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Venerable Maximus the Confessor

Saint Maximus the Confessor was born in Constantinople around 580 and raised in a pious Christian family. He received an excellent education, studying philosophy, grammar, and rhetoric. He was well-read in the authors of antiquity and he also mastered philosophy and theology. When Saint Maximus entered into government service, he became first secretary and chief counselor to the emperor Heraclius (611-641), who was impressed by his knowledge and virtuous life. Saint Maximus soon realized that

Venerable and God-bearing Father Anthony the Great

Saint Anthony the Great is known as the Father of monasticism, and the long ascetical sermon in The Life of Saint Anthony by Saint Athanasius (Sections 16-34), could be called the first monastic Rule. He was born in Egypt in the village of Coma, near the desert of the Thebaid, in the year 251. His parents were pious Christians of illustrious lineage. Anthony was a serious child and was respectful and obedient to his parents.

Veneration of the Precious Chains of the Holy and All-Glorious Apostle Peter

The Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praised Apostle Peter: In about the year 42, on the orders of Herod Agrippa, the Apostle Peter was thrown into prison for preaching about Christ the Savior. In prison he was held secure by two iron chains. During the night before his trial, an angel of the Lord removed these chains from the Apostle Peter and led him out from the prison (Acts 12:1-11). Christians

The Eighth Day of Christmas. The Circumcision of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia

On the eighth day after His Nativity, our Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised in accordance with the Old Testament Law. All male infants underwent circumcision as a sign of God’s Covenant with the holy Forefather Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:10-14, Lev. 12:3). After this ritual the Divine Infant was given the name Jesus, as the Archangel Gabriel declared on the day of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos (Luke 1:31-33, 2:21). The Fathers

The Fifth Day of Christmas. 14,000 Infants (the Holy Innocents) slain by Herod at Bethlehem

14,000 Holy Infants were killed by King Herod in Bethlehem. When the time came for the Incarnation of the Son of God and His Birth of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Magi in the East beheld a new star in the heavens, foretelling the Nativity of the King of the Jews. They journeyed immediately to Jerusalem to worship the Child, and the star showed them the way. Having worshipped the divine Infant, they did not

The Third Day of Christmas. The Life of Saint Stephen the Deacon and First Martyr

(Commemorated on December 27) St. Stephen was a relative of St. Paul. He was the first of seven deacons whom the holy apostles ordained for the service of the poor in Jerusalem. This is why he is called the Archdeacon – the first, or chief, of them. St. Stephen did many things for the poor and widows in Jerusalem and by the power of his faith, he worked many miracles. He lived his life to

The Twenty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent. Spyridon the Wonderworker of Trymithous

Spyridon, the God-bearing Father of the Church, the great defender of Corfu and the boast of all the Orthodox, had Cyprus as his homeland. He was simple in manner and humble of heart, and was a shepherd of sheep. When he was joined to a wife, he begat of her a daughter whom they named Irene. After his wife’s departure from this life, he was appointed Bishop of Trimythus, and thus he became also a

The Twenty-First Day of Christmas Advent. Venerable Savvas the Sanctified

Saint Savvas the Sanctified was born in the fifth century at Cappadocia of pious Christian parents, John and Sophia, and his father was a military commander. Journeying to Alexandria on military matters, John and Sophia left their five-year-old son Savva in the care of an uncle. When the boy was eight years old, he entered the nearby Monastery of Saint Flavian. The gifted child quickly learned to read and became an expert on the Holy

The Sixteenth Day of Christmas Advent. Apostle Andrew, the Holy and All-Praised First-Called

The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was the first of the Apostles to follow Christ, and he later brought his own brother, the holy Apostle Peter, to Christ (John 1:35-42). The future apostle was from Bethsaida, and from his youth he turned with all his soul to God. He did not enter into marriage, and he worked with his brother as a fisherman. When the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John began to preach, Saint

St John Chrysostom: The Golden Trumpet

~ By John Athanasatos St John Chrysostom is celebrated in the Orthodox Church three times a year. His repose is on September 14 but since that is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Feast was moved to November 13th. In addition, Chrysostom is celebrated on January 27th and again on the Feast of the Synaxis of the Three Hierarchs (Jan 30th), along with St Basil and St Gregory the Theologian. On