Saint Laura of Cordoba (+ 864)

St. Laura of Cordoba (Feast Day - October 19)

The Iberian peninsula was invaded by the Muslims at the beginning of the 8th century. Between the years 756 and 929, the Emirate of Córdoba was established in the south. The Visigoths who lived in these lands are known as Mozarabs and it was among this group of Christians who lived in the Umayyad lands that a movement arose that led them to voluntary martyrdom. Apparently, the Muslims and the Mozarabic ecclesiastical authorities had reached an agreement and, as long as a series of rules were respected, they did not prevent the Christians from continuing with their beliefs. However, due to the influence of Eulogio de Córdoba, a group of almost 50 Mozarabic Christians volunteered for martyrdom, afflicted by the Arabization of the population. Among them was Saint Laura of Cordoba.

A Miracle of Saint Thomas of Maleon in Casablanca in 1991

 

By Archimandrite Daniel Gouvalis

July 1991. A coach from Athens visited Velanidia (a village built on the southernmost edge of the Parnon mountain range). Fifty Christians wished to worship at the Church of Saint Thomas of Maleon and receive the sanctifying grace from its spring. Out of bad judgment, a large coach was used, while they should have taken a small one. How it managed to take the turns, as it approached the village, is inexplicable. It can only be explained as a miracle of Saint Thomas.

The devout pilgrims, after making a supplication to the Saint and after prostrating before his holy relic – some felt that it gave off a divine aroma – reverently drank from the holy water. Moreover they took some with them in bottles. One of these bottles of Saint Thomas's holy water traveled a long, long way. It reached Morocco, to the great city of Casablanca.

Why a Carpet Covers the Body of Saint John the Russian in Icons

When Saint John the Russian reposed on May 27, 1730, in a stable owned by his former master among the animals he cared for both before and after he was a slave, his former Ottoman master, a Muslim who had freed him from being his slave due to his reverence for him, called for the Orthodox Christian priest of the village of Prokopion as well as the Christians to take the body and give him a proper Christian burial. Because his former Turkish master came to love John very much, he showed his love for him by taking a costly carpet and placing it on the Saint's coffin, according to the custom of the time, which showed that he held him in great honor and esteem.

Saint Anastasios the Weaver and the Healing of the Paralyzed Turk in 1918

The following is the testimony of Michael Christodoulos, of a miracle that took place in Cyprus:

"In 1918 I was seven years old. My father, who was the commissioner of the church [of Saint Anastasios the Wonderworker and Weaver, in the now occupied Peristeronopigi, in the province of Famagusta], always took me with him when Saint Anastasios celebrated [on September 17].

On September 16, after dinner, I was with other children outside the old church, among those who had come for the festival. Then they brought in a big cart a paralyzed Turk from Anglisides [a community of the province of Larnaca].

The Turks who accompanied him wanted to put him in the church [to stay overnight and be healed]. We children and some others protested and shouted not to put the Turk in the church.

An African Neomartyr

 

 

By Archimandrite Seraphim Demopoulos

In 1985 an African - who was then a deacon - named Nicholas narrated to us the following circumstance.

In Uganda, Archimandrite Nikodemos Sarikas (1878-1941) preached for the first time (in 1933). Among those who heard him preaching was a young African boy.

That night, when the boy and his family sat to eat, he did his cross first.

Holy Martyr Constantine-Khaki, King of Georgia (+ 852)

 

St. Constantine-Khaki of Georgia (Feast Day - November 10)

The ninth century was one of the most difficult periods in Georgian history. The Arab Muslims wreaked havoc throughout the region of Kartli, forcibly converting many to Islam with fire and the sword. Many of the destitute and frightened were tempted to betray the Faith of their fathers.

At that time the valorous aristocrat and faithful Christian, Prince Constantine, was living in Kartli. Born in 768, he was the descendant of Kakhetian princes, hence his title “Kakhi.”

As is meet for a Christian believer, Constantine considered himself the greatest of sinners and often said, “There can be no forgiveness of my sins, except through the spilling of my blood for the sake of Him Who shed His innocent blood for us!”

Holy Martyrs of Lazeti (+ 17th and 18th cent.)

Holy Martyrs of Lazeti (Feast Day - April 29)

Lazeti is a region in southern Kolkheti (Colchis), the ancient kingdom located in what is now southwestern Georgia and northeastern Turkey. In ancient times, Lazeti was a center of Georgian culture. The holy Apostle Andrew began the conversion of the Georgian nation from this very region.

After the fall of Byzantium in 1453, the Ottomans sought for three centuries to destroy the Christian-Georgian consciousness of the Laz people. At the same time, Rome increased its presence in the region by dispatching ever greater numbers of Catholic missionaries.

Holy Martyr Abraham of Bulgaria (+ 1229)

St. Abraham of Bulgaria (Feast Day - April 1)

The Holy Martyr Abraham the Bulgarian, the Wonderworker of Vladimir, was born in Volga Bulgaria, amongst the Muslim Volga Bulgars in what is now Tatarstan, Russia. He was a rich and noble merchant, who traded in the cities of the Volga region, and was unusually good and kindly towards the destitute. Visiting Russian cities, talking with Russian merchants, he was deeply interested in the Christian faith. God's grace touched his heart and, knowing the truth of the holy faith of Christ, he accepted Holy Baptism. So this merchant became a Christian and received a new name, with which he is recorded on the pages of the Book of Life, Abraham (nowhere in the annals is there mention of the name of the Saint before Baptism).

Holy Martyr Nikoloz Dvali of Jerusalem (+ 1314)

St. Nokoloz Dvali (Feast Day - February 12)

The Holy Martyr Nikoloz Dvali was born at the end of the 13th century to a God-fearing couple who directed his path toward the spiritual life.

At the age of twelve Nikoloz traveled to the Klarjeti Wilderness and was tonsured a monk. From there he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and remained in the holy city, settling at the Holy Cross Monastery. Burning with desire for the apostolic life, Monk Nikoloz was determined to die a martyr’s death.

Holy Martyr Luka of Jerusalem (+ 1273)

St. Luka of Jerusalem (Feast Day - February 12)

The Holy Martyr Luka of Jerusalem lived in the 13th century. He was born to an honorable, pious Georgian family by the name of Mukhaisdze. After the repose of Luka’s father, his mother left her children and went to labor at a monastery in Jerusalem.

When Luka reached the age of twenty, he traveled to Jerusalem to visit his mother and venerate the holy places. After spending some time there he decided to remain and be tonsured a monk at Holy Cross Monastery. He was later ordained a deacon and became fluent in Arabic. Soon the brothers of the monastery recognized his wisdom and asked him to guide them as abbot. For three years Luka directed the monastery in an exemplary manner.

Holy Martyr Abo the Perfumer of Baghdad (+ 786)

St. Abo the Perfumer (Feast Day - January 8)

Saint Abo was born of pure Arab stock in Baghdad, raised a Muslim and practicing the trade of perfumer. At that time, the latter half of the eighth century, Nerses prince of Georgia was imprisoned in Baghdad by Caliph Al Mansur (754-775) for three years. When Nerses was released and permitted to return to Georgia, Abo, by the inspiration of God, being seventeen or eighteen years old, entered into his service and, leaving all his family behind, went to Georgia with him. There he learned Georgian, read the Old and New Testaments, attended church services with interest and zeal, and began to fast and pray secretly, since Georgia was in the control of the Saracens and he could not become a Christian openly.

A 17th Century Recluse Named Maximos on the Island of Delos

Mount Cynthus on Delos

By Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708)

(A Voyage Into The Levant, published in 1741)

At the foot of Mount Cynthus, we were shown a small lodge, where lived some years ago an ascetick,* as the Greeks call them: his name was Maximus, he was a caloyer of Monte-Santo,** and he returned thither to confine himself in dismal solitude, far from any new object to disturb his repose; for the Myconiots,*** who go daily to Delos to cut wood, to fish, or to hunt, gave him too frequent distractions. He dwelt some time at Stapodia, a base rock beyond Mycone,**** but he was fain to quit it, on account of the scarcity of water to drink. This humble zealous recluse was going to Salonica, to preach publicly against the Mahometan religion, and thereby merit martyrdom; but his ghostly father dissuaded him from it, representing to him, that the Turks would doubtless wreak their rage upon the other caloyers, that were less in love with being impaled than he was.

Notes:

* Ascetic.

** "Caloyer of Monte-Santo" is translated as "monk of the Holy Mountain," meaning Mount Athos.

*** Residents of Mykonos.

**** Mykonos.

Holy Hieromartyr Evdemoz, Catholicos of Georgia (+ 1642)

St. Evdemoz of Georgia (Feast Day - October 4)

Saint Evdemoz (Eudemus) came of the princely family of Diasamidze. Prior to his installment as the catholicos patriarch in 1632, he is known to have served as Archbishop of Bodbe from 1617 to 1619. During his patriarchal tenure he led the Georgian Orthodox Church in the mid-17th century during the reign of King Rostom-Khan (1632-1658), a Georgian who had converted to Islam.

In eastern Georgia — Kartli and Kakheti — King Teimuraz I waged a decades-long struggle against the Iranian hegemony, while western Georgian territories had been politically and ecclesiastically separated from the east. Evdemoz was allied with and related by kinship to Teimuraz: his brotherly niece was married to Teimuraz's son and heir, Prince David. In 1633, Teimuraz was ousted from Kartli by the Muslim Georgian prince Rostom, who declared himself king and was confirmed by the shah of Iran as a wali. Teimuraz did not cease his opposition to the new regime and was still able to maintain foothold in his native Kakheti. Having thus murdered King Luarsab II of Kartli and chased out King Teimuraz I of Kakheti, the Persian shah Abbas I had declared Rostom-Khan ruler of a unified Kartli-Kakheti kingdom.

Holy Martyrs David and Constantine, Princes of Argveti in Georgia (+ 740)

Sts. David and Constantine of Argveti (Feast Day - October 2)

By Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

The 8th century was extremely difficult for the Georgian people. Marwan bin Muhammad (called “the Deaf” by the Georgians and “the Blind” by the Armenians), the Persian ruler and military leader for the Arab caliph, invaded eastern parts of the Byzantine Empire, then Armenia and Georgia.

With fire and the sword he fought his way across Georgia from the east to the city of Tskhumi (now Sokhumi) in the region of Abkhazeti. The princes David and Constantine Mkheidze of Argveti were faithful Christians and skilled military leaders. When they heard about the enemy’s invasion, the brothers prayed to God for protection, assembled their armies, and urged their people to pray fervently for God’s help.

Holy Martyrs Isaac and Joseph of Georgia (+ 808)

The Holy New Martyrs Isaac and Joseph the Georgians were born into a Muslim family, but their Georgian mother, a Christian, secretly raised them and an older unknown brother according to the Christian tradition.

The brothers were so firmly dedicated to the Christian faith that they sent a letter to Byzantium to request that Emperor Nikephoros I Phokas (802-811) permit them to settle in his capital. The pious ruler extended a warm welcome to the brothers, who were already well known and respected by the nobility of Theodosiopolis, or Karnu (now Erzerum).

The Turkish Persecutor of Christians Who Was Healed by Saint Myron of Crete in 1840

In the year 1840 there lived on the island of Crete in the village of Archanes which was in the province of Temenos a certain Turk named Hussein Pasha. He had led the massacre that took place in Heraklion on June 24, 1821, remembered in the area as "the great ravage" ("ο μεγάλος αρπεντές"). One day Hussein Pasha came down with an illness that made him blind. He sought the help of doctors, but nothing could be done for him. In a desperate situation, he turned to some Christians who were friends of his, who urged him to visit the tomb of Saint Myron.

Saint Arsenios, Patriarch of Alexandria (+ 1010)

St. Arsenios of Alexandria (Feast Day - July 11)

Arsenios was the brother of the wife of the Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz (975-996), which greatly contributed to the ecclesiastical career of both Arsenios himself, who became the Metropolitan of Memphis, and his brother Orestes, who became the Patriarch of Jerusalem in 986.

After the death of Patriarch Elias II of Alexandria, upon the direct instructions of Caliph al-Hakim (996-1021), the son and successor of al-Aziz, Arsenios was elevated to be the Patriarch of Alexandria on June 17, 1000.

Taking advantage of the location of the ruling dynasty, the Brother-Patriarchs achieved "primacy" among the non-Muslim confessions of Egypt. After the death of Orestes in 1005, Patriarch Arsenios also took over the administration of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, thus concentrating power over the entire Orthodox community of the Fatimid caliphate.

Holy Martyr Niketas the New

St. Niketas the New Martyr (Feast Day - December 17)

Verses

A new athlete of our times,
Equal to the athlete Niketas of old.

The Protovestiarios and Grand Logothete Theodore Mouzalon (d. 1294) wrote an Encomium to this Saint, which is our only source of information about him. He writes that Niketas was born with the name Theodore in Ancyra of Galatia and when he was ordained a Reader he was renamed Niketas in honor of Saint Niketas the Goth. With two merchants he traveled to Nyssa, then in Seljuk hands, when he was twenty, in order to visit his aunt, sister and her husband. When they arrived in Nyssa it was the month of Ramadan and Niketas with his two companions were observed drinking wine. For this Niketas and his two companions were arrested and brought before the judge.

Holy Martyr Bacchus the New

St. Bacchus the New (Feast Day - December 15)

Verses

Not the second but Bacchus the new,
Is appointed among the athletes through the sword.

During the reign of Constantine VI (780-797) and Irene, restorers of the holy icons, the Holy Land was under the control of the Muslim Arabs. Many Christians there apostatized, putting honors and security in this world above their eternal joy. One of these was the father of this Saint, who brought up seven children as Muslims. His wife however, never renounced her Christian faith and prayed constantly for the conversion of her husband and children.

Holy Venerable Martyr Michael, Abbot of Zobe Monastery, and the Thirty-Six Monks With Him (+ c. 790)

St. Michael and the 36 Monks with him (Feast Day - October 1)

Verses

To Michael and the Thirty Monks.

Michael was decapitated together with his three times ten disciples,
Joining together the chorus of the monastic-martyrs.

To the Six Monks.

The cloaks of the six monastics together,
Became red in the contest by the sword.