Holy 104 Martyrs of Cherkasy (+ 1937-38)

Holy 104 Martyrs of Cherkasy (Feast Day - May 26)

In the year 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized one hundred and four priests and monks who were arrested and convicted for their faith in the year 1937, in the Ukrainian city of Cherkasy. Many of them were shot, others did not return from the camps. From the documents it is clear that often sentences were handed down to people who had not yet been arrested. Church historians from Cherkasy cite only one case of the return of a clergyman from the camp.

In the 1920s, the first massive wave of repression against clergy and believers swept across the country. At that time there were still relatively few death sentences. After five or seven years of exile, many received an order forbidding them to live in large cities such as Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, Kharkov. Therefore, many exiled priests and monks moved to small towns such as Cherkasy. The census of the thirty-seventh year in the country showed that two-thirds of the citizens continued to call themselves believers. On December 5, 1936, the USSR adopted the Constitution, which declared freedom of conscience, equality of rights for all citizens, universal, equal and direct elections by secret ballot... People were optimistic.

Holy Apostle Carpos of the Seventy (St. Justin Popovich)

 

By St. Justin Popovich

The Holy Apostle Carpos, one of the Seventy Apostles, was a companion and servant of the Holy Apostle Paul; he distributed his epistles to those for whom they were intended. Striving much with the Apostle Paul in preaching the gospel of Christ, Saint Carpos suffered many temptations. He was then appointed Bishop of the city of Beroea in Thrace by the Apostle Paul. Saint Carpos also made an effort to preach the gospel of Christ on the island of Crete. There he received Saint Dionysius the Areopagite into his home. There he also saw the Lord who appeared to him in a vision, when Carpos begged Him to punish two sinners, and he heard the voice of the Lord saying to him: "Strike me, because I am ready to be crucified again for the salvation of men."

When It Snowed in the Summer! A Miraculous Event from the Life of Saint Anthimos Arethiotis

By Spyros Symeon

It was the summer in the 19th century and the monastery in Retha, northwest of Aetolia-Acarnania, was surrounded by a Turkish army in order to burn it, maybe in retaliation, maybe to scare the Greeks, maybe ... for something that history did not preserve since it was overshadowed by the ridiculousness that took place in the area.

The Turkish army surrounded the Monastery of Panagia Arethiotissa, or as it is known as Lady of the Valtos since the whole area belongs to the province of Valtos.

Officials entered the monastery where they found the abbot Elder Anthimos, originally from Ithaca.

Homily on the Third Finding of the Honorable Head of Saint John the Forerunner

 By Presbyter Athanasios Menas

Today we celebrate the Third Finding of the Honorable Head of the Honorable Forerunner and Baptist John. This is the prophet, according to the word of the God-man, who is the greatest of the prophets. He is the preeminent preacher of repentance, for the period when God ordained people to repent until the Second Coming. Those who wish to repent live the Orthodox ascetic praxis.

Remarkable is the emphasis and separation that Christ makes for those who wear soft clothing and live with indifference and unrepentance, in contrast to the humble appearance, works and words of the Honorable Forerunner and the testimony of the Prophets before the Forerunner regarding the person of Jesus Christ.

Saint Symeon of the Wondrous Mountain and the Blind Old Man With a Mortal Wound

Near Antioch, under the mountain by the road, a blind old man was sitting during the barbarian invasion and begged for alms from passers-by. And when the barbarians unexpectedly attacked, one of them struck the old man on the neck with a sword and inflicted a fatal wound on him. The old man was rolling in his blood, with little life in him. And Saint Symeon, seeing all this with his transparent vision, sent several monks to bring him that old man. The monks went, laid the old man on the mat and brought him under the pillar. The Saint took the dust from the ground, moistened it with consecrated water, and ordered them to put it on the old man's wound, saying: "In the name of Emmanuel, let this head cling to its place and hold together." Immediately the old man's head stuck in its place, the veins grew together, the head became stronger, the terrible wounds disappeared, and the old man spoke. Then his blind eyes opened. And all who saw it were terrified and glorified God. 

Saint Kyriakos of Evrychou and the Child With Brain Cancer

In Larnaka there was a child who was the son of a teacher who suffered with brain cancer, and one night he saw in a dream a revered elderly man who told him:

"What is wrong, my child, that you are in pain and suffering?"

The child replied to him:

"My head."

The elderly man who appeared to him said:

Saint Lydia of Philippi Resource Page

St. Lydia of Philippi (Feast Day - May 20)

 

Verses

Your entire household believed in Christ Lydia,
Appearing as the first of Philippi O Saint.

 

Synaxarion of Saint Lydia of Philippi

 

Saint Lydia of Philippi, the Equal to the Apostles

 

Saint Lydia of Philippi: The First European and Greek Christian  

Saint Lydia of Philippi as a Model for our Lives

The Baptistery of Saint Lydia Near Philippi (video)

Ten Albanians Baptized Where Saint Lydia Was Baptized

 

 

Synaxarion of Saint Lydia of Philippi

By Monk Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

On the 20th of this month [May], 

we commemorate Saint Lydia of Philippi.

Verses

Your entire household believed in Christ Lydia,
Appearing as the first of Philippi O Saint.

Blessed Lydia was a merchant of purple cloth in the city of Thyatira in Philippi, and as one who revered God she adorned herself with blameless conduct. When she came to the heaven-traversing and divinely-sounding Paul, she listened to his teachings, and accepted the light of the gospel. Her entire household believed in Christ, and were baptized in the stream of the Zygakti River. Thus she conducted herself according to the gospel, and attended to the blessed Apostles in her home, while serving the Lord with virtuous works and good acts. Her life came to an end in an apostolic manner, and departed to the heavenly mansions, having inherited the heavenly Kingdom.

Saint Asklas the Martyr as a Model for our Lives

St. Asklas the Egyptian (Feast Day - May 20)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Asklas lived in the third century, which was a period of terrible persecution against the Church. He was from the Thebaid in Egypt and was considered a man of deep faith and spiritual courage. He was arrested by the pagan ruler Arrian, who tried, first with flattery and then with threats, to persuade him to deny Christ and sacrifice to idols. Because, however, he remained steadfast in his faith, he was subjected to severe torture, which he faced with admirable courage and patience. He was suspended, his sides torn and then, as he was wounded, he was imprisoned. There in prison, as he was praying, the Grace of God enlightened him and he understood that the ruler Arrian with his companions were traveling by boat along the Nile River. Then he made the sign of the cross over the boat and it was immobilized in the river, as if tied up. He sent a message to the ruler and called on him to confess in writing that Christ is the only true God, otherwise the boat will not sail. The ruler asked for a piece of paper and wrote: "The God of the Christians is great and besides Him there is no other." Then the boat started moving again and arrived at its destination.

Synaxarion for the Holy Thirteen Venerable Martyrs and Confessors of the Monastery of Kantara

 

 On the 19th of this month [May], we commemorate the Holy Thirteen Venerable Martyrs and Confessors of the Monastery of Kantara in Cyprus, John, Konon, Jeremiah, Markos, Kyrillos, Theoktistos, Baranabas, Maximos, Theognostos, Joseph, Gennadios, Gerasimos and Germanos, who in the year 1231 under the Latins had their end by fire.

Verses

Revered assembly, Champion Fathers,
You contested radiantly, against the Latin-minded.
On the nineteenth, the thirteen went to heaven together.

In 1228, when Cyprus was subject to the Latins, and the Orthodox were in many ways deprived of their faith, two God-bearing ascetics, John and Konon, came to Cyprus from Pamphylia in Asia Minor, and having first entered the Monastery of Machairas, they then settled in the abandoned Monastery of Mount Pentadaktylos called the Theotokos of Kantara, where they struggled in asceticism and piety and all means of philanthropy. With them there joined nine other monks - Jeremiah, Markos, Kyrillos, Theoktistos, Barnabas, Maximos, Theognostos, Joseph and Germanos.

Saint Theophanes the Myrrhgusher, Bishop of Solea in Cyprus (+ 1550)

St. Theophanes of Solea (Feast Day - May 17)

 Verses

Blessed Theophanes longed for his Bridegroom,
departing from this world empty of glory.
The Monastery of the Forerunner rejoices and is glad,
having you venerable one as a divine protector.
On the seventeenth Theophanes united with God.

Saint Theophanes lived in Cyprus during the Venetian occupation (1489-1571). We do not have information about his parents, his origins and his education. The information we have is little, but important, because it is handed down by a contemporary of the Saint and an eyewitness of the exhumation of his Holy Relic, Stefano Lusignan (1537–1590), a Dominican monk and vicar of the Latin Archdiocese of Cyprus, in his work "The Chorography of the Island of Cyprus". This work, which is considered an important source of information on the medieval history of Cyprus, was published first in Italian (1573) and then in French (1580). The second edition, which is more elaborate, completes the first.

Saint Leontios, Patriarch of Jerusalem (+ 1190)

St. Leontios of Jerusalem (Feast Day - May 14)

 Verses

Breathing like a Lion O Leontios,
You overcame Satan like a small gnat.

Saint Leontios came from Tiberiopolis in Phrygia, and was born to wealthy and pious parents around the second half of the 12th century AD. When his father died, after leaving his hometown and studying under a pious priest, he came to the Monastery of Ptelidi, where he became a monk. Later he went to Constantinople and became associated with the Metropolitan of Tiberias, to whom he submitted. After following his elder, who was returning to his Diocese, he sailed with him to Patmos, to worship at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian. He then started his journey to Cyprus, but the will of God led him back to Patmos. There, with the spiritual guidance of the abbot of the monastery, Theoktestos, a man experienced in spiritual matters, he became a model of brotherly love and humility. When the abbot Theoktestos died, Leontios was elected his successor by a unanimous decision of the monks.

Saint Isidore of Chios Resource Page

St. Isidore of Chios (Feast Day - May 14)

Verses

 

Isidore is gladdened with the hope of the crown,

And he went to be beheaded after the crown. 

On the fourteenth Isidore was beheaded by the sword. 

 

Holy Martyr Isidore of Chios

Saint Isidore of Chios as a Model for our Lives

 

May: Day 14: Holy Martyr Isidore of Chios

 

Holy Martyr Isidore of Chios in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

 

The Relics of Saint Isidore of Chios 

Saint Isidore and his Basilica in Chios

The Location of the Martyrdom of Saint Isidore of Chios

The Beautiful Chapel of Saint Isidore in Leros

 

The Seal of the Pilgrims of Saint Isidore of Chios

 

Saint Polybios, Bishop of Rhinocorura (the disciple and biographer of Saint Epiphanios of Salamis)

 

 

Saint Polybios probably came from Phoenicia (Lebanon). Information about his life comes from the Life of Saint Epiphanios of Salamis (Constantia), to whom he was a disciple and biographer. He became a monk from a young age, and "he was pious man and perfect in temperance", according to his biography. While Epiphanios was still in Phoenicia, and when he was a simple monk, the bishops of Palestine gathered in a Synod and decided to ordain him a bishop. So they sent to him the monk Polybios, to inform them how Epiphanios was doing in his monastery in the area of Spanhydrion, but was told not to inform him of his election, so that he could have an excuse to escape. But Saint Epiphanios recognized from divine revelation the truth, called on Polybios to remain with his brotherhood, and thus left the bishops to investigate the worthiness of another bishop.

Holy Martyrs Irenaeus, Pellegrinos and Irene of Thessaloniki

Sts. Irenaeus, Pellegrinos and Irene(Feast Day - May 5)

The Holy Martyrs Irenaeus, Pellegrinos and Irene are an unknown triad of saints from Thessaloniki, who were commemorated in ancient synaxaria and in the West, but for some reason were left out of later lists and manuscripts of saints from Thessaloniki.

During the persecution of Emperor Diocletian, Irenaeus, Pellegrinos and Irene the Virgin were arrested and urged to deny their Christian faith and sacrifice to the idols. They refused to do so, which led to them being condemned to be burned to death. In this way they delivered their souls into the hands of the Lord and gained the crown of martyrdom.

 

 

The Church of Saint Pelagia in Kato Karouzana, Crete and the Vow That Led To Its Establishment

In Kato Karouzano, Crete in the former province of Pediados, upon entering the village, we encounter the Church of Saint Pelagia, the patron saint of the settlement.

It is a building probably from the beginning of the 20th century, the result of a vow of Irene Katsounakis who really wanted to have a baby girl.

A resident of our village told us that the founder was a rich woman and only daughter who fell in love and married one of her workers and wanted as much as anything else to have a daughter with him, because only sons were born to her. In fact, in order for her wish to come true, she made a vow to build a church and dedicate it to Saint Pelagia.

The Translation of the Sacred Relics of Saint Mary Magdalene from Ephesus to Constantinople in 890 A.D.

According to ecclesiastical tradition, towards the end of her life, Saint Mary Magdalene went to Ephesus, where the Apostle John the Theologian lived. There she became his helper and supporter in his trials and tribulations, in his imprisonment and in all his afflictions. In Ephesus, the Saint led many to the faith and awareness of the truth. The people of Ephesus honored and revered her.

After her death, her revered body was buried by the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John, in a cave near Ephesus, as a precious treasure. During the burial, many miracles were performed, as well as in later times, until today, the Saint does not stop performing miracles.

The Cave Church of Saint Pelagia Near Feloti Bay in Kythera

Slightly hidden along the impressive rocky coastline near beautiful Feloti Bay of southwest Kythera, is the Cave Church of Saint Pelagia.

The path towards the cave starts to the left of the fisherman’s cottage, just before you descend to the bay. After only about 200 metres, the church, with its small bell tower, becomes visible. The door latches are easy to open and inside you walk down the steps into the church that was built in the 17th century or earlier. Bishop Nektarios Beneres mentions this cave church in his list of churches in 1697, and though there is nothing written of it before this time, some believe it is at least a few centuries older than this date. The iconostasis is simply designed, decorated with only a few nautical symbols. Inside the cave you hear water dripping into beautiful old ceramic pots. There is high humidity in the cave because it is close to the sea, so the icons are only brought in for Saint Pelagia’s feast day celebration on May 4th, when locals gather the evening before for a solemn Great Vespers.

Saint Eumenios Saridakis Resource Page

St. Eumenios the New (Feast Day - May 23)

 Verses

Healer of lepers and pestilential diseases,
You were seen, Eumenios, as a guide of the faithful.

 

Synaxarion of our Venerable and God-bearing Father Eumenios (Saridakis) the New

 

Venerable Eumenios the New of Crete in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

Maria Loulaki Kokovaki, "Sister by Suckling" of the Newly Canonized Saint Eumenios Saridakis, Has Reposed

 

Elder Eumenios Saridakis: The Saint Who Had the Gift of Laughter

 

The Priest Who Constantly Laughed During Confession

 

Why Elder Eumenios Saridakis Pretended To Be Awkward Around Children

 

Elder Eumenios Saridakis and the Tiger at the London Zoo  

When Saint John the Baptist Appeared to Elder Eumenios Saridakis on a Boat and Covered Him

 

Greek Singer Stamatis Kokotas Testifies to a Miracle of Saint Eumenios He Witnessed

 

The Visitation of Elder Eumenios to a Homosexual Couple With AIDS 

 

Elder Eumenios Saridakis on How the Third World War Was Avoided By the Intervention of the Panagia

 

Partaking of Holy Communion With Lepers and Those With Infectious Diseases 

 

When Saint Nikephoros the Leper Appeared and Saved Elder Eumenios Saridakis from Certain Death

 

When Saint Nikephoros the Leper Appeared and Banished Away the Sadness of Elder Eumenios Saridakis 

 

"Saint Nikephoros Came To Comfort Me in My Pain" (Elder Eumenios Saridakis) 

 

Miracles of Saint Nikephoros the Leper

The First Grave and Reliquary of St. Nikephoros the Leper

 

The Cell of Saint Eumenios Saridakis

 

Rare Video Footage of Saint Eumenios Saridakis Serving Matins and the Divine Liturgy

 

Encomium on Behalf of Saint Nikephoros the Leper (Elder Eumenios Saridakis) 

 

"O My Sanctified Athens" (Elder Eumenios Saridakis)

 

Saint Eumenios Saridakis, the Demon Possessed Girl and the Miraculous Icon of Saint George

 

Saint Eumenios Saridakis and the Drought of 1993

 

Saint Eumenios and the Myrrhgushing Conch of the Sanctuary Wall

Holy Synod of the Church of Crete Unanimously Agrees to the Official Canonization of Elder Eumenios Saridakis 

 

The Canonization of Elder Eumenios Saridakis by the Ecumenical Patriarchate Will Reportedly Take Place in March

 

Elder Eumenios Saridakis Has Been Officially Recognized as a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate  

 

The Celebration of Saint Eumenios the New in Athens and Crete

 

Elder Eumenios Saridakis Has Been Officially Recognized as a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate

The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has proceeded with the canonization of Elder Eumenios Saridakis.

Elder Eumenios is now listed among the Saints of the Orthodox Church, following a proposal by the Canonical Committee, and the recommendation from Metropolitan Makarios of Gortyna.

According to the Holy Synod, he is known as our Venerable and God-bearing Father Eumenios the New (Saridakis).
 

A few words about Elder Eumenios: