrothed at a young age, and when her betrothed died, she refused to consider any more suitors, saying that since her betrothed was alive in Christ, it was not right for her to turn to another. Instead she turned to a life of virginity, ascetic struggle and prayer. She greatly influenced her younger brothers, turning them from worldly things to monastic life. She established a monastery and, with her mother Emilia, became a nun. She reposed in peace in 379.   Her brother St Gregory of Nyssa held her in special honor. He was present at her death and gave a moving oration at her funeral. He describes how, in her last moments, she prayed thus to God: 'Thou, O Lord, givest rest to our bodies in the sleep of death for a little time, then Thou wilt waken them again with the Last Trumpet. Forgive me, and grant that, when my soul is parted from my body, it may be presented before Thee stainless and without sin, and that it may be as incense before Thee.' Then she made the sign of the Cross on her brow, eyes, face and heart, and died. St Gregory's work on the resurrection of the dead (available in English as On the Soul and Resurrection) is cast in the form of a dialogue between himself and his sister Macrina in which he is the earnest but ignorant student and she the wise and patient teacher. So do the Saints honor the Saints.

These two brothers in Christ were from Edessa in Mesopotamia. After a pilgrimage to Jerusalem they fled the world together; they were tonsured as monks, but soon left their monastery to struggle in prayer near the Dead Sea. Thus they passed thirty years in silence and asceticism. Symeon was then commanded by God to leave the desert and serve God among the world's people. At their parting John said to him: 'Keep your heart from all that you see in the world. Whatever there may be that touches your hand, let it not take hold of your heart. When food passes your lips, let not your heart be sweetened by it. If your feet have to move, let there be peace within you. Whatever you do outwardly, let your mind remain tranquil. Pray for me, that God may not part us from each other in the world to come.' Symeon went to Emesa in Syria, where he spent the rest of his life, feigning madness in order to conceal his holiness from men. But he performed miracles of healing and appeared to people of the city in dreams, calling them to repentance. He was given the gift of discernment of others' inward condition, and while dancing and raving through the streets would approach people, whisper their sins in their ears, and call them to repentance. He reposed peacefully in 590; John, who had remained in the desert, reposed soon afterward.

He was a disciple of St Peter, born in Antioch. St Peter took him to Rome (he was bishop of Antioch before being bishop of Rome, so Antioch is as much the 'see of Peter' as is Rome) and made him Bishop of Ravenna. In Ravenna, he healed the wife of the military governor of a grave illness, after which the governor and his household confessed Christ and were baptized. Apollinarius was able to form a house church in the governor's home, from which he labored for the Gospel for twelve years. Eventually, he was condemned to exile in Illyria for his faith, and began a life of missionary travel in the Balkans, travelling as far as the Danube. After twelve years of this work, he was driven back to Italy by the hostility of some of the pagans. He was received with joy by the people of Ravenna, which aroused the envy of the pagan elders, who denounced him to the Emperor Vespasian. When the elders asked permission to kill Apollinarius, the Emperor only gave them permission to drive him from the city, wisely saying 'It is not seemly to take revenge on behalf of the gods, for they can themselves be revenged on their enemies if they are angered.' But, in defiance of the Imperial decree, the pagan leaders attacked and killed Apollinarius with knives. His holy relics are preserved in Ravenna, in a church dedicated to him.

She was from Tyre in Syria, the daughter of a pagan named Urban. She is a miraculous example of one brought to faith in Christ without any human intervention. When she was about eleven years old, her father, seeing her great beauty and wanting to protect her from men until she was grown, made her live alone on the top floor of a fine house, with slaves, all worldly comforts, and gold and silver idols. Passing the time by looking out the window, Christina came by her meditations on the beauty and order of nature to believe in the one, living God. An Angel of the Lord then came to her, who marked her with the sign of the Cross and instructed her in the truth of the Gospel. The newly-enlightened Christina smashed all the idols in her room, so infuriating her father that he sent her to be tortured and beheaded for her faith. Her father, though in good health and in the prime of life, died that night. Christina was subjected to horrible tortures and mutilations, and finally died by the sword, her faith unshaken.   Troparion to St Christina: O Lord Jesus, unto Thee Thy lamb doth cry with a great voice:* O my Bridegroom, Thee I love;* and seeking Thee, I now contest, and with Thy baptism am crucified and buried.* I suffer for Thy sake, that I may reign with Thee;* for Thy sake I die, that I may live in Thee:* accept me offered out of longing to Thee as a spotless sacrifice.* Lord, save our souls through her intercessions,* since Thou art great in mercy.

"when the Emperor decius conquered Babylon, he arrested Polychronius, together with three priests, two deacons and two baptised princes, Eudin and Senis. Polychronius would make no reply before the Emperor, but kept silent, while St Parmenius, one of the priests, spoke for them all. The Emperor took the bishop and priests to Persia, to the city of Kordoba, and had them beheaded with an axe, but he took the princes with him to Rome, threw them first to the wild beasts and then had them slain with the sword. They all suffered with honour in 251." (Prologue)

Read the account of Christ's holy Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in Greek) in Matthew ch. 17, Mark ch. 9, and Luke ch. 9. Appearing clothed in Light on Mt Tabor, the Savior fulfilled his promise to His disciples that "there are some standing here who shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in His Kingdom" (Mt 16:28). Christ's Transfiguration is the image of the future state of the righteous, of which He spoke when He said "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun" (Mt 13:43). According to the Church's tradition, the Transfiguration occurred forty days before His Crucifixion; for this reason the Transfiguration is celebrated forty days before the Exaltation of the Cross.

"Born a pagan in Persia in the time of the Emperor Constantine, he came to know the Christian faith as a young man, forsook his paganism and received baptism. He was so enchanted with the true Faith that he left all worldly things and became a monk in a monastery near the town of Nisibis. He lived among the brethren for some time, then withdrew into silence, going to Archimandrite Urbel, of whom it is said that, for sixty years, he never ate anything cooked. Urbel made him a deacon, but, when he wanted to make him a priest, Dometius fled to a distant mountain and settled in a cave there. He attained such perfection through fasting, prayer, vigils and meditation that he was able to heal the sick. When Julian the Apostate came to that place, he heard of Dometius and sent men to wall him up alive in the came, with two of his disciples. Thus died this saint of God, in 363, and went to the Kingdom of God." (Prologue). The Great Horologion says that Dometius and his disciples were stoned to death.

He was born to an eminent family in Cyprus, and was well-educated. He was married and had children, but when his wife died he left his family to live as a monk in Syria. There he became known and loved for his learning, humility and kindness to all, and the people of Apamea chose him as their bishop. As bishop, he worked with evangelical fervor to bring the mostly-pagan people to Christ. When a pagan temple was burned down, some pagans blamed Marcellus, seized him, and threw him into the fire, where he perished.

He lived in Nicomedia, where he turned many pagans from their idolatry to faith in Christ. For this he and several companions were seized, beaten, bound, and taken to Byzantium. On the way, several of Agathonicus' companions died from their harsh treatment. The survivors, including Agathonicus himself, were taken to Selyvria in Thrace, where they were tortured before the Emperor himself, then beheaded.

He was born in Asia Minor around the year 120, and was a disciple of Saint Polycarp, who was in turn a disciple of St John the Evangelist. He succeeded the martyred St Pothinus as Bishop of Lyons in Gaul (now France). He produced many writings contesting not only against paganism but against Gnostic heresies that were then troubling the Church. When Victor, Bishop of Rome, planned to excommunicate the Christians of Asia Minor for celebrating Pascha on a different date than the Church of Rome, Irenaeus persuaded him to stay his hand and maintain unity and peace in the Church. (This was before the date of Pascha had been set by the Ecumenical Councils). By his efforts Lyons became for centuries a center and bastion of Orthodoxy in the West.

"After the death of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia (see Dec. 28), their Bishop Anthimos fled to a certain village to care for his remaining flock. The Emperor Maximian sent men in search of him. When they found him, he promised to show Anthimos to them, but first took them in as guests, fed them, and only then made himself known to them. Amazed at his kindness, the soldiers promised him to tell Maximian that they had not found him. But Anthimos went willingly with them, and converting them by his admonitions, baptized them on the way. He boldly confessed his Faith before Maximian, and after frightful tortures was beheaded in the year 303 or 304." (Great Horologion)   Our Holy Father Theoctistus, Fellow Ascetic of St Euthymius (451), is also commemorated today. A faithful disciple of St Euthymius, he was abbot of St Euthymius' monastery in Palestine until his repose in peace at the age of ninety.

He was archbishop of Antioch at the time of the wicked Emperor Numerian. Once the Emperor came to Antioch and attempted to enter a church where Babylas was serving. Coming to the door, the Archbishop forbade the Emperor, as a pagan and a shedder of innocent blood, to enter the house where the True God was worshipped. Retreating in humiliation, the Emperor determined to take his revenge. Shortly after he had Babylas imprisoned along with several Christian children. Babylas was made to watch the beheading of each of the children. Having given them encouragement he submitted himself to beheading. At his own request he was buried in the chains with which he had been bound.   After the establishment of Christianity in the Roman Empire, the Emperor Gallus had a church built in honor of Babylas near the site of a temple to Apollos at Daphne, outside Antioch. (This was where, according to pagan legend, the maiden Daphne had been turned into a tree to escape the lust of Apollos). When Julian the Apostate came to Antioch in 362 to consult a famous oracle there, he found that the oracle had been deprived of its power by the presence of a Christian church nearby. He ordered the relics of St Babylas to be dug up and removed from the Church. As soon as this had been done a thunderbolt destroyed the shrine of Apollo, which Julian did not dare to rebuild. Saint John Chrysostom, then Archbishop of Antioch, preached a sermon on these events within a generation after their occurrence.

Saint Abda lived in Persia during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius II and of the Persian king Yazgerd I; as bishop of the Christians there, he labored tirelessly to care for his own flock and bring the pagans to Christ. One day, full of zeal, he entered the temple at which the king made sacrifice, overturned the sacred fire and set the temple on fire. The enraged king forbade the worship of the Christian God, ordered the destruction of all the churches and monasteries, and arrested all of the clergy. Abda was brought before the king and ordered to rebuild the pagan temple; when he refused, he was cruelly and lengthily tortured until he gave up his soul to God. This was the beginning of a thirty-year period of terrible persecution for Christians in Persia. Of the many who perished for Christ during this time, St Benjamin is commemorated on October 13, and Sts Hormizd and Sunin today.   Saint Hormizd was the son of a Persian governor who became a Christian in his youth. For this, his father condemned him to labor as a naked camel-herder in the desert. Some time later, the King sent Hormizd a linen tunic, promising to restore him to favor if he would return to the religion of the Persians. The Saint tore up the tunic and retured it to the king, for which he was executed.   Saint Sunin was a high Persian official who turned to Christ and was rewarded with a crown of martyrdom.

He fled from Italy to Bithynia during Diocletian's persecutions. In Bithynia he converted so many pagans to faith in Christ that those whose hearts remained hard rose up against him and, while he was celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Archangel Michael, slew him at the altar, killing many other worshipers with him. Two hundred years after his death, he appeared to a soldier named John, who unearthed his relics and found them to be completely incorrupt.

She was born in Chalcedon to noble Christian parents. When Priscus, the locul Proconsul, celebrated a public sacrifice to Ares, forty-nine Christians including Euphemia hid themselves to avoid idolatry. Their absence was noticed, and they were found and brought before Priscus. After torturing all of them for eleven days, on the twelfth day he singled out Euphemia because of her beauty and began to flatter her, hoping in this way to draw her away from the Faith. When his efforts proved useless, he ordered her to be more savagely tortured than any of her fellow believers. She was miraculously preserved intact through many tortures, finally giving her soul into God's hands when she was thrown to wild beasts. Her devout parents retrieved and buried her body. Her relics are preserved in the Patriarchate of Constantinople.   The miracle wrought by her holy relics at the Council of Chalcedon is commemorated on July 11.

He was born to a noble family in Maastricht (in modern-day Netherlands). When his spiritual father Bishop Theodard was killed in 671, St Lambert was elected Bishop of Maastricht despite his youth. He was loved by his flock for his holiness, ascetic labors and almsgiving, but was driven from his see in 675 after his patron King Childeric II was assasinated. He withdrew to the Monastery of Stavelot where he lived for seven years as one of the brethren, claiming no privileges despite his office. Once, getting up to pray during the night, he accidentally disturbed the monastic silence. The Abbot called out for whoever was responsible to do penance by standing barefoot in the snow before a cross outside the monastery church. In the morning the Abbot was dismayed to see the Bishop standing barefoot, covered with snow, before the cross, his face shining. The Abbot sought to apologize, but Lambert replied that he was honored to serve God like the Apostles, in cold and nakedness.   When King Pepin of Heristal took power in 681, he restored Lambert to his see, despite the Saint's desire to remain in obscurity. The holy bishop renewed his pastoral labors with vigor, visiting the most distant parishes and preaching the Gospel to the pagans who still inhabited the area, despite danger and threats. But when King Pepin put away his wife and replaced her with his concubine Alpais, St Lambert was the only Bishop who dared to rebuke him. For this he incurred the wrath of Alpais, who ordered his death. His assassins carried out their evil commission, even though they found a cross shining above the humble dwelling where he was staying.   Saint Lambert is one of the best-loved Saints of the Netherlands and Belgium, where many parish churches are dedicated to him. His relics are now in the Belgian city of Liège.