u/IrinaSophia

Saint Paul was born in 1790 in the village of Sopoto, near Kalavryta of Peloponnesos, to poor and virtuous Christian parents. He was baptized with the name Panagiotis, and at a young age went to the city of Patras and worked as a sandalmaker. After fourteen years in Patras, Panagiotis returned to Kalavryta where he rented a workplace and made sandals.

One day he and his landlord got into a disagreement over the rent he was paying. It seems the landlord was seeking to increase his rent, contrary to their original agreement, and for not agreeing to pay he was imprisoned. While in prison Panagiotis said in anger: "I would sooner become a Turk than pay more." This phrase alone was seen to be sufficient for his Islamization. Eventually he payed the rent and was released from prison. Then he left Kalavryta and went to Tripoli with two friends, where he ate and drank with them and he called himself a Turk.

Not long after Panagiotis came to his senses when his conscience began to bother him for giving up his Christian faith. He therefore decided to seek peace by going to Mount Athos, and there he entered the Holy Monastery of Great Lavra. At Great Lavra he found a wise elder named Timothy, to whom he subjected himself and confessed his sins. After some time he became a monk and took the name Paul. Then he and his spiritual father Timothy went to settle in the Skete of Saint Andrew, where they lived for three years. Weeping for his sins day and night, it was there that Paul became inflamed with a desire for martyrdom.

At the Skete of Saint Anna was an elder who helped prepare such men who desired martyrdom to face that which they desired. His name was Hieromonk Ananias. Paul fled to Elder Ananias when he was 25 years old. The elder saw his zeal and enthusiasm for martyrdom, but still wanted to put him under a forty day trial period to make sure he was ready to enter the contest of martyrdom. After forty days of very strict fasting, prayer, vigils and thousands of prostrations, he received the blessing of the elder and returned a spiritual giant to Tripoli.

At first he went to the Monastery of the Great Cave in Kalavryta, where he lived for another forty days under strict asceticism. After this he returned to Tripoli, where he heard his cousin in Nafplio had become a Muslim and he desired to convert him back to Christianity. Returning to Tripoli, he went to the mufti to receive permission to be seen by a judge. Receiving the permission, he stood before a judge and confessed his faith in Christ as the true God, while rebuking and reviling Islam. The judge tried to persuade Paul to not make such a foolish decision that would cost him his life, but Paul remained firm in his faith. For this Paul was sentenced to be burned alive. However, certain Turks prevailed upon the judge to make him suffer more by being beheaded with three strokes instead of one, which is a most painful death.

As Paul was led to be executed, many Turks took the opportunity to beat Paul. Arriving at the place of execution, Paul knelt and prayed and then told the executioner: "Now I want to see if you are as brave as you say." The executioner then beheaded Paul with one stroke. This took place on May 22, 1818. His body was left out to hang for three days for all to see, then thrown into a garbage dump near the residence of the pasha so as not to be discovered by the Christians. But twenty days later two Christians found his body and secretly took it, and after carefully washing it they had him buried at the Monastery of Saint Nicholas Varson, about twelve kilometers from Tripoli, where also the Holy New Martyr Demetrios (Mitros) was buried on April 22, 1803 after being beheaded on April 14th in Tripoli. Saint Demetrios is celebrated on April 14th, though sometimes they are listed together on May 22nd. Both Saints Paul and Demetrios are considered patrons of Tripoli.

The story of Saint Paul was written by Hieromonk Iakovos Vertsagias of Zakynthos, an Athonite monk at the Russian Skete of Saint Andrew. A church was built dedicated to the Saint in Tripoli and his icon was placed in the Church of the Entrance of the Theotokos in Kapnikarea of Athens on July 1, 1914.

SOURCE: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2017/05/holy-new-martyr-paul-of-peloponnesos.html?m=1

The Second Ecumenical Council was convened in the year 381 and consolidated the victory of Orthodoxy attained in the year 325 at the First Ecumenical Council.

During the difficult years which passed after the acceptance of the Nicene Symbol of Faith (Creed), the Arian heresy developed new offshoots. Under the guise of struggle against the Sabellian heresy, which taught about a blending of the Hypostatic Persons of the Father and the Son [as mere aspects or modalities within the Trinity], Macedonius began to employ the word “homoiousios” “of similar essence” [in contrast to the Orthodox teaching of “homoousios”, “of the same essence”] regarding the essence of the Son and that of the Father.

This formula still presented a danger because Macedonius presented himself as a struggler against the Arians, who used the term “like the Father.” Besides this, the Macedonians, being semi-Arians, depending on conditions and advantages of the moment, sometimes inclined towards Orthodoxy, sometimes towards Arianism. They blasphemed the Holy Spirit by suggesting that He was not “of the same essence” with the Father and the Son.

A second heretic, Aetius, introduced the concept “anomoion” (“different in essence.”) He said that the Father has a completely different essence from that of the Son. His disciple Eunomios taught a hierarchical subordination of the Son to the Father, and of the Holy Spirit to the Son. Everyone who came to him was rebaptized into the “death of Christ,” denying Baptism in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, which is commanded us by the Savior Himself (Mt. 28:19).

A third heresy arose from the teachings of Valentius and Ursacius at the Arimonian Council. They attempted to deceive the Orthodox bishops, proclaiming that the Son of God is from God, and is in the likeness of God the Father, and is not a created being as the Arians taught. The heretics did not wish to use the term “one in essence” in describing the relation of the Son to the Father, saying that the word “essence” is not found within the Holy Scripture. Besides these three main heresies, there were also many other false teachings. The heretic Apollinarios said, “The flesh of the Savior did not have a human soul or reason. The Word of God took the place of the absent soul; and Divinity remained dead for three days.”

In order to refute these heretical opinions, the holy Emperor Theodosius the Great (379-395) convened an Ecumenical Council at Constantinople, at which 150 bishops were present. Upon investigation by the Holy Fathers it was proposed that a Creed which holy Pope Damasus had sent to Bishop Paulinus of Antioch should be read. This appears to be the so-called Sirmean Creed, drawn up by Potamius of Lisbon, who participated in a pro-Arian Council at Sirmium in 357, but changed his opinions two years later. The document was a vain attempt to please everyone by not mentioning the terms ousia (essence, or substance), homoousios (identical in essence, or substance), and homoiousion (similar in essence, or substance), "by which the minds of many are perturbed." It said that there "ought to be no mention of any of them at all, nor any exposition of them in the Church." By not defining the Church's teaching clearly, the document is ambiguous, neither endorsing the various heresies it contained, nor the teaching of the Church.

An Ecumenical Synod is convened primarily to deal with false teachings and refute them by proclaiming the faith handed down to us by the Apostles and the Holy Fathers. To use the definition of St. Vincent of Lérins: "that which has been believed everywhere, always, by everyone." There can be no compromise between truth and falsehood.

After the document was read aloud, the Holy Fathers rejected the false teaching of Macedonius, and unanimously affirmed the Apostolic teaching that the Holy Spirit is not a creature, but is rather the Life-Creating Lord, Who proceeds from the Father, and is worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son. In order to combat other heresies, of the Eunomians, Arians and Semi-Arians, the Holy Fathers reaffirmed the Nicene Symbol of Faith.

In the Symbol (Creed), accepted by the First Ecumenical Council, the divine nature of the Holy Spirit was not addressed, since at that earlier time [in 325] heresies against the Holy Spirit had not become widespread. Therefore, the holy Fathers of the Second Ecumenical Council added to the Nicean Symbol its eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth sections. They definitively formulated and affirmed the Nicene-Constantinople Symbol of Faith, which is used even now by all the Orthodox Churches.

The Second Ecumenical Council also established the norms for ecclesiastical courts [Canon VI], and it decided to receive those repentant heretics who were properly baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity through Chrismation, but those baptized with a single immersion were to be received as pagans.

SOURCE: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2010/05/22/101462-commemoration-of-the-holy-fathers-of-the-second-ecumenical-counc

The Church calls Saint Constantine (306-337) “the Equal of the Apostles,” and historians call him “the Great.” He was the son of the Caesar Constantius Chlorus (305-306), who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain. His mother was Saint Helen, a Christian of humble birth.

At this time the immense Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern halves, governed by two independent emperors and their corulers called “Caesars.” Constantius Chlorus was Caesar in the Western Roman Empire. Saint Constantine was born in 274, possibly at Nish in Serbia. In 294, Constantius divorced Helen in order to further his political ambition by marrying a woman of noble rank. After he became emperor, Constantine showed his mother great honor and respect, granting her the imperial title “Augusta.”

Constantine, the future ruler of all the whole Roman Empire, was raised to respect Christianity. His father did not persecute Christians in the lands he governed. This was at a time when Christians were persecuted throughout the Roman Empire by the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and his corulers Maximian Galerius (305-311) in the East, and the emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) in the West.

After the death of Constantius Chlorus in 306, Constantine was acclaimed by the army at York as emperor of Gaul and Britain. The first act of the new emperor was to grant the freedom to practice Christianity in the lands subject to him. The pagan Maximian Galerius in the East and the fierce tyrant Maxentius in the West hated Constantine and they plotted to overthrow and kill him, but Constantine bested them in a series of battles, defeating his opponents with the help of God. He prayed to God to give him a sign which would inspire his army to fight valiantly, and the Lord showed him a radiant Sign of the Cross in the heavens with the inscription “In this Sign, conquer.”

After Constantine became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire, he issued the Edict of Milan in 313 which guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians. Saint Helen, who was a Christian, may have influenced him in this decision. In 323, when he became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire, he extended the provisions of the Edict of Milan to the Eastern half of the Empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians could finally practice their faith without fear.

Renouncing paganism, the Emperor did not let his capital remain in ancient Rome, the former center of the pagan realm. He transferred his capital to the East, to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople, the city of Constantine (May 11). Constantine was deeply convinced that only Christianity could unify the immense Roman Empire with its diverse peoples. He supported the Church in every way. He recalled Christian confessors from banishment, he built churches, and he showed concern for the clergy.

The emperor deeply revered the victory-bearing Sign of the Cross of the Lord, and also wanted to find the actual Cross upon which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. For this purpose he sent his own mother, the holy Empress Helen, to Jerusalem, granting her both power and money. Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem and Saint Helen began the search, and through the will of God, the Life-Creating Cross was miraculously discovered in 326. (The account of the finding of the Cross of the Lord is found under the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14). The Orthodox Church commemorates the Uncovering of the Precious Cross and the Precious Nails by the Holy Empress Helen on March 6.

While in Palestine, the holy empress did much of benefit for the Church. She ordered that all places connected with the earthly life of the Lord and His All-Pure Mother, should be freed of all traces of paganism, and she commanded that churches should be built at these places.

The emperor Constantine ordered a magnificent church in honor of Christ’s Resurrection to be built over His tomb. Saint Helen gave the Life-Creating Cross to the Patriarch for safe-keeping, and took part of the Cross with her for the emperor. After distributing generous alms at Jerusalem and feeding the needy (at times she even served them herself), the holy Empress Helen returned to Constantinople, where she died in the year 327.

Because of her great services to the Church and her efforts in finding the Life-Creating Cross, the empress Helen is called “the Equal of the Apostles.”

The peaceful state of the Christian Church was disturbed by quarrels, dissensions and heresies which had appeared within the Church. Already at the beginning of Saint Constantine’s reign the heresies of the Donatists and the Novatians had arisen in the West. They demanded a second baptism for those who lapsed during the persecutions against Christians. These heresies, repudiated by two local Church councils, were finally condemned at the Council of Milan in 316.

Particularly ruinous for the Church was the rise of the Arian heresy in the East, which denied the Divine Nature of the Son of God, and taught that Jesus Christ was a mere creature. By order of the emperor, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicea in 325.

318 bishops attended this Council. Among its participants were confessor-bishops from the period of the persecutions and many other luminaries of the Church, among whom was Saint Nicholas of Myra in Lycia. (The account about the Council is found under May 29). The emperor was present at the sessions of the Council. The heresy of Arius was condemned and a Symbol of Faith (Creed) composed, in which was included the term “consubstantial with the Father,” at the insistence of the Emperor, confirming the truth of the divinity of Jesus Christ, Who assumed human nature for the redemption of all the human race.

After the Council of Nicea, Saint Constantine continued with his active role in the welfare of the Church. He accepted holy Baptism on his deathbed, having prepared for it all his whole life. Saint Constantine died on the day of Pentecost in the year 337 and was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles, in a crypt he had prepared for himself.

A shoulder blade of Saint Constantine is located in the Monastery of Konstamonίtou on Mount Athos. Pieces of the Holy Relics of Saint Constantine are also found in Kykkos Monastery on Cyprus; in Moscow's Holy Trinity - Saint Sergius Lavra; and Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg.

SOURCE: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2012/05/21/101452-equal-of-the-apostles-and-emperor-constantine-with-his-mother-he

The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on the fortieth day after the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter). Since the date of Pascha changes each year, the date of the Feast of the Ascension changes. The Feast is always celebrated on a Thursday.

The Feast itself commemorates when, on the fortieth day after His Resurrection, Jesus led His disciples to the Mount of Olives, and after blessing them and asking them to wait for the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit, He ascended into heaven.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The story of the Ascension of our Lord, celebrated as one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Church, is found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles 1:3-11. It is also mentioned in the Gospels of Mark (16:19) and Luke (24:50-53). The moment of the Ascension is told in one sentence: "He was lifted up before their eyes in a cloud which took Him from their sight" (Acts 1:9).

Christ made His last appearance on earth, forty days after His Resurrection from the dead. The Acts of the Apostles states that the disciples were in Jerusalem. Jesus appeared before them and commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the "Promise of the Father". He stated, "You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5).

After Jesus gave these instructions, He led the disciples to the Mount of Olives. Here, He commissioned them to be His witnesses "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). It is also at this time that the disciples were directed by Christ to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Jesus also told them that He would be with them always, "even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20).

As the disciples watched, Jesus lifted up His hands, blessed them, and then was taken up out of their sight (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9). Two angels appeared to them and asked them why they were gazing into heaven. Then one of the angels said, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

ICON OF THE FEAST

The icon of The Ascension of Our Lord is a joyous icon. It is painted with bright colors. Christ is shown ascending in His glory in a mandorla. A mandorla is a design which is almond-shaped or round. Inside the mandorla is the figure of a holy person. Christ blesses the assembly with His right hand. In His left is a scroll. The scroll is a symbol of teaching. This icon shows that the Lord in heaven is the source of blessing. In addition, Jesus is the source of knowledge. The icon reminds us that Christ continues to be the source of the teaching and message of the Church, blessing and guiding those to whom He has entrusted his work.

The Theotokos occupies a very special place in this icon. She is in the center of the icon, immediately below the ascending Christ. The gesture of her hands is gesture of prayer. She is clearly outlined by the whiteness of the garments of the angels. The Theotokos is depicted in a very calm pose. This is quite different from the appearance of the Disciples. They are moving about, talking to one another and looking and pointing towards heaven. The entire group, the Theotokos and the disciples represent the Church.

The icon of the Ascension includes some who did not witness the Ascension. St. Paul is shown to the left of the Theotokos, but we know that he was not present at the Ascension. At that time, St. Paul did not yet believe in Jesus. But he became a Christian and one of the greatest Apostles and missionaries of Church.

The icon expresses the sovereignty of Christ over His Church; He is its Head, its guide, its source of inspiration and teaching; it receives its commission and ministry from Him, and fulfils it in the power of the Holy Spirit.

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CELEBRATION OF THE FEAST OF THE ASCENSION

This Feast of our Lord is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, which is conducted on the day of the Feast and preceded by the Matins service. A Great Vespers is conducted on the evening before the day of the Feast. Scripture readings for the Feast are the following: At Vespers: Isaiah 2:2-3, 62:10-63:9; Zechariah 14:1,4,8-11. At the Orthros (Matins) Mark 16:9-20; At the Divine Liturgy: Acts 1:1-12; Luke 24:36-53.

SOURCE: https://www.goarch.org/ascension

On Wednesday of the sixth week of Pascha, we celebrate the Leavetaking of the Feast. While most Feasts have their Leavetaking on the eighth day, Pascha, the Feast of Feasts, has its Leavetaking on the thirty-ninth day. The fortieth day is the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension, which marks the end of the Lord’s physical presence on earth. He does not abandon us, however. He has promised to be with us always, even until the end of the age (MT 20:28). As we sing in the Kontakion for Ascension, “Thou didst ascend in glory, O Christ our God, not being parted from those who love Thee, but remaining with them and crying: I am with you and no one will be against you.” There is a similar thought expressed in the Troparion for the Dormition: “In falling asleep, you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos.”

The services today are celebrated just as on the day of Pascha itself. The daily readings from Holy Scripture, of course, will differ. After the Dismissal at Liturgy, the paschal hymns are no longer sung. The prayer “O Heavenly King” is not said or sung until Pentecost.The Winding Sheet (Plaschanitsa) is taken from the altar and is put in its proper place. Even though today is a Wednesday, fish, wine, and oil are permitted.

Today we also commemorate the Finding of the Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Meeting” in Kalamata in the Peloponnesus.

SOURCE: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/05/20/41-leavetaking-of-pascha

As recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Lydia of Thyatira was the Apostle Paul’s first convert to Christianity in Europe. Her conversion came after hearing Paul’s words in Philippi proclaiming the Gospel of Christ during his second mission journey. She is commemorated on March 23 (Slavic usage) and on May 20 (Greek usage). She was glorified by the Church of Constantinople on May 23, 1972.

As described in the Acts, Lydia was a “seller of purple”, a person who traded in purple dyes and fabrics for which the city of Thyatira was noted. Purple goods were part of a high value industry and were used by emperors, high government officials, and priests of the pagan religions.

Tradition relates that she and her husband may have been involved in this business. At some point Lydia and her household moved from Asia Minor to the city of Philippi in Macedonia. The reasons she moved may have been business related as Philippi was a Roman colony on the major east-west trade route, the Egnation Highway, between Rome and Asia. Also, she may have been a Jewish convert who no longer could worship in the custom of the Thyatirans.

The words of The Acts quoted below describe Lydia’s meeting with the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey about the year 50. Paul and his companions started their journey visiting the established churches in western Asia Minor when he answered a vision in which he saw a man dressed in a Macedonian manner calling upon him to “Come over to Macedonia and help us.“

Paul’s custom was to find local synagogues in which he would preach. But, apparently the Jewish population in Philippi was not sufficient to allow holding Sabbath Services for the Jewish men. Thus, Paul’s party walked out of the city following the Gangites River (now called the Angista River) when they came upon a group of women praying in the manner of Jews, along flowing water. After greeting the women, Paul and his companions sat down and shared the good news of Christ’s salvation with them. Lydia, among the women, had listened attentively and took the message to heart. She and her family were then baptized in the Gangites River along which they had been praying. Thus, Lydia became the first person in Europe to become a follower of Christ.

As Acts notes, Paul and his companions were well received by Lydia as they stay at her house after their release from the Philippi prison. Surely, during their imprisonment, Lydia and those who assembled in her home spent the night in prayer for the release of Paul and Silas, making her home the first Christian Church in Europe. When Paul departed from Philippi he left Luke behind to preach the Gospel and to establish firmly the church in Philippi, using as its core Lydia, the jailer, and their households.

Paul speaks fondly, in his letter to the Philippians, of the brethren who were members of the church of Philippi, calling them ”…my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown…”. (Philippians 4:1)

SOURCE: https://orthodoxwiki.org/Lydia\_of\_Thyatira

John was an Albanian soldier, and was nicknamed "Arnaoutoyiannis".* He was given the name John when he was baptized a Christian after converting from Islam. Arnaoutoyiannis resided in the village of Agios Ioannis in the municipality of Faistou on the island of Crete. There he lived a life of piety and devotion, exercising the profession of dragatis, or field guard, in order to secure a livelihood.

Certain rebels killed two Turkish beggars. The Ottomans who hated John due to his renunciation of their religious beliefs, found an opportunity to avenge him. They delivered him to the secular power of the region, accusing him of the murder of the two Turks, explaining that after his conversion to Christianity he sought to destroy Muslims.

John was arrested and sent to Heraklion for trial. The judge Rechit-Ephentis asked him to return to Islam in order to show that he did not murder for religious purposes, otherwise he would be condemned to die. John confessed Christ, and in turn was tortured for three days with horrible torments. Among other things, they heated an iron pot and placed it on his head.

When Saint John delivered his soul to God, the Pasha ordered for the Christians to take his body and bury it. They took it and buried it at Spitalia (where the old Health Service in Heraklion used to be).

John's martyric death spread sorrow and indignation among the Christians in Heraklion. The day was Saturday 5 May 1845, and as Stephanos Nikolaides mentions in his brief biography, Christians took a stance against the government for killing Arnaoutoyiannis. To satisfy the people, Rechit-Ephenti was exiled and replaced by Koulouktzi-Meimouri.

After some time, the translation of his relic took place and they were found sanctified. The Consul of Russia took them and sent them to Kiev, where his relic remains till today.

Notes:

* The term "Arnaout" was used for the first time during the Ottoman Empire, where Albanians were known as Arnaouts, and Albania as Arnautluk. "Yiannis" is Greek for John.

SOURCE: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2017/05/holy-new-martyr-john-dragatis-nicknamed.html?m=1

Fr. John Karastamatis was born in 1937 in the Greek village of Apoika, on the island of Andros. As a boy on the island of Andros, John witnessed many miracles with which God blessed the pious villagers, and thus he was made aware of the closeness of God to the lives of those who seek Him. The heavenly saints, especially the local ones, also manifested their closeness and the power of their intercessory prayer by appearing to and helping the people. John nourished his young soul by learning of the lives of these saints and martyrs, whose unquenchable desire to be faithful to Christ in the face of deprivation, torment and physical death inspired him to also be a servant of God. Although he did not attend any theological school, he wanted to put his faith into practice by someday becoming a priest.

In 1957, at the age of twenty, John came to the United States. Five years later he married a young Greek woman, Athanasia Matsellis, and soon became the father of two children, Maria and Photios. The cities of the United States were in sharp contrast to the village of his birth, but his acute awareness of the nearness of God and the other world, given him in childhood, never left him. He now found himself in the midst of those who not only did not want to be close to God, but who actively fled from Him.

Still he hoped in God, knowing that the freedom of Christ can be found even in the most stifling and evil surroundings.

With the support and encouragement of Fr. George Bogdanos, a Greek priest who recognized in him the integrity and zeal of a true pastor, Fr. John was ordained to the deaconate in 1971 with the blessing of Archbishop lakovos, who supported him in this. Since both his love for the Church and the love of the churchgoers for him was so apparent, he was made a priest only a few weeks later by Bishop Meletios Christianopolis of San Francisco. He first served the Greek Orthodox community in Anchorage, Alaska, the land of newly-canonized St. Herman, who became thus his guardian angel for the rest of his life. He was later assigned to the St. George parish in Vancouver, Canada, and then to All Saints parish in Anaheim, Pennsylvania. He then moved to Santa Cruz, California, which had been named by the Spanish missionaries after the Holy Cross of the Lord. There he labored with enthusiasm to provide a haven of Orthodox Christianity for the faithful in the area, who had long been without a nearby church.

Because the community in Santa Cruz was too small to immediately acquire its own Orthodox church, Fr. John began to serve the Divine Liturgy in the nearby town of Aptos, in the chapel of a Poor Clare convent. The nuns would have their services very early on Sunday morning, leaving the church free for Fr. John and his parishioners to use afterwards. The parishioners were at first hesitant: they would come to Liturgy late, and would all sit at the very back of the chapel, as if they were spectators and not participants. Fr. John knew that he had much work to do. He was sometimes disappointed at the lack of active interest among his flock. His was a burning faith, and lukewarmness had always been foreign to his soul. His task, he knew, was to ignite this fire within each of his parishioners, so that they themselves would struggle for the kingdom of heaven, the one thing needful, and not sit in the background and expect their priest to do their work for them. He could not demand too much at once, but had to be a gentle and loving pastor, condescending to the weaknesses of his flock so as not to overwhelm them and cause them to abandon the Orthodox faith altogether. The gap between shepherd and sheep had to be bridged gradually and carefully, and Fr. John had to spark the kinder in the hearts of his flock without scorching them with the consuming fire within him.

Sometimes Fr. John would speak forceful words of rebuke to awaken his people from their spiritual sleep, but mostly he would inspire them by his quiet and unobtrusive example. They began to see how hard he struggled and were moved to help him fulfill his godly dreams. His fervency and zeal, his unequivocal belief in the other world, was something that they did not fully understand, and yet that they inwardly — and in some cases unconsciously — longed for. Having come to love him deeply, they were grateful that God had sent a harvester to their field.

By giving his parishioners new aspirations, Fr. John instilled in them the desire to start their own church. They collected and saved money and eventually found the perfect building for their church: a former funeral home in Santa Cruz, across from the public library and in the best park of town for missionary activity. Fr. John did much of the interior work himself, fashioning a beautiful white iconostasis and a large domed apse behind and above the altar. When completed, the newly-consecrated church became a refuge from the noisy bustle of the world, an island of holiness in the middle of downtown Santa Cruz. The church was dedicated to the Prophet Elias.

With their new and beautiful church, the parishioners, comprised of over 75 families, now had a sense of accomplishment. They felt that they had come a long way from the days when they had little choice but to use a chapel which was outside of town. Now they could branch out into other activities.

Fr. John by no means wanted his Orthodox community to be a closed one, and he rejoiced to discover any fervent young souls which came to him in search of the fulness of Christianity. Santa Cruz has been a gathering place not only of the darker and meaner elements of society, but also of idealistic young people who have desired something more meaningful than the American values of materialism and competition. By the time Fr. John started his church in Santa Cruz, a small but significant “Orthodox Christian movement” had already begun at the university there. This was primarily the result of the missionary work of Hieromonk Anastassy. Through him, many Santa Cruz university students embraced the Orthodox faith and dedicated their lives to serving Christ. In 1981, Fr. Seraphim Rose, at the request of the Orthodox students there, gave two lectures at the university and further inspired young souls to enter what he called “the saving enclosure of the Church.” The fellowship of Orthodox students turned also to Fr. John and his church in order to receive spiritual nourishment and to participate in the divine services, which lifted them above the worldliness of university life. Fr. John always greeted them with a radiant smile and warm love, seeing in their young faces the freshness and enthusiasm that would keep Orthodoxy alive for future generations. After these students graduated, Fr. John brought other young people to the Orthodox faith, giving them all that they needed for their growth in the faith and being to them a loving father who was concerned for their spiritual welfare.

Since the Prophet Elias Church was in the middle of town, people would often come from off the streets to ask questions and attend the services. Fr. John kept an “open-door policy,” making himself and his church available to anyone with a pastoral need. The people of Santa Cruz came to know him as being kind, trusting, full of love and open. He had great compassion for the poor, and was helpful to all who came to him, disregarding their religion or whether or not they were taking advantage of him. It was not uncommon for him to be awakened at odd hours of the night by needy people knocking at his back door. No one would be refused, but would always be given alms for a meal. In the most outcast and downtrodden of individuals, and perhaps especially in them, Fr. John saw the image of Christ. With deep-felt Christian love, he once wrote these words about the simple people who, although rejected by the world, are faithful to Christ and follow the voice of their hearts: “We see them lonely within the crowd, or following the life of a hermit as they become symbols of truth and beacon lights of Christianity, praying for peace and brotherly love on earth.”

Orthodox Christianity was not just something “for Greeks,” but rather was universal. His love for God induced him to earnestly desire to bring forth fruits for Him, as a son strives to please his father, and this made him a zealous missionary to all peoples. He had services in public parks, where the townspeople would stop to attend something, which, although foreign to them, they found to be divinely beautiful. Hearing Fr. John, with his full and resonant voice, chanting the ancient Byzantine melodies along with his cantor, would unexpectedly catch a vague and half-remembered glimpse of that sacred realm which their souls knew but their minds had never been exposed to. In such a way was Fr. John able to introduce the riches of Orthodoxy to the spiritually impoverished American people.

While Fr. John’s fervent pastoral work served to convert many non-Greek people, his first job was, of course, to “convert” many of his own people -¬those who were baptized Orthodox but whose commitment to Christ meant, at most, only an external commitment to church attendance and activities. By his own faith he demonstrated to them that Orthodoxy is not merely a ritual, a system of dogmas or a behavior pattern, but is instead a transforming power, which is tapped by conscious spiritual struggle.

The good works of Fr. John were too numerous and his outreach too extensive not to evoke malicious actions from the haters of God. The visibility of Fr. John and his church in the middle of Santa Cruz made them more accessible not only to those in need of help, but also to those who wished to destroy all that is holy. A few months before Fr. John’s death, the church was desecrated by unknown occultists, who painted “666” and the five-pointed satanic star on the front entrance. When the desecration was discovered, Fr. John reconsecrated the church. Later he received anonymous threats, but was undaunted by them.

It was through Fr. John that the Most Holy Mother of God bestowed a miraculous blessing on the Prophet Elias Church. This occurred after Fr. John brought some bulbs of the “lily of the Panagia” back from his native island of Andros, where he visited with his family. The lily of the “Panagia” (or the “Most Holy”) is so named because of the tradition, often depicted in icons, concerning the Archangel Gabriel presenting the Mother of God with this species of lily at the time of the Annunciation. In the monastery on Andros which Fr. John visited, stems from these lilies, being many years old, sometimes bud miraculously at the time of the Feast of the Dormition.

Fr. John instructed his son Photios to plant the lily bulbs in pots and to water them only with holy water, which Photios did. After the lilies had grown from the bulbs in May of 1983, Fr. John cut one of the flowers and placed it by the icon of the Mother of God, which leaned against the iconostasis of his church. The flower did not wilt for three or four weeks, although it had been cut and removed from both water and earth. When it finally dropped its petals (the first one having fallen on a radiant day when one of Fr. John’s converts from the university was baptized), Fr. John told his wife not to vacuum up any of them, but to save them and place them by the icon where the flower stem was still leaning. Aпd then, within three weeks, some fresh sprouts appeared on the stem!

The stem continued to produce new stems for many months, until the winter of 1983-4. Fr. John interpreted the miracle as an image of life coming out of death through the Resurrection.

On the night of Saturday, May 5/18, 1985, the eve of Righteous Job the Much-suffering, Fr. John was in the church building preparing a sermon for the following morning. His wife was at that time in Los Angeles visiting her daughter, who had just given birth to her first child. Shortly before midnight, one or more assailants entered the church. Evidently they had been watching Fr. John, for they came at a time when he was alone, when both his wife and 17 year-old son were gone. They attacked Fr. John in his church office, stabbing him with a knife. During the struggle Fr. John was severely beaten, and then was finally killed by a heavy blow on his head. His son, who had dined with him earlier that evening, arrived at 1:30 a.m. at the church where the family lived. Outside the office he discovered the body of his murdered father, and on the walls — the blood of a martyr.

This time the church was not desecrated. In their investigation, the police reported no signs of vandalism or theft, nor were they able to locate any possible suspects. In the absence of a more plausible reason for the crime, it is most likely that the killing, like the church desecration a few months prior to it, was done at the hands of those who hated Fr. John for his holy work, of those who are the enemies of God and rebel against Him because they serve the first rebel, Satan. But whether Fr. John was killed for overtly satanic purposes or for other, irrational reasons, he had without doubt a martyric death, giving his life for Christ and dying in the very church in which he had diligently served Him. His face and fingers were so mutilated that the coffin had to be closed during the funeral services.

“His life inspired and enlightened and cheered us!” wrote one of his spiritual children. “His death has served to confirm in a most direct way the realities of not only our Orthodox faith, but of the bizarre and truly anti-Christian ways of our times.”

Holy New Martyr Priest John of Santa Cruz, pray to God for us!

SOURCE: https://arizonaorthodox.com/saints-north-america/hieromartyr-john-karastamatis-santa-cruz/

If he was not flesh, why was Mary introduced at all? And if he was not God, whom was Gabriel calling Lord?

If he was not flesh, who was lying in the manger? And if he was not God, whom did the Angels come down and glorify?

If he was not flesh, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes? And if he was not God, whom did the shepherds worship?

If he was not flesh, whom did Joseph circumcise? And if he was not God, in whose honour did the star speed through the heavens?

If he was not flesh, whom did Mary suckle? And if he was not God, to whom did the Magi offer gifts?

If he was not flesh, whom did Symeon carry in his arms? And if he was not God, to whom did he say, “Let me depart in peace”?

If he was not flesh, whom did Joseph take and flee into Egypt? And if he was not God, in whom were words “Out of Egypt I have called my Son” fulfilled?

If he was not flesh, whom did John baptise? And if he was not God, to whom did the Father from heaven say, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased”?

If he was not flesh, who fasted and hungered in the desert? And if he was not God, whom did the Angels come down and serve?

If he was not flesh, who was invited to the wedding in Cana of Galilee? And if he was not God, who turned the water into wine?

If he was not flesh, in whose hands were the loaves? And if he was not God, who satisfied crowds and thousands in the desert, not counting women and children, from five loaves and two fishes?

If he was not flesh, who fell asleep in the boat? And if he was not God, who rebuked the winds and the sea?

If he was not flesh, with whom did Simon the Pharisee eat? And if he was not God, who pardoned the offences of the sinful woman?

If he was not flesh, who sat by the well, worn out by the journey? And if he was not God, who gave living water to the woman of Samaria and reprehended her because she had had five husbands?

If he was not flesh, who wore human garments? And if he was not God, who did acts of power and wonders?

If he was not flesh, who spat on the ground and made clay? And if he was not God, who through the clay compelled the eyes to see?

If he was not flesh, who wept at Lazarus’ grave? And if he was not God, who by his command brought out one four days dead?

If he was not flesh, who sat on the foal? And if he was not God, whom did the crowds go out to meet with glory?

If he was not flesh, whom did the Jews arrest? And if he was not God, who gave an order to the earth and threw them onto their faces.

If he was not flesh, who was struck with a blow? And if he was not God, who cured the ear that had been cut off by Peter and restored it to its place?

If he was not flesh, who received spittings on his face? And if he was not God, who breathed the Holy Spirit into the faces of his Apostles?

If he was not flesh, who stood before Pilate at the judgement seat? And if he was not God, who made Pilate’s wife afraid by a dream?

If he was not flesh, whose garments did the soldiers strip off and divide? And if he was not God, how was the sun darkened at the cross?

If he was not flesh, who was hung on the cross? And if he was not God, who shook the earth from its foundations?

If he was not flesh, whose hands and feet were transfixed by nails? And if he was not God, how was the veil of the temple rent, the rocks broken and the graves opened?

If he was not flesh, who cried out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me”? And if he was not God, who said “Father, forgive them”?

If he was not flesh, who was hung on a cross with the thieves? And if he was not God, how did he say to the thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise”?

If he was not flesh, to whom did they offer vinegar and gall? And if he was not God, on hearing whose voice did Hades tremble?

If he was not flesh, whose side did the lance pierce, and blood and water came out?And if he was not God, who smashed to gates of Hades and tear apart it bonds? And at whose command did the imprisoned dead come out?

If he was not flesh, whom did the Apostles see in the upper room? And if he was not God, how did he enter when the doors were shut?

If he was not flesh, the marks of the nails and the lance in whose hands and side did Thomas handle? And if he was not God, to whom did he cry out, “My Lord and my God”?

If he was not flesh, who ate by the sea of Tiberias? And if he was not God, at whose command was the net filled?

If he was not flesh, whom did the Apostles and Angels see being taken up into heaven? And if he was not God, to whom was heaven opened, whom did the Powers worship in fear and whom did the Father invite to “Sit at my right hand”. As David said, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, etc.”

If he was not God and man, our salvation is a lie, and the words of the Prophets are lies. But the Prophets spoke the truth, and their testimonies were not lies. The Holy Spirit spoke through them what they had been commanded.

*(St. Ephrem the Syrian, Excerpt from the Sermon on Transfiguration)*

The holy martyrs David and Tarichan were born to Vardan and Tagine, pious Christians and relatives of the king. Vardan died while his sons were still young, and Tagine’s pagan brother Theodosius seized all the family’s possessions.

Concerned that the brothers would eventually claim their legal inheritance, Theodosius resolved to convert his sister and nephews to his own creed. “Leave behind the Faith of the crucified Christ and receive mine and I will adopt your children,” he told Tagine. But Tagine firmly guarded the family against her brother’s evil intent. “It is enough that you have seized my sons’ estate,” she said. “But you cannot seize the inheritance they will receive from their Father in heaven!”

Theodosius was thwarted by his sister’s resoluteness. So instead, he tried to convert his nephews directly. He called them, embraced them warmly, and tempted them with sweets. “Now you are my sons, and everything I have belongs to you,” he told them. “Trust me like obedient sons of a beloved father. Turn from the Faith of your father, and I will show you a better way!”

After a brief silence, the holy youths answered, “We are perfectly content with our father’s Faith and will remain loyal to this Faith until the day our souls depart from our flesh. We are prepared to suffer everything for the love of our Lord and Heavenly Father!”

Theodosius dared not try to sway his nephews since he feared the revenge of the Christian community, so he left them in peace and plotted to murder them in secret. But Tagine sensed that danger was near and escaped with her sons to the region of Tao in the south.

From his spies Theodosius learned that the brothers were now herding sheep at the top of a mountain, and he ordered an ambush. But the brothers heard the noise and saw the armed soldiers before they attacked. David rejoiced upon seeing his uncle and ran toward him, but Theodosius stabbed him before he could embrace him. The holy martyr released his staff from his hand, and when it fell to the ground it was miraculously transformed into a large tree. Two hundred years later a group of Christians chopped the tree down and divided the holy wood among themselves.

Having just witnessed his own brother’s murder, Tarichan raced toward the village of Divri for help. But his pursuers overtook him, stabbed him to death, and ran off. When they returned to Theodosius, they saw that God had punished him by taking away his sight. The soldiers were stunned, and they could neither utter a word nor move from the place of this miracle. After some time Theodosius’ eyes filled with bitter tears, and he was finally moved to repentance.

At first Tagine denounced her brother in a rage, and those who heard the cries of the inconsolable mother wept along with her. But while she was stroking the lifeless bodies of her sons, Theodosius turned to her, saying, “On you has shone the Inextinguishable Light from the Unapproachable and True Light, the Eternal Light. Pray to the holy martyrs that the Lord have mercy on me and make me, the unworthy, worthy of the seal of Christ, the All-merciful God, Who came into the world. Indeed, He is the One True God!” When Tagine heard these words, she recognized that God had received her sons as a holy sacrifice. Filled with new joy, she told her brother, “May God forgive you the murder of my sons!”

Then she took a piece of the earth that had been stained by her son David’s blood and anointed her brother’s eyes. Immediately his sight was restored.

This happened in the year 693. As a witness to the sanctity of His martyrs, our God, Who loves mankind, illumined their bodies with a radiant light each evening when night fell.

Theodosius repented before the catholicos himself. He was baptized into the Christian Faith and erected a church in honor of his nephew Saint David. The mayor of Divri took Saint Tarichan’s holy relics and built a church over them in his name. Blessed Tagine began a new life in the village of Tadzarani and later reposed there.

SOURCE: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/05/18/101433-martyrs-david-and-tarichan-of-georgia

Saint John Gashkevich was born in 1837 in the Belarusian village of Sherstin. From childhood, he served at the altar of his father, a village priest, and spent much time in prayer. At the age of 18, he entered the Mogilev Theological Seminary, and after graduation, he became a law teacher at a church parish school. After marrying, he was ordained a priest in 1862 and served in his native village.

In 1876, at his own request, he was transferred to the village of Ohorodnya in the Gomel district, where he devoted himself entirely to the service of the Church and the parishioners, having no property of his own.

After the birth of his youngest son, at the age of 48, he visited the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where he received a blessing for a monastic way of life. The saint did not consume meat and strictly fasted, reading the Jesus Prayer during night vigils. He took care of widows and orphans, setting an example of love for one’s neighbor.

Once, he gave a cow, which fed his family, to a poor widow. The possessed, brought to him, fell down at his sign of the cross. The saint called people to repentance, predicting the calamities that awaited the Russian land. He foretold the day of his death and peacefully departed to the Lord in the autumn of 1917.

In 1950, the communists burned the church where he served. During the destruction of the church's foundation, his relics were discovered, which were found and transferred to the church of the village of Korma on August 27 (September 9) 1997. The relics of the holy servant turned out to be incorrupt, and since then, many miraculous healings have occurred at them.

SOURCE: https://athos.guide/en/axios/ioann-kormyanskiy?srsltid=AfmBOopUZfkepwStD6tAwDqmJokM4MrxxocG0LlGJHKZHA0AY2sCt1Lu#gsc.tab=0

Fr. Jonah Moiseyevich Atamansky was born in Odessa on September 14, 1852 (according to another source, 1855) into the family of Deacon Moses Florovich Atamansky, who served in the church of the Nativity of the Mother of God. His father died when he was three (according to another source, seven) years old. His mother, Glykeria, wanted him to follow in his father's footsteps and sent him to church as an altar boy. On her death bed, she blessed him to be a priest, saying:

"I want you to be a good pastor."

So, while still very young, Jonah was left a complete orphan. He spent many days and nights at the cemetery at his parents' graves, picking flowers and weaving wreaths for them. He had no refuge except the cemetery, but the cruel watchman beat him and drove him out even from there.

The child began to wander on the streets and on the sea shore, feeding on the contents of dustbins and sleeping at night on garbage-dumps outside the city. He found a refuge for himself in one of the Odessa bell-towers, but was driven out of there by cruel people.

Finally his uncle had pity on him, and then his former nanny. They gave him shelter and sent him to school. But he never ceased to feel that he was an orphan. He studied in a church school, where his teachers noticed his good qualities. Having a good voice, he took part in a church choir.

Once the exhausted boy fell asleep with a burning candle in his hand. He woke up to find his jacket on fire. He was taken to hospital suffering from burns.

His mother appeared to him in dreams and protected him. Once she forbade him to go on a boat leaving Odessa. The boat sank on the very day the boy was planning to leave on it.

The boy grew up to be God-fearing and religious, praying without ceasing to God.

In 1884 he was ordained to the diaconate, and two years later - to the priesthood. On that occasion his Grace Bishop Nicanor said to those around him:

"Take Fr. Jonah's blessing... I felt a special grace in him, his soul is burning with a sacred flame. He will be a distinguished priest."

He was appointed to serve in the village of Kardashovka, whose populace consisted mainly of Stundists. His labours of prayer bore fruit: two hundred of the Stundists, including their leader, were united to the Orthodox Church. When he had to leave them, after eight years' service, they wept bitterly.

In 1897 he began his service in the Odessa Dormition cathedral. He was greatly loved by his flock, all of whom tried to be present at the early Liturgy, which he usually celebrated. They hung on his every word. His house was open for all those in sorrow or homeless, and no one left him unconsoled. He knew people well, could read their thoughts and penetrate into their souls. He could find good in people which no one else saw. He was especially compassionate to orphans, sheltering, feeding and clothing many. He was kind and attentive to all. He constantly served in church, and preached sermons after every service. At home he prayed without ceasing, getting up at midnight to pray for everyone. During storms he would always be in church, praying for those at sea. At night he would serve the midnight service and read akathists, and noone who was present at those night services will ever forget them.

In 1901 Fr. Jonah became pastor of the maritime port church of St. Nicholas. Thousands of people were cured of physical and spiritual infirmities through his prayers. He built a hostel at his church where many vagrants, travellers and demon-possessed people whom he had cured found refuge. Through confession, Communion, prayer and conversation he brought them to life again, and they became respectable and orderly people.

He was a second John of Kronstadt, a wonderworker of the south, and was glorified by the same good works for which his contemporary in the north was renowned. When people came to Fr. John of Kronstadt from the south, he would say:

"Why have you travelled to see me? You have your own John of Kronstadt in Fr. Jonah!"

Between these two luminaries there grew up a mutual love and friendship, and Fr. John, as a token of his love, sent him a marvellous set of white vestments trimmed in cornflower blue, and with cuffs of the same colour. Fr. Jonah was so fond of these vestments that he asked to be buried in them.

Being an artist in soul, Fr. Jonah's services were noted for their inspiration and external beauty; complete silence reigned in them. He read the Gospel in such a way that every word penetrated deeply into the soul. He loved to sing and himself composed music for many spiritual hymns and stichera. The entire service to the Dormition of the Mother of God was sung in his church to compunctionate chants which he wrote himself. On Sundays and great feasts, after the Liturgy, Fr. Jonah went to the hostel for a dinner prepared for pilgrims, the poor and the destitute. A choir of singers gathered round him at table and, when the meal was ended, would sing religious cantatas set to music by Fr. Jonah.

There were so many prosphoras at the proskomedia that they had to be brought to him on large trays. He would celebrate the proskomedia aloud. During the Liturgy the demon-possessed would utter terrible, blasphemous shrieks and cries. Fr. Jonah would communicate them frequently. They would have to be carried to the chalice, but would return quiet and normal. Fr. Jonah also blessed holy water every Sunday and even on weekdays. When he sprinkled it on raging demoniacs, they would immediately calm down.

Noone in Fr. Jonah's parish was indifferent to the faith, for which he thanked God, saying:

"I am grateful to God that I do not find the lack of faith and indifference to religion which it is so sad to hear about in recent times in the complaints of pastors of the Church. Here both rich and poor, educated and simple people - everyone always prays with deep faith, with a feeling of piety and great attentiveness, and listen to my sermons."

Batiushka kept the Great Fast very strictly: he partook of no sustenance apart from Communion. He did not leave church to go to his home. Rarely did he even go to his room next to the altar, to which no one had access but him. (In that room Batiushka kept a huge icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov, whom he greatly revered; it covered the entire wall.)

Batiushka's spiritual children, with his blessing, also kept the Fast strictly in the following manner: on Mondays and Tuesdays they ate nothing; on Wednesdays they received Communion and ate the antidoron which Batiushka distributed at the conclusion of the Liturgy; on Thursday they ate nothing; on Fridays they received Communion and ate some food cooked without oil; on Sundays they again received Communion and ate some food cooked with oil. And thus they passed the entire Fast. One of his spiritual daughters who had kept the Fast in such a manner related that by the time the Fast had come to an end she had ceased to feel the weight of her body, such was her lightness and spiritual joy, through the prayers of Fr. Jonah.

At the end of the Liturgy, Batiushka distributed the antidoron as Psalm 33 was sung with compunction. Fr. Jonah made it a standing rule in his parish that this psalm be sung and not merely read.

The Lord revealed His wondrous works to Fr. Jonah, and he recorded descriptions of several of his visions in the margins of his liturgical books. At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war in 1905, he received the following vision: he beheld the Cross, and on the Cross was Christ crucified; beneath the Cross was the emperor of Japan. The emperor said:

"O Lord, send me victory!"

The Lord answered: "You are a pagan."

"But I glorify Thy name!" said the emperor.

The Japanese were victorious. Indeed, in the Russo-Japanese war, it seemed as though even the elements aided the Japanese; the wind blew in the same direction as their shells, etc.

Very early in his life the grace of the Holy Spirit began to act and manifest Himself in Fr. Jonah. While yet a deacon he had begun to work miracles. Vera, his oldest daughter, died while still an infant. Fr. Jonah took the dead child in his arms, fell to his knees before the icon of the Mother of God and began to pray. Little by little the baby returned to life and recovered. She was his favourite daughter and outlived him.

In Odessa there lived a famous doctor, Professor V.P. Filatov. Once a peasant woman brought him her two-year-old son, who had been blind from birth. But the Professor after examining him said that he could do nothing for him; science was powerless in such cases. The sorrowful mother then took the child to Fr. Jonah. For nine nights Fr. Jonah stood praying for the child, ceaselessly serving molebens and akathists. On the tenth day he returned the child to his mother, completely cured.

People began to talk about the miracle, and the Soviet authorities decided to conduct an investigation. They called Professor Filatov and tried to get him to accuse Fr. Jonah of deceit and blackmail. But the professor insisted that this was the child he had examined, and that a miracle had taken place.

"How can you admit a miracle here?" they asked him mockingly.

But he stood his ground, and the trial ended inconclusively; noone was punished but religious faith was strengthened in the city.

A certain peasant had a twelve-year-old son who was born blind. Hearing that Fr. Jonah was healing the blind, he brought his son to him. Fr. Jonah sent the parents and their son to Dr. Filatov.

"Only a miracle can help him," was the physician's diagnosis.

They then returned to Fr. Jonah, who ordered that they leave the boy with him (this took place during the Great Fast), and began to pray for him and give him Communion. Within two weeks the child began to see.

After this incident Dr. Filatov began to visit Fr. Jonah and a friendship grew up between them. When they asked him how he had discovered his method for the transplantation of corneas he replied:

"Through the help of Fr. Jonah's prayers."

Some Roman Catholic priests, on hearing of the wondrous works of Fr. Jonah in driving out demons, etc., came to his church, desiring to satisfy themselves as to the reliability of the rumours that had reached them. With doubt and curiosity they awaited a manifestation of Fr. Jonah's grace-filled power, and for this reason they brought with them several people who were possessed. Suddenly those who were possessed fell upon the Catholic priests, assailing them and crying out:

"What have you come to see: what Fr. Jonah will do to us; how he will drive us out?"

Another time there was brought to Fr. Jonah a possessed man who began to scream. Batiushka said some prayers and told the evil spirit:

"Depart from him!"

"I am fearsome," replied the demon.

"A righteous man is not afraid of you; and a sinner cannot see you. Leave, I tell you!"

"I am fearsome!", the demon repeated.

"A righteous man is not afraid of you; and sinner cannot see you!", Fr. Jonah repeated.

This happened three times. After the third time the demon departed.

Because of the expulsion of his demons, the enemy of mankind took cruel revenge upon the family of Fr. Jonah. He had but to begin to cast out a demon and a fire would break out in his house without any apparent cause, or the cats would go mad. Thus the beleaguered family was not at all pleased when the possessed were brought to Fr. Jonah for healing, for they knew that there would again be misfortunes.

A certain Jewess who lived in Odessa had a problem in that her children died in infancy. She had already lost eleven babies. When her twelfth was born - a little girl - the mother was terribly upset, expecting that she would meet a similar fate. Someone advised her to turn to Fr. Jonah and ask his prayers for the preservation of her daughter's life, and she, assenting, went to his church. But the people did not want to let her enter, and even refused to convey her request to the priest. Hearing the commotion, Batiushka left the altar and said:

"Let her be!"

And turning to the Jewess he asked: "What do you need?"

With tears the woman related her woes, imploring his aid. Fr. Jonah placed his hand on the girl's head, and said:

"She will live."

The child continued to live and by 1948 had attained full womanhood.

During the plague of the renovationist heresy that beset the Russian Church Fr. Jonah alone held firm and preserved the purity of the faith in Odessa. All the other priests wavered and fell into renovationism. Later, realizing their error, they came to Fr. Jonah to repent and fell at his feet, beseeching his pardon. Batiushka told them:

"Do not bow before me, but before the people whom you have led astray!"

And the penitent priests went out onto the ambon, knelt down and prostrated themselves before the people, begging their forgiveness. Fr. Jonah then reunited them to the Orthodox Church. The renovationists caused Batiushka much grief, even wishing to have him deported. But the Lord preserved him, for he was His chosen one.

One day Fr. Jonah stood at the altar table during the all-night vigil, but suddenly he fell silent, his body grew stiff, and a short while later he raised his hands and exclaimed:

"Praise ye the name of the Lord! Praise ye the name of the Lord!... Alleluia! Alleluia!"

So they led him from the church to his home, his hands raised on high, face streaming with tears, and uttering these words, though he had not finished the service. Those present understood that Batiushka had had a vision. His eldest daughter Vera had seen only part of the vision: the entire sanctuary had been filled with fire. Later, Fr. Jonah related what he had seen: Christ had come, and after Him priests who were rending the garments on Him. With the Lord came St. Seraphim, who was weeping bitterly. But the Lord said to him:

"Weep not. They will repent!"

Fr. Jonah endured much persecution and many misfortunes, not only at the hands of invisible foes, but of visible enemies as well. One day, a crowd of seamen, unbelievers, fell upon him; they threw him down and began to choke him, damaging his vocal chords to such an extent that for the last few years of his life he spoke so softly that the sexton had to stand at the doors of the altar during the Divine services amd repeat Batiushka's exclamations so that they would be audible to the faithful.

Fr. Jonah had to endure many slanders and much malice from jealous and evil people. His own daughter caused him much grief. Before his death he told her:

"I will entreat God that He grant you a painful death to cover up your sins and further your salvation!"

Later, she went insane and was committed to an asylum. When the Germans invaded, they gunned her down with others that suffered from psychological disorders.

He was also grieved by one of his spiritual daughters, the nun M. She was one of his favourite daughters. A talented artist, she became the tool of the devil; she became fascinated by a young monk, fell into sin with him and left for New Athos. On the way, she disembarked from the steamship and poured forth the poison of calumny upon Fr. Jonah, reviling his good name. The enemy also wreaked vengeance upon Fr. Jonah through his own children: they were almost all sorry failures: they were expelled from school, misfortune haunted them; their marriages were unhappy. All of this was the devil's revenge.

One day, while seated in an armchair in the sanctuary, praying to the Mother of God, Fr. Jonah beheld a demon creep out from beneath the altar in the guise of a little baby. Batiushka asked:

"How did you get here?"

The demon replied: "Do you always pray to the Mother of God? Ooh! Anyone but her!... Well, I'll get back at you through your children!"

And it vanished.

Like all those who are well pleasing to God, Fr. Jonah loved the Mother of God and always prayed to her. Once, while removing particles during the proskomedia, he took out a particle, saying:

"Remember, O Lord, all those on earth and those beneath it!"

The demons screamed out in the church: "Don't pray for us, old man!"

A certain lady, on hearing of Fr. Jonah, brought her seriously ill baby to him and requested that he serve a private moleben. Batiushka told her:

"The sun shines equally on all me; and the mercy and grace of the Lord is for all men equally. Pray together in a general moleben. Everyone kneel!"

The lady quietly knelt down holding her sick child; but since the baby was heavy, she stood up for a while. She stood behind Fr. Jonah at a distance of several paces, and Batiushka could not have seen with his eyes that she was standing. Suddenly he said to the chanter:

"Go out and tell the woman with the baby to kneel down!"

Trembling seized her when she was struck by the realization of his clairvoyance. The child recovered.

The most extraordinary things happened to Fr. Jonah. Often, on leaving his bedroom in the presence of his family, he would vanish and at that very moment appear at a village outside the city where some possessed people whom he had cured lived. Or he would leave his home on foot but show up suddenly in his bedroom, even though the doors were shut.

One day, Fr. Jonah left with his sacristan for the Convent of St. Michael, which he supported. Having served the all-night vigil there, he left to return home. When he had reached the escalier at the foot of which were located the chuch and the home in which he lived, he suddenly vanished. Only his boots remained near the escalier; these the sacristan took home. That night two peasants, a man and his wife, were travelling towards the city on a cart. By dawn they had reached the Convent of the Annunciation, which located near the church and the home in which he lived. Coming into the Convent, they saw a priest kneeling. Drawing nearer, they found the priest's riassa, but he himself had vanished. Picking up the riassa, the peasants proceeded to the city, went to the church of Fr. Jonah, related what they had seen and brought out the riassa to show around. Those who served in the sanctuary recognized it as Fr. Jonah's; Fr. Jonah, as it turned out, had found himself in his bedroom at dawn, clad only in his undergarments. Handing over the riassa and saying some prayers in the church, the peasants returned to their inn, but the horses they had left there in the morning had disappeared. In tears they hastened back to Batiushka to tell him of their misfortune. Fr. Jonah told them:

"Go to such-and-such an inn; there you will find your horses; take them away with you."

The animals were indeed found where Batiushka had said they would be.

An extraordinary thing happened to Batiushka one summer in Kishinev; it was even reported in the local newspaper. The article appeared under the title: "What is this - a dream or reality?" One day in the month of June, a certain woman went to the cemetery to visit the grave of her mother. There she suddenly became aware of a marvellous peaceful singing. Turning towards the voice, she saw a tall, pale priest who was chanting "Holy God...!" She drew closer, but the priest moved farther away. Try as she might, she could not get any closer to him. The priest was not walking, but rather floating above the graves, praying and conversing with the departed. She pursued the strange priest for quite some time, but finally gave up, exhausted. Suddenly the priest sat down on a grave, pulled a prosphora from his pocket and crumbled it up for the ants; he then raised his head and said to her:

"Well, you're all worn out from chasing after me, poor Natasha. Here's a prosphora for you!"

With these words he handed her a piece of prosphora and added:

"Wretched woman, you haven't prepared to receive Communion for fifteen years!"

And he vanished... Astounded by his words and at a loss as to how he could have known about her, the woman began to run about the cemetery, searching for the priest; but she could find him nowhere. Tired, she returned home, but was unable to sleep, amazed was she by the pale priest with the gentle eyes and quiet voice.

Early the next morning, after a sleepless night, she left her home and went to the cathedral square. Near the cathedral she saw two night watchmen disputing amongst themselves. One said:

"It was John of Kronstadt!"

The other maintained: "No! Fr. John was of medium stature; this priest was tall!"

When she approached them, the watchmen related to her the following. At dawn of the morning of the previous day they had seen in the sky a dark spot moving towards the city. They thought it was an airplane, but when the spot drew closer, they saw that it was in fact a huge flock of crows, and in their midst was a man whom the crows were harrying; he in turn was fending them off with his cane. The crows settled on the cathedral square and again took to flight, soaring over the trees and the domes of the cathedral. The man, who had also descended to earth, shook with his cane at them, saying:

"Cursed ones! Have you flown off?!"

The man, it seems, was a priest with a pale face, tall of stature. He then began to wipe the blood and sweat from his face, and afterwards went up to the doors of the cathedral, entered, and began to pray, making prostrations. Matins and the Liturgy came to an end, and the strange priest approached to kiss the cross. The local priest gave him a prosphora and asked him who he was and where he was from; but the stranger, making no reply, left the cathedral. On the porch he began to distribute money amongst the poor, but to some of them he said:

"You are drunkards; you'll just waste it on drink!"

And to such he gave nothing. To one old woman he gave some money, saying:

"You are a struggler! Pray for the world!"

And he vanished...

On hearing all this, the woman concluded that this was the same priest that she had seen in the cemetery. She had not been dreaming! Then she had but one desire: to find that priest. She began to travel from one city to another, going from one church to another in search of him. When she arrived in Odessa, she stopped at the church of St. Nicholas. On seeing Fr. Jonah, she cried out:

"That's him!"

- and fainted on the spot. Regaining consciousness, she related everything to Batiushka and presented him with a copy of the Kishinev newspaper.

One of Fr. Jonah's spiritual daughters related this incident to a certain elder when she was in Moscow. The elder explained:

"Angels used to carry Fr. Jonah to various places. The demons saw this, waylaid him and carried him off to Kishinev. The angels then bore him home again."

Fr. Jonah was renowned not only in his homeland, but abroad as well, receiving, as did Fr. John of Kronstadt, letters and telegrams requesting his prayers for the sick and suffering, as well as letters of gratitude from those who had received healing and aid. He especially believed in the power of the prayers of parents, and when he found himself in grievous and unpleasant circumstances, he used to go to pray at his parents' graves. Once, he beheld in a dream his own brother, enveloped in fire. On the morning of the following day he served the Liturgy for him. That night he again beheld his brother, but this time he was in fire up to his knees only. Again Fr. Jonah served the Liturgy, and the next time he beheld his brother he had been completely freed from the fire.

During the first years of Soviet power, the authorities did not touch Fr. Jonah. Then they began to conduct searches in his house and summon him to interrogations. During the removal of church valuables they also took many things from him. Then they tried to arrest him, but the workers and peasants raised such a tumult that they had to let him go quickly.

Fr. Jonah died after a long and painful illness on May 17/30, 1924. His funeral was extraordinary. Not only the inhabitants of Odessa - all the poor, the tramps, the stevedores and waterfront workers who knew and loved him - but people from outlying villages, towns and neighbouring cities came together to bury their intercessor and benefactor. The authorities forbade them to bury him on Sunday, hoping to avoid a huge assemblage of people; but on Monday even more people came. All of the vast escalier of Odessa, at the base of which stood the church of St. Nicholas and the house in which Batiushka lived, as well as the waterfront were packed so densely with people that the coffin of Fr. Jonah, borne aloft by those who honoured him, moved with extreme slowness. Workmen had requested that the burial itself be postponed until after four o'clock in the afternoon when they finished work for the day. They began to carry the coffin to the cemetery at four o'clock, reaching it only in the dead of night, the interment taking place at midnight, so slowly and solemnly did they carry the much-suffering body of Fr. Jonah, stopping frequently to serve litias.

Fr. Jonah did not allow his relatives to raise the question of burying him in the church. He prophesied:

"They will raze the church; it will no longer exist."

He ordered that he be buried in the midst of the nature he loved,

"so that the birds may sing over me... Do not build a church; bury me near my relatives."

His grave became a place of prayerful assembly for the believers. A lampada always burned in front of the icon, and the venerators of Fr. Jonah came to his grave on his namesday and on feastdays, seeking his intercession and kissing his portrait.

Fr. Jonah died as a result of kidney failure. His bedroom was small and narrow, furnished only by a bed, an armchair and a plain wooden chest of drawers in which he kept a multitude of icons framed behind glass. On the twentieth day after his repose, those who revered him visited this bedroom. During his lifetime he used to sit in the armchair, for he was unable to lie down; and it was in this armchair that he surrendered his soul into the hands of the Lord. One of those who visited his bedroom was a woman with a little boy. On entering the room the child exclaimed, pointing to the chair:

"Grandfather is sitting there!"

Fr. Jonah used to receive visitors in his bedroom seated in that chair, and there it was that he had spent the last days of his earthly life.

After Batiushka's death, one of his spiritual daughters received a whole box of bread which Fr. Jonah used to distribute after the Liturgy. One day, she learned that one of her relatives had been involved in a horrible accident; petrol had exploded into flame and covered her body, turning it into a human torch. Terrified, she began to run about outside, screaming. By the time those who had run up in answer to her screams had managed to put out the fire, her legs, stomach and chest had become one huge blister. When Fr. Jonah's spiritual daughter found out about this calamity, she went to the hospital and gave her relative a piece of Batiushka's bread to eat. Her burns had been diagnosed as fatal, but through the intercessions of Fr. Jonah she survived and recovered.

In 1947 a woman who was subject to convulsions went to his grave, wept there, prayed, fell down and foamed at the mouth. When the sick woman regained consciousness she felt healthy again and her seizures stopped.

A Jewish woman, a dentist by profession, fell seriously ill. Her physicians recommended that she undergo an operation, for her condition was critical; but her neighbours, Christian believers, advised her to go to the grave of Fr. Jonah. This the poor woman managed to do, though with considerable difficulty. When she returned thence to her home, the spot which had been giving her so much pain began to ooze pus and her condition improved.

(Sources: "Father Jonah Atamansky", Orthodox Life, no. 2, 1979; Protopriest V. Chemen, "Pamyati narodnogo pastyrya o. Iony Atamanskogo", reprinted in Russkij Pastyr, no. 12, 1992)

SOURCE: https://www.orthodox.net/russiannm/jonah-atamansky-hieroconfessor-of-odessa.html

The sixth Sunday of Holy Pascha is observed by the Orthodox Church as the Sunday of the Blind Man. The day commemorates the miracle of Christ healing the man who was blind since birth. The biblical story of this event is found in the Gospel of Saint John 9:1-41.

The Lord Jesus was coming from the Temple on the Sabbath, when, while walking in the way, He saw the blind man mentioned in today's Gospel. This man had been born thus from his mother's womb, that is, he had been born without eyes (see Saint John Chrysostom, Homily LVI on John; Saint Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book V:15; and the Second Exorcism of Saint Basil the Great). When the disciples saw this, they asked their Teacher, "Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" They asked this because when the Lord had healed the paralytic at the Sheep's Pool, He had told him, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14); so they wondered, if sickness was caused by sin, what sin could have been the cause of his being born without eyes. But the Lord answered that this was for the glory of God. Then the God-man spat on the ground and made clay with the spittle. He anointed the eyes of the blind man and said to him, "Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam." Siloam (which means "sent") was a well-known spring in Jerusalem used by the inhabitants for its waters, which flowed to the eastern side of the city and collected in a large pool called "the Pool of Siloam."

Therefore, the Savior sent the blind man to this pool that he might wash his eyes, which had been anointed with the clay-not that the pool's water had such power, but that the faith and obedience of the one sent might be made manifest, and that the miracle might become more remarkable and known to all, and leave no room for doubt. Thus, the blind man believed in Jesus' words, obeyed His command, went and washed himself, and returned, no longer blind, but having eyes and seeing. This was the greatest miracle that our Lord had yet worked; as the man healed of his blindness himself testified, "Since time began, never was it heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind," although the Lord had already healed the blind eyes of many. Because he now had eyes, some even doubted that he was the same person (John 9:8-9); and it was still lively in their remembrance when Christ came to the tomb of Lazarus, for they said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have caused that even this man should not have died?" Saint John Chrysostom gives a thorough and brilliant exposition of our Lord's meeting with the woman of Samaria, the healing of the paralytic, and the miracle of the blind man in his commentaries on the Gospel of Saint John.

The icon of the Sunday of the Blind Man depicts the biblical story of Christ healing the man who was blind since birth. Our Lord is shown placing the clay on the eyes of the man. He is with his disciples who are questioning Christ about the source of the man's affliction. The blind man is shown with his hand outstretched toward Christ expressing his faith and willingness to receive healing and grace from the Son of God. Our Lord has in His hand a scroll, which directs us to His statements, "I am the light of the world," (John 9:5), and "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed," (Luke 4:18). This are clear statements of the Gospel of salvation that comes through Christ. The scroll may also represent the role of Christ as Judge as depicted in Matthew and Revelation, and also later in the same passage on the healing of the blind man (John 9:39), Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."

The Sunday of the Blind Man is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. On this Sunday and throughout the Paschal period until the Apodosis or leave-taking of Pascha, the day before the Feast of the Ascension, the services begin with the chanting of the troparion of Pascha, "Christ is risen..." This is the last Sunday of the Paschal period before the Feast of the Ascension, which will follow on Thursday of this week. The Apodosis or Leave-taking of the Feast of Pascha is on Wednesday, a day which is free of fasting and celebrated with the joy and brightness of the Feast of Feasts.

Scripture readings for the feast are the following: At the Divine Liturgy: Acts 26:1, 12-20, John 9:1-38.

SOURCE: https://www.goarch.org/sunday-of-the-blind-man-learn

Saint Theodore was called “Sanctified” because he was the first in his monastery ordained to the priesthood.

Saint Theodore came from Egypt and was the son of rich and illustrious Christian parents. The yearning for monastic life appeared early in him. Once there was a large party at the house of his parents during the feast of Theophany. The boy did not want to take part in the festivities, grieving that because of earthly joys he might be deprived of joys in the life to come. He secretly left home when he was fourteen and entered one of the monasteries.

Hearing about Pachomius the Great, he burned with the desire to see the ascetic. Saint Pachomius received the young man with love, having been informed by God beforehand about his coming. Remaining at the monastery, Saint Theodore quickly succeeded in all his monastic tasks, particularly in the full obedience to his guide, and in his compassion towards the other brethren. Theodore’s mother, learning that he was at the Tabennisi monastery, came to Saint Pachomius with a letter from the bishop, asking to see her son. Saint Theodore did not wish to break his vow to renounce the world, so he refused to meet with his mother.

Seeing Saint Theodore’s strength of mind and ability, Saint Pachomius once told him to instruct the brethren on Holy Scripture. Saint Theodore was then only twenty years old. He obeyed and began to speak, but some of the older brethren took offense that a new monk should teach them, and they departed. Saint Pachomius said to them, “You have given in to the devil and because of your conceit, your efforts will come to naught. You have not rejected Theodore, but rather the Word of God, and have deprived yourselves of the Holy Spirit.”

Saint Pachomius appointed Saint Theodore as overseer of the Tabennisi monastery, and withdrew to a more solitary monastery. Saint Theodore with filial love continued to concern himself over his instructor, and he looked after Saint Pachomius in his final illness, and when the great abba reposed in the Lord, he closed his eyes. After the death of Saint Pachomius, Saint Theodore directed the Tabennisi monastery, and later on he was at the head of all the Thebaid monasteries. Saint Theodore the Sanctified was famed for his holiness of life and a great gift of wonderworking, and he was well known to Saint Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Saint Theodore reposed in his old age in the year 368.

SOURCE: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2014/05/16/101393-venerable-theodore-the-sanctified-disciple-of-venerable-pachomiu

Saint Brendan was born around 484 in Tralee, County Kerry, in the province of Munster (southwestern Ireland). He was born among the Altraige, an Irish clan originally centred around Tralee Bay, to parents named Finnlug and Cara. Tradition says that he was born in the Kilfenora-Fenit region on the north side of the bay. He was baptized at Tubrid, near Ardfert.

As a child he was placed in the care of Saint Ita of Killeedy (January 15), who taught him three things that God really loves: "the true faith of a pure heart; the simple religious life; and bountifulness inspired by Christian charity." She might have added that the three things God hates are "a scowling face; obstinate wrongdoing; and too much confidence in money." When he was six years old he was sent to Saint Jarlath's monastery school at Tuam to further his education.

Saint Brendan's first voyage was to the Aran Islands, where he founded a monastery. Like his master Saint Jarlath (June 6), he established churches in Brittany on the northern coast of France, and in Wales. He also founded other schools and monasteries in Ireland. By establishing so many monasteries, he became known as the Apostle of Ireland. Between 512 and 530 Saint Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and Shanakeel (Seana Cill, the "Old Church"), at the foot of Mount Brandon. Saint Brendan also visited Hinba (Argyll), an island off the coast of Scotland, where he met Saint Columba of Iona (June 9).

At the age of twenty-six he was ordained as a priest by a Bishop named Erc (May 12), who was from Munster, and also a monk at Tullylease, County Down. Later, Brendan founded a number of monasteries. Traveling to Wales, he lived for some time under the discipline of Saint Gildas (January 29). He also spent several years in the abbey of Llan-carven, in Glamorganshire. In Britain he established the monastery of Ailech, and another church in a territory called Heth.

Although Saint Brendan was a real person, there are some fabulous stories told how he searched for seven years on his voyage to seek the Isle of the Blessed, a remnant of ancient Celtic folklore.

On the Kerry coast, with some chosen monks, he built a coracle of wattle, covering it with hides, and rigged a mast and a sail. After praying on the shore, he went forth to extend the Kingdom of God on earth. Sailing with sixty1 companions he set sail with a month's provisions. Aboard the ship, all the Rules of monastic life were strictly observed. After his many strange wanderings, including celebrating Mass on the back of a whale, he returned to Ireland to establish Clonfert.

Saint Brendan founded the famous monastery of Clonfert on the River Shannon in 561, whose ruins still may be seen. He was the Abbot of this monastery with 3,000 monks, and a Rule which was dictated to him by an Angel.

Saint Brendan is regarded as one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland," who are believed to have been taught by Saint Finnian of Clonard (December 12). He reposed on May 16, 578, at the age of ninety-four.

Saint Brendan may have reposed while visiting his sister Briga, the Abbess of a convent at Enach Duin (Annaghdown). The account includes his dying conversation with his sister. When he asked her to ease his death by her prayers, she asked him why he was so afraid of dying. He resplied, "I am afraid of loneliness on this dark journey to the unknown land. I fear the presence of the King and the sentence of the Judge."

Realizing that there might be some rivalry for his body, Saint Brendan requested that his death be kept secret when his relics were returned to Clonfert by cart, disguised as luggage being sent ahead for his own return.

1 The number of monks might have been anywhere from fourteen to sixty.

SOURCES: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2029/05/16/100267-saint-brendan-the-navigator

Saint Pachomius the Great was both a model of desert dwelling, and with Saints Anthony the Great (January 17), Macarius the Great (January 19), and Euthymius the Great (January 20), a founder of the cenobitic monastic life in Egypt.

Saint Pachomius was born in the third century in the Thebaid (Upper Egypt). His parents were pagans who gave him an excellent secular education. From his youth he had a good character, and he was prudent and sensible.

When Pachomius reached the age of twenty, he was called up to serve in the army of the emperor Constantine (apparently, in the year 315). They put the new conscripts in a city prison guarded by soldiers. The local Christians fed the soldiers and took care of them.

When the young man learned that these people acted this way because of their love for God, fulfilling His commandment to love their neighbor, this made a deep impression upon his pure soul. Pachomius vowed to become a Christian. Pachomius returned from the army after the victory, received holy Baptism, moved to the lonely settlement of Shenesit, and began to lead a strict ascetic life. Realizing the need for spiritual guidance, he turned to the desert-dweller Palamon. He was accepted by the Elder, and he began to follow the example of his instructor in monastic struggles.

Once, after ten years of asceticism, Saint Pachomius made his way through the desert, and halted at the ruins of the former village of Tabennisi. Here he heard a Voice ordering him to start a monastery at this place. Pachomius told the Elder Palamon of this, and they both regarded the words as a command from God.

They went to Tabennisi and built a small monastic cell. The holy Elder Palamon blessed the foundations of the monastery and predicted its future glory. But soon Palamon departed to the Lord. An angel of God then appeared to Saint Pachomius in the form of a schemamonk and gave him a Rule of monastic life. Soon his older brother John came and settled there with him.

Saint Pachomius endured many temptations and assaults from the Enemy of the race of man, but he resisted all temptations by his prayer and endurance.

Gradually, followers began to gather around Saint Pachomius. Their teacher impressed everyone by his love for work, which enabled him to accomplish all kinds of monastic tasks. He cultivated a garden, he conversed with those seeking guidance, and he tended to the sick.

Saint Pachomius introduced a monastic Rule of cenobitic life, giving everyone the same food and attire. The monks of the monastery fulfilled the obediences assigned them for the common good of the monastery. Among the various obediences was copying books. The monks were not allowed to possess their own money nor to accept anything from their relatives. Saint Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal was greater than fasting or prayer. He also demanded from the monks an exact observance of the monastic Rule, and he chastized slackers.

His sister Maria came to see Saint Pachomius, but the strict ascetic refused to see her. Through the gate keeper, he blessed her to enter upon the path of monastic life, promising his help with this. Maria wept, but did as her brother had ordered. The Tabennisi monks built her a hut on the opposite side of the River Nile. Nuns also began to gather around Maria. Soon a women’s monastery was formed with a strict monastic Rule provided by Saint Pachomius.

The number of monks at the monastery grew quickly, and it became necessary to build seven more monasteries in the vicinity. The number of monks reached 7,000, all under the guidance of Saint Pachomius, who visited all the monasteries and administered them. At the same time Saint Pachomius remained a deeply humble monk, who was always ready to comply with and accept the words of each brother.

Severe and strict towards himself, Saint Pachomius had great kindness and condescension toward the deficiencies of spiritually immature monks. One of the monks was eager for martyrdom, but Saint Pachomius turned him from this desire and instructed him to fulfill his monastic obedience, taming his pride, and training him in humility.

Once, a monk did not heed his advice and left the monastery. He was set upon by brigands, who threatened him with death and forced him to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Filled with despair, the monk returned to the monastery. Saint Pachomius ordered him to pray intensely night and day, keep a strict fast and live in complete solitude. The monk followed his advice, and this saved his soul from despair.

The saint taught his spiritual children to avoid judging others, and he himself feared to judge anyone even in thought.

Saint Pachomius cared for the sick monks with special love. He visited them, he cheered the disheartened, he urged them to be thankful to God, and put their hope in His holy will. He relaxed the fasting rule for the sick, if this would help them recover their health. Once, in the saint’s absence, the cook did not prepare any cooked food for the monks, assuming that the brethren loved to fast. Instead of fulfilling his obedience, the cook plaited 500 mats, something which Saint Pachomius had not told him to do. In punishment for his disobedience, all the mats prepared by the cook were burned.

Saint Pachomius always taught the monks to rely only upon God’s help and mercy. It happened that there was a shortage of grain at the monastery. The saint spent the whole night in prayer, and in the morning a large quantity of bread was sent to the monastery from the city, at no charge. The Lord granted Saint Pachomius the gift of wonderworking and healing the sick.

The Lord revealed to him the future of monasticism. The saint learned that future monks would not have such zeal in their struggles as the first generation had, and they would not have experienced guides. Prostrating himself upon the ground, Saint Pachomius wept bitterly, calling out to the Lord and imploring mercy for them. He heard a Voice answer, “Pachomius, be mindful of the mercy of God. The monks of the future shall receive a reward, since they too shall have occasion to suffer the life burdensome for the monk.”

Toward the end of his life Saint Pachomius fell ill from a pestilence that afflicted the region. His closest disciple, Saint Theodore (May 17), tended to him with filial love. Saint Pachomius died around the year 348 at the age of fifty-three, and was buried on a hill near the monastery.

SOURCE: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2025/05/15/101384-venerable-pachomius-the-great-founder-of-coenobitic-monasticism

Saint Therapon was a monk and bishop in Cyprus. During the persecutions against the Christians, he boldly confessed his faith and endured a martyr’s death. His relics were originally kept in Cyprus, where many miracles were performed. Later, when the Saracens threatened the island, the relics were transferred to Constantinople at the saint’s command. He appeared miraculously to a chanter and asked him to rescue them, so that they could be offered to the faithful as a spiritual inheritance.

During the journey to Constantinople, a fierce storm broke out. However, the saint's presence calmed the sea. Upon their arrival in the city, the relics were placed in a church built in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos. They were later transferred to the church dedicated to Saint Therapon himself.

From that time on, the saint miraculously protected all who sought his intercession. People were freed from the demons that tormented them, relieved of incurable physical ailments, and healed of serious diseases. Such was the case of the Italian man who was delivered from the demons attacking him; of Anastasius, whose paralyzed hand was restored; and of George, the soldier who regained his sight. Other miracles included the healing of a girl born with fused legs and a woman cured of life-threatening cancer. Many more illnesses were healed through the holy myrrh that flowed from the sacred relics.

The prayers, grace, and blessing of Saint Therapon continue to protect and watch over the Christians who call upon his name to this day.

SOURCE: https://athos.guide/en/axios/ferapont-kiprskiy?srsltid=AfmBOoqDWOulcSwLy1manreEZD4KsEaU3jF6B12KpYL8RsdjF\_C6GGiM#gsc.tab=0

Saint Isidore Tverdislov (“Constant of Word”), Fool-for-Christ, Wonderworker of Rostov. He was born in Germany of rich parents. From his youth, he led “an unsullied life and had a compassionate understanding.” Leaving his parental home and “desiring the Kingdom of God,” Saint Isidore distributed his wealth to the poor. Taking up the staff of a wanderer, he visited many lands and cities.

He was raised in Catholicism, and it is not known where he accepted the holy Orthodox Faith. Finally, he arrived in Russia and decided to live in Rostov. Here Saint Isidore, “in filth and snow and rain and cold” and “enduring every outrage,” settled in a rickety wooden hut that he himself had made. He chose a foolish manner of life for the sake of Christ, which Saint Paul describes in his Epistle (1 Cor.4:10-13).

Saint Isidore spent all his time at unceasing prayer, not allowing himsetlf much sleep or rest. “He stood at all night vigil and praise” to dedicate his body “everlastingly to God.”

By day the blessed one made the rounds of the city, acting like a fool. “Like Job of old in his patience,” Blessed Isidore, while still alive, was “an earthly angel and a heavenly man,” “a compassionate soul, and pure of thought, and vigilant heart and faith unassailed, and true love without pretense.” During his life he received the grace to work miracles.

Saint Isidore reposed in the year 1474. They learned of his death only when, passing by his hut, they noticed a special fragrance. At the place of his burial in the city of Rostov the church of the Ascension of the Lord was built, in which his relics rest in a crypt as a source of miracles to the present day.

Blessed Isidore is termed “Tverdislov” [“Constant of Word”] since he spoke constantly. [The title “Tverdislov” seems unique to Saint Isidore. This supplemental account of him is from Bulgakov’s Nastolnaya Kniga (1900).]

SOURCE: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2018/05/14/101376-venerable-isidore-the-fool-for-christ-and-wonderworker-of-rostov