Holy New Martyrs Ambrosios, Neophytos and Makarios of Vatopaidi (+ 1821)

Sts. Ambrosios, Neophytos and Makarios of Vatopaidi (Feast Day - June 22)

In 1820 the Hieromonks Neophytos and Ambrosios, the Hierodeacon Parthenios and the monks Dionysios and Dorotheos and later Makarios were sent to Crete, by invitation, with sacred relics, in order to expel the terrible disease of the plague, which infected the locals there. These relics were a portion of the Holy Zoni of the Panagia which was a gift to the monastery of the emperor John Kantakouzinos, a piece of Holy Wood from the True Cross, and the skull of Saint Andrew of Crete.

The Skull of a 15 Year Old Neomartyr, Saint Niketas of Nisyros

The memory of the Holy New Martyr Niketas of Nisyros (+ 1732) is celebrated by the Church June 21st.

He was beheaded by the Turks at the age of 15 for becoming a Christian after being raised a Muslim.

Today his sacred skull is kept in Iveron Monastery at Mount Athos.

Saint Alena of Belgium (+ 640)

St. Alena of Belgium (Feast Day - June 18)

Saint Alena was born in Dilbeek, just outside Brussels, Belgium, in the seventh century. She was baptized without the knowledge of her pagan parents, the nobleman Levold and his wife Hildegaart.

Alena secretly attended the Christian liturgy, giving varying excuses to her parents. One night her father told his guards to follow her and, after tracking her for quite some time, they witnessed Alena entering a chapel in Vorst. Her father came to the conclusion that Christians had bewitched her into conversion, and ordered that she be arrested. When her father’s guards attempted to arrest her she resisted. During the struggle, her arm was severed, and she offered her soul up to God. It is said the arm was taken by an angel and placed before the altar in the chapel where she regularly worshiped.

Holy Five Virgin Martyrs Thekla, Mariamna, Martha, Maria and Ennatha as Models for our Lives

Holy Five Canonical Virgins (Feast Day - September 26 & June 9)

 By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The Holy Virgin Martyrs Thekla, Mariamna, Martha, Maria and Ennatha came from Persia and lived in the 4th century AD, during the years of King Shapur. They lived near a village called Ἀza and were dedicated to God. There they lived in asceticism and prayer and were guided by a priest named Paul, who, unfortunately, was greedy and kept for himself the money given by the faithful for the needs of the hungry. And this passion of his, because he did not strive to defeat it, led him, unfortunately, to eternal loss.

In the area where the nuns and their spiritual father Paul lived, there lived also a magician, who understood that Paul had money and he wanted in every way to get it. That is why he presented himself before the king and told him that these women and Paul were Christians. The king called for them and ordered them to deny Christ. Then the nuns openly confessed their faith in Christ, but Paul did not do the same. Instead, he asked the king not to take his money away from him, and when he told him that you could keep your money if you deny Christ, then he said that he would deny Him. Later, however, the king set a condition for him to keep his money, which was for he himself to behead the nuns, who in the meantime had been severely tortured. At first he hesitated to carry out this heinous act, but then, defeated by the passion of greed, he took the sword from the hands of the executioner and beheaded them. Before beheading them, they tried with warm words of faith and love for Christ to awaken his conscience and lead him to repentance, but, unfortunately, he remained unrepentant. The money, however, which he loved so much, he did not enjoy, since at the end the magician took it, and then in his despair he committed suicide, like Judas, that is, he put a noose around his neck and hung himself.

Saint Meriadoc, Bishop of Vannes (+ 688)

St. Meriadoc, Bishop of Vannes (Feast Day - June 7)

Saint Meriadoc (Meriadec, Meriasek), though venerated especially in Cornwall and Brittany, was probably a Welshman who lived in the 5th or 6th century. He came to Cornwall and founded several churches, one of which at Camborne was once dedicated to him. He became renowned in these parts and a miracle play in Cornish still survives, called Beunans Meriasek, recounting his legendary exploits.

He then crossed over into Brittany, where his memory is still strong. In the 16th-century church at Plougasnou is a reliquary containing what may well be part of Meriadoc's skull. At Stival is preserved what is believed to be his bell. Placed on the heads of the deaf and those suffering migraine, it is said to heal them. Some documents state that Meriadoc even became bishop of Vannes at a time when it was one of the most important cities of Brittany.

The Vision of the Departed Soul of Saint Theodore the Studite by Saint Hilarion of Dalmatoi Monastery

At the time Venerable Hilarion of Dalmatoi Monastery (comm. June 6) returned from captivity, which he suffered on behalf of his veneration of the Holy Icons, Venerable Theodore the Studite went to the Lord (comm. Nov. 11), who also suffered many evils from heretics for his Orthodoxy. His holy soul, ascended to heaven by the Angels, was seen by Venerable Hilarion, as it is said in the Life of Saint Theodore. On the day when Saint Theodore the Studite presented himself, Venerable Hilarion, working in his garden and chanting psalms, heard some wondrous voices and smelled an unspeakably wonderful scent. Astonished, he began to look around where it came from, and looking up, he saw a multitude of angels in white robes, whose bright faces shone, who came down from heaven to meet someone with songs. Seeing all this, Venerable Hilarion fell to the ground in great fear, and heard someone say to him: "This is the soul of Theodore, abbot of the Studite Monastery, who suffered with his blood for the holy icons and heroically endured hardships to the end, and now with his lips rejoicing he ascends to heaven, met by the Heavenly Powers." Worthy of such a wondrous vision, Venerable Hilarion was filled with great consolation and spiritual sweetness; and for many days he rejoiced in his soul, and his face shone with joy like the face of an angel.

 

 

The Consecration of the First Icon of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Derkoi

During Great Vespers at the Old Church of the Apostle Andrew in Patras, on Saturday 27 November 2021, for the feast of All Saints of Achaea (which falls on the Sunday before the feast of Saint Andrew, on November 30th), the first icon of the newly-canonized Saint Gregory, Bishop of Derkoi, was consecrated (it was anointed with holy myrrh and a special prayer was read over it).

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece Canonizes 51 New Saints

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the martyrdom of Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V (+ April 10, 1821) and following the proposals of the Metropolitans of Patras, Lefkada and Chios, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece decided to include in the list of Saints the other seven Hierarchs who were hanged with him.

All together, fifty-one new Saints were proclaimed on 15 July 2021 by the Church of Greece, after a thorough study of the files submitted by the Metropolitans through the Synodal Committee for Nomocanonical and Dogmatic Issues.

The Divine Eros of Saint Eros and his Six Brothers

 

In the West, Saint Valentine has come to be known as the patron saint of love, a day on which couples everywhere celebrate the love they share for one another. It is so popular that despite the fact that Saint Valentine is not officially among the saints of the Orthodox Church, since he was martyred in Rome and only honored as a local saint there without spreading eastward, still he is acknowledged even by Orthodox, especially in Greece, as the patron saint of love. Unbeknownst to the majority of Orthodox in Greece, however, they already long had a patron saint of love, though he was mostly only known locally in Crete until the 1990's when he became more well known with the rise of Saint Valentine, and his name is Saint Hyacinth, or Saint Yakinthos, and his feast day is July 3rd. Yet there is really no good reason, based on the lives of these two saints, for them to be patron saints of love for loving couples. However, in the Orthodox Church there is one saint whose name alone would justify him being the patron saint of love, but he is almost completely unknown.

Birth of Saint John the Baptist: Epistle and Gospel Reading

 

 

Nativity of the Holy and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

June 24

Matins Gospel Reading

Gospel According to Luke 1:24-25, 57-68, 76, 80

English

At that time, Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias conceived, and for five months hid herself, saying, "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men." Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zacharias after his father, but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John." And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name." And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways." And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Saint Leontios, Bishop of Neapolis (+ 668)

St. Leontios of Neapolis (Feast Day - June 18)

Saint Leontios was born around 590 in the Cypriot city of Neapolis, which today is called Limassol. At some point he became the Bishop of Neapolis.

We do not know much about his life, and what we do know is of little certainty, but he is primarily known for what he wrote.

He wrote the Life of John the Merciful, which was commissioned by Archbishop Arkadios of Constantia. Some believe that Leontios knew Saint John the Merciful (+ 619) personally and had met him in his younger years in Alexandria. Whether this is true or not, we know that he gathered the details of his life when he went on a pilgrimage to Alexandria to venerate the relics of Saints Cyrus and John.

Holy New Hieromartyr Parthenios Pagkostas of Patmos (+ 1629)

St. Parthenios of Patmos (Feast Day - June 17)

Verses

You were called, Parthenios, to confess Christ,
Courageously you contested, boast of Patmos.

Saint Parthenios, who was known as Panagiotis Pagkostas in the world, came from a noble family on the island of Patmos, and was a ship captain by trade. Commercial reasons often forced him to travel to various ports in Europe, even to those in the distant Netherlands. At some point he no longer desired worldly pursuits and decided to devote his life fully to Christ by becoming a monk at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Patmos.

In the year 1606 Parthenios signed as Abbot of the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian a letter he sent to the governor of the Venetian Republic of Crete. In 1607, the year of the foundation of the Monastery of Zoodochos Pege, he is still the Abbot of the Monastery. This is confirmed by the wall plaque which is the founding inscription on the lintel of the main entrance of the katholikon of Zoodochos Pege: "Parthenios the Hieromonk and Abbot of Patmos...."

How the Meryem of a Troubled Turk in Chios Became a Source of Great Veneration in Ierapetra, Crete

In 1821 Turkish troops were ordered to suppress the Revolution in Greece by any means. Among the hunted were two Greeks from Reisdere, a coastal village in Asia Minor not far from Smyrna (Izmir). They were seeking to escape Chios at the time, which had been hell on earth for the Greeks there, with a large amount of them slaughtered and the island burning with a consuming fire from one end to the other. After this, with men hard to find, despairing women wept and lamented as they too were slaughtered, abused, dragged through the streets and sold into slavery.

In such an atmosphere, the two Greeks from Reisdere took every precaution to not be noticed by a Turk and find a means by which they could cross the sea and get back home. Suddenly, a certain Turk approached them, guided somehow by the Mother of God, holding in his hands an icon of the Virgin Mary. With trembling hands he extended the icon to them and begged them to take it, saying:

"Take this Meryem." (Meryem is the Turkish pronunciation of Mariam or Mary.)

Holy Venerable Martyrs Theophanes the Elder and Paisios of Messolonghi (+ 1773) - Two Kollyvades Fathers from the Skete of Saint Anna on Mount Athos

Sts. Theophanes and Paisos the Kollyvades (Feast Day - June 8)

Saint Paisios was born in Messolonghi in the early 18th century. We do not have much information about his early years, but at some point he left the world and went to Mount Athos to become a monk, settling at the Skete of Saint Anna. There he lived in asceticism in the Hut of the Prophet Elias under the guidance of Saint Theophanes the Elder. Elder Theophanes was illiterate, but he had a calm and sweet character with a virtuous soul, whereas Paisios was educated and worked as a calligrapher in his hut, copying the works of the Holy Fathers, and having the entire Psalter memorized.

In the year 1754 the main church of the Skete of Saint Anna was demolished and a new one was going to be built that was much larger. The monks of the Skete went throughout the Ottoman Empire in search of donations to accomplish their task, to which they promised their donors in return to memorialize their names and their deceased loved ones at their vigils. The number of names reached over 12,000, and memorials at vigils at that time was traditionally done on Saturdays. However, on Saturdays some monks were occupied with building the church, while others were at Karyes selling their handiwork which was usually done on Saturday by all the monks of Mount Athos. For these reasons, it was the request of the monks to hold these memorial vigils on Sunday instead of Saturday, breaking ecclesiastical tradition. Many monks protested such a move, since Sunday as a day of Resurrection and joy is unfit for memorials, while Saturday is designated as a day of mourning and praying for the dead. Thus in 1755 the Kollyvades controversy began.

5 Beautiful Chapels on the Greek Islands Dedicated to Saint Kalliopi the Martyr

It is unknown where the Holy Martyr Kalliopi was from, who suffered during persecution of the reign of Emperor Decius (249-251). She was known for her physical and spiritual beauty, produced through her virtue and deep piety. For her faith in Christ she was arrested and led before the pagan eparch for judgment. He immediately observed Kalliopi's beauty, and desired to have her as his own, seeking with promises and flattery to convince her to be with him. But Kalliopi remained indifferent to these and was unshakable in her faith. This enraged the eparch, who saw that his hopes were crushed, and he ordered that she be immediately tortured to death. Thus, having been whipped mercilessly, and having had her breasts cut off, they burned her with lit torches, and poured vinegar and salt on her wounds. In the end, they beheaded her, and thus Saint Kalliopi received the unfading crown of glory, and entered into the joy of her Bridegroom Christ.

 

Saint Nikephoros the Confessor Resource Page

St. Nikephoros the Confessor (Feast Days - March 13, June 2)

Verses

 

As Patriarch you stand next to the Patriarch,

The divine elder Abraham O Nikephoros.

On the second, Nikephoros found his allotted portion in Eden. 

 

Saint Nikephoros the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople (+ 828)

 

Synaxarion of the Translation of the Relic of Saint Nikephoros the Confessor

Saint Nikephoros the Confessor as a Model for our Lives

 

March: Day 13: Saint Nikephoros the Confessor

 

Saint Nikephoros the Confessor of Constantinople in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

The Holy Canons of Saint Nikephoros the Confessor

A 9th Century Saint and Patriarch of Constantinople Who Disputed the Book of Revelation

Book Review: "The Patriarch Nicephorus of Constantinople. Ecclesiastical Policy and Image Worship in the Byzantine Empire"

 

Holy Princes Basil and Constantine Vsevolodovich of Yaroslavl

Sts. Basil and Constantine of Yaroslavl (Feast Days - June 8 and July 3)

In their youth, the Holy Princes Basil and Constantine Vsevolodovich lost their father, Vsevolod, who fell in battle with the Tatars (Mongols). Saint Basil, the elder brother, succeeded to the throne. As prince, he had to face a multitude of concerns, tasks and sorrows. The city and the villages were devastated from the invasion of the Tatars, many households remained without shelter and food, and he had to concern himself about everything and about everyone. Besides this, it was necessary to gain the good will of the Tatar Batu Khan, and the holy prince more than once journeyed for this reason to the Horde. On his return from the last trip to the khan, he married Princess Xenia. They had two children - a daughter Maria and a son Basil, who died a minor.

Saint Dinar, Queen of Hereti

St. Dinar of Hereti (Feast Day - June 30)

"The Tale of Tsaritsa Dinar" is the 16th-century Russian story of Saint Dinar, a Christian queen (Russian: tsaritsa) of Hereti (southeastern Georgia), who is glorified as a pious helmswoman renowned for her wisdom and valor. Composed before 1553, the tale enjoyed a popularity during the second half of the 16th century.

The principal part of the tale focuses on the struggle of Dinar against the king of Persia who demands a tribute from her, and threatens to remove her from the throne in case of noncompliance. The queen meritoriously refuses to comply, replying that the king of Persia cannot usurp the power bestowed upon her by the Lord. In a fiery speech, Dinar encourages her hesitant nobles and, after a pilgrimage to a monastery, marches to meet the Persians. An armored-clad queen, riding a galloping white steed and holding an upraised sword, leads an army into battle, wins a crushing victory, and has the Persian king decapitated.

Three Wondrous Things That Accompanied the Birth of Saint John the Baptist

Three wondrous things accompanied the birth of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist.

The first wondrous thing is that St. John the Forerunner is the only Saint of the Church that the world came to know first as a Saint and then as a baby, first as a Prophet and then as a man. When he was still six months in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, the Grace of God manifested within him when he prophetically and joyously leaped as he heard the greeting of Mary, who had just conceived the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. This leaping was an act of veneration towards the Mother of God and worship towards the God-man, which also filled Elizabeth with the Holy Spirit and moved her to prophetically say to Mary: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” The prophetic grace was transferred from John to Elizabeth in order for him to express through her with words that Mary was blessed for believing the Lord and that the fruit of her faith and obedience was that she was now the mother of the Lord. The grace St. John received from the womb was unique and says a lot about him before he was even born.

Saints Niketas of Thebes and Those With Him

On the 23rd of this month, we commemorate the Venerable Niketas of Thebes, as well as the synaxis of those Venerables that are referred to in his biography, Theodore the revered priest, Daniel of the Castle in Patras, and Gregory of Mystras.

Verses

A victorious victor was the Theban Niketas,
Receiving the incorruptible crown of the Venerables,
The four Venerables with the four-fold virtues,
Were garbed with garments of Eden.
Today, Niketas, you were stripped of the seven skins.

Venerable Niketas lived around the early eleventh century and was from the Boeotian city of Thebes. His pious parents, Andrew and Theodora, dedicated him to the Lord from the womb, and gave Niketas over at the age of five to a teacher in order to receive an education. From his early youth he was noted for his prudence, wisdom, virtue and God-pleasing life.