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Saints & Commemorations
Hieromartyr Theodotus, Bishop of Cyrenia
Known for his wisdom and virtue, he was chosen as Bishop of Cyrenia on the island of Cyprus. When a persecution broke out against the Christians under the Emperor Licinius, Theodotus was arrested and subjected to many tortures. His torturer Sabinus urged him repeatedly to renounce Christ and worship the idols, but Theodotus replied, ‘If you knew the goodness of my God, who, it is my hope, will by these brief tortures make me worthy of eternal life, you would wish to suffer for Him as I do.’ The pagans then drove nails into his body, for which he thanked God. Bel
Known for his wisdom and virtue, he was chosen as Bishop of Cyrenia on the island of Cyprus. When a persecution broke out against the Christians under the Emperor Licinius, Theodotus was arrested and subjected to many tortures. His torturer Sabinus urged him repeatedly to renounce Christ and worship the idols, but Theodotus replied, ‘If you knew the goodness of my God, who, it is my hope, will by these brief tortures make me worthy of eternal life, you would wish to suffer for Him as I do.’ The pagans then drove nails into his body, for which he thanked God. Believing that his death was approaching, he calmly gave counsel and instruction to the Christians around him. By God’s providence, an order came from the new Emperor Constantine to free all Christians who were being held for the sake of Christ. Thus Theodotus was freed and, though greatly weakened by his torments, served his flock faithfully for two more years before reposing in peace.
Troparion - Tone 4
By sharing in the ways of the Apostles, / you became a successor to their throne. / Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God; / by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, even to the shedding of your blood. / Hieromartyr Theodotus, entreat Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion - Tone 3
You denounced the depths of false belief. / With the Orthodox faith you wounded the delusion of idolatry. / As a godly, whole burnt sacrifice, / you refreshed the ends of the earth with your wonders! / O holy hierarch Theodotus, our father, / entreat Christ God to grant us great mercy!
Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver
Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver, was born at Tver, and in his early years received monastic tonsure in the Kiev Caves monastery. Even among the monks of this ancient monastery, distinguished for their piety, Arsenius was noted for his saintly life as well as for his strictness in keeping his monastic vows, his knowledge of the Church typikon, his study of Holy Scripture, and his love for work.
Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver, was born at Tver, and in his early years received monastic tonsure in the Kiev Caves monastery. Even among the monks of this ancient monastery, distinguished for their piety, Arsenius was noted for his saintly life as well as for his strictness in keeping his monastic vows, his knowledge of the Church typikon, his study of Holy Scripture, and his love for work.
Under Metropolitan Cyprian of Kiev (1380-1382) he served as archdeacon, and when the Metropolitan was absent, he governed the administration of the Kiev metropolitanate. On July 3, 1390 he went with Metropolitan Cyprian to Tver, where at the request of Prince Micjae of Tver, a Council of Russian and Greek hierarchs had been convened to pass judgment upon Bishop Euthymius of Tver.
The prince and the bishop were involved in a lengthy dispute, and many of the people of Tver made serious accusations against the bishop. After unsuccessful attempts to restore peace to the Tver church, Metropolitan Cyprian deposed Euthymius as bishop and sent him off to Moscow to the Chudov monastery.
Saint Arsenius was appointed to the Tver cathedra, but he was both troubled and afraid to accept this position, in view of the great enmity and spite in that place. Upon the return of Metropolitan Cyprian and archdeacon Arsenius to Moscow, the Prince sent his nobles to the Metropolitan with a petition to consecrate Arsenius as Bishop of Tver. This time Arsenius also refused. In the words of the chronicle for the year 1390 “even at the Metropolitan’s entreaty, Archdeacon Arsenius would not go to Tver.”
After threatening Arsenius with suspension, the Metropolitan and the Prince finally got him to agree to accept episcopal consecration, which took place on August 15, 1390. Among the bishops taking part in the laying on of hands was Saint Stephen, Bishop of Perm (April 26).
Bishop Arsenius, as a man of great prayer and peacemaker, was able to end much of the discord in the Tver principality. During his episcopacy, from 1390 to 1409, cathedrals were built and consecrated in honor of the Archangel Michael at Staritsa and Mikulina, and the Savior-Transfiguration cathedral was restored with the construction of a cathedral belltower. The saint founded the Zheltikov monastery on the river Tmaka near Tver, where a church was built in honor of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves (1394), and a stone Dormition cathedral.
Desiring that the monks of this new monastery would always be edified by the asceticism of the Fathers of the Caves, Saint Arsenius gave orders to compile a list from the Kiev Caves Paterikon, using the most ancient manuscripts of this precious memorial of Russian literature. This compilation was known as the Arseniev Redaction.
The saint died on March 2, 1409, and was buried in the Zheltikov monastery of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, which he founded. In 1483 his relics were found incorrupt and were placed in the monastery cathedral. In the same year hieromonk Theodosius composed a Life and a Canon in honor of the holy bishop.
At a Council of 1547 Saint Arsenius’ commemoration was established throughout all the Church.
Troparion - Tone 1
You were enlightened by divine grace from above, O Hierarch, / and with much patience in this temporal life you performed your ascetical contests. / Therefore, you pour forth the grace of miracles / for all those who come with faith to the revered shrine of your relics, most blessed Arsenios. / Therefore, we cry out to you: / “Glory to Him Who strengthened you. / Glory to Him Who crowned you. / Glory to Him Who, through you, grants healing to all.”
Kontakion - Tone 8
You appeared today as a Russian star revealed by God, / resplendent with miracles, O Hierarch Arsenios. / Therefore, do not cease praying to Christ God for your flock, / and preserve your homeland, and your city, / and the people who with faith glorify the transfer of your revered relics, / bowing down before them with fear and love. / May we all cry out to you with a loud voice: / “Rejoice, godly-wise Hierarch Arsenios, our Father.”
The Four Hundred and Forty Martyrs of Lombardy (579)
Forty of them were beheaded in one place in Lombardy (in Italy) because they refused to eat food offered to idols. Another four hundred were massacred because they refused to join with the Lombard pagans’ practice of dancing around a goat’s head that had been brought for sacrifice to the idols. Their deaths are recorded by St Gregory the Dialogist (Gregory the Great).
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Forty of them were beheaded in one place in Lombardy (in Italy) because they refused to eat food offered to idols. Another four hundred were massacred because they refused to join with the Lombard pagans’ practice of dancing around a goat’s head that had been brought for sacrifice to the idols. Their deaths are recorded by St Gregory the Dialogist (Gregory the Great).
We sometimes imagine that the Roman Empire converted almost overnight to Christianity during the reign of St Constantine the Great. This incident, more than two hundred years into Europe’s ‘Christian era’, reminds us that the progress of the Faith among the people was often slow and halting, and that paganism remained a force for many centuries.
Virgin Martyr Euthalia of Sicily
The Holy Martyr Euthalia lived with her mother and brother in Leontina on the island of Sicily. Euthalia’s mother, a pagan, suffered for a long while with an issue of blood. Once, the Martyrs Alphaeus, Philadelphus and Cyprian (May 10) appeared to her in a dream and told her she would be healed only if she believed in Christ and was baptized.
The Holy Martyr Euthalia lived with her mother and brother in Leontina on the island of Sicily. Euthalia’s mother, a pagan, suffered for a long while with an issue of blood. Once, the Martyrs Alphaeus, Philadelphus and Cyprian (May 10) appeared to her in a dream and told her she would be healed only if she believed in Christ and was baptized.
After being baptized with her daughter, she was healed of her infirmity. When Euthalia’s pagan brother Sirmianus learned of the baptism, went into a violent rage. The mother succeeded in fleeing, but Saint Euthalia confessed herself a Christian and suffered martyrdom. After fierce tortures, the saint was beheaded with a sword.
Martyr Troadius of Neocaesarea
The Holy Martyr Troadius suffered for Christ in Neocaesarea, Pontus under the emperor Decius (249-251), enduring horrible tortures. Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea (November 17) foretold his martyrdom and witnessed his sufferings in a vision. He also saw the soul of Saint Troadius departing from his body and hastening joyfully to Heaven.
Troparion - Tone 3
Your holy martyr Troadius, O Lord, / through his suffering has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God. / For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through his intercessions, save our souls!
Holy Martyr Euthalia (257)
Saint Aule suffered martyrdom in London during Diocletian’s persecution of Christians.
Troparion - Tone 3
Your holy martyr Aule, O Lord, / through his suffering has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God. / For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through his intercessions, save our souls!
Venerable Agathon of Egypt
Saint Agathon of Egypt, a contemporary of Saint Macarius the Great (January 19) and a disciple of Saint Lot (October 22), he lived in asceticism in a skete in Egypt. He was distinguished by exceptional meekness, accounting himself the most sinful of men.
Once, monks who had heard of his discernment came to Saint Agathon to see if they could make him lose his temper.
Saint Agathon of Egypt, a contemporary of Saint Macarius the Great (January 19) and a disciple of Saint Lot (October 22), he lived in asceticism in a skete in Egypt. He was distinguished by exceptional meekness, accounting himself the most sinful of men.
Once, monks who had heard of his discernment came to Saint Agathon to see if they could make him lose his temper. They asked him, “Are you Abba Agathon, a fornicator and a proud man?”
“Yes, that is true,” the monk replied.
“Are you the Agathon who is always talking nonsense?” the monks inquired.
“Are you Agathon the heretic?” the monks persisted.
Saint Agathon said, “I am not a heretic.”
They asked the saint why he agreed with them when they accused him of vices, but then denied this last charge. Agathon replied, “I accepted the first accusations, since that was beneficial for my soul. But heresy is separation from God, and I do not wish to be separated from God.”
Astonished at his discernment, they returned to their monastery, edified.
When asked which was more important for salvation, bodily asceticism or interior vigilance, Saint Agathon said, “Man is like a tree. Bodily asceticism is the foliage, but interior vigilance is the fruit. Holy Scripture says that ‘every tree which does not bring forth good fruit shall be cut down and thrown into the fire’ (Mt.3:10). Therefore, we should focus our attention on the fruit. But a tree also needs the protection of its foliage, which is bodily asceticism.”
Saint Agathon died in about the year 435. For three days before his repose the monk sat in silence and concentration, as though disturbed about something. When the monks questioned him, he answered that he saw himself before the Judgment Seat of God. “How is it possible that you, Father, should fear judgment?” they asked him.
“I have done my best to keep the commandments of the Lord, but I am a man. How can I be certain that my deeds have been pleasing to God?”
“Do you not trust that all the good deeds which you have accomplished are pleasing to God?” asked the monks.
“I have no such hope until I see God. His judgment is not man’s judgment.” Having said this, the saint departed to the Lord.
Saint Agathon is commemorated on January 8 on the Greek calendar.
Troparion - Tone 8
By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, / and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. / By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! / O our holy father Agathon, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
400 Martyrs slain by the Lombards in Sicily
400 Martyrs Slain by the Lombards in Sicily refused to participate in idol worship and were massacred by the Lombards (a Germanic tribe) in the year 579. Among those who perished, the names of the presbyter Sanctulus and the hermit Hospicius have been preserved. St Gregory Dialogus (March 12) has written of them.
Troparion - Tone 4
Your holy martyrs O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!
Saint Sabbatius of Tver
Saint Sabbatius of Tver pursued asceticism with the blessing of Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver, at a distance 15 versts from Tver. Saint Sabbatius established a monastery there, known for the strictness and holiness of its rule. Such ascetics as Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (September 9) and Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19) went there to be instructed in monasticism.
Saint Sabbatius of Tver pursued asceticism with the blessing of Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver, at a distance 15 versts from Tver. Saint Sabbatius established a monastery there, known for the strictness and holiness of its rule. Such ascetics as Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (September 9) and Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19) went there to be instructed in monasticism. The chains found in the cave where Saint Sabbatius practiced silence testify to his ascetic deeds. He died no later than the year 1434.
Troparion - Tone 8
By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, / and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. / By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! / O our holy father Sabbatius, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
“Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God
The “Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God appeared on March 2, 1917, the day of Tsar Nicholas’s abdication, in the village of Kolomskoye near Moscow.
In February 1917, an elderly woman named Eudokia saw the Mother of God in a dream telling her to go to Kolomskoye to find a large blackened icon in a church. After
The “Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God appeared on March 2, 1917, the day of Tsar Nicholas’s abdication, in the village of Kolomskoye near Moscow.
In February 1917, an elderly woman named Eudokia saw the Mother of God in a dream telling her to go to Kolomskoye to find a large blackened icon in a church. After the vision was repeated three times, she went to Kolomskoye to search for the icon with the priest Nicholas.
In the basement of the church they found the icon and started wiping off the accumulated dust. Then they were able to see the Most Holy Theotokos wearing a crown and sitting on a throne. Immediately, Father Nicholas celebrated a service of Thanksgiving and an Akathist.
News of the icon’s discovery spread throughout Russia, and there were several miracles of healing from physical and mental infirmities. As time went by, the icon renewed itself and became brighter and brighter. Particularly striking was the blood-red robe of the Virgin.
Since the icon was revealed just as the Tsar abdicated, many people believed that the Queen of Heaven had assumed royal authority over the Russian land, and so the icon became known as the “Reigning” icon. It was discovered that the icon had come from the Ascension convent in Moscow. In 1812, before Napoleon’s invasion, this icon and others were sent to Kolomskoye’s Ascension church for safekeeping. Apparently forgotten, the icons were never returned to Moscow.
A Service and Akathist to the “Reigning” Icon were composed with the assistance of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon (+ 1925). Many copies of the icon were venerated throughout Russia, but these were confiscated by the Soviets. The Service and Akathist to the icon were also forbidden to be served.
The original icon is said to be in the Novodevichii Museum in Moscow, and there is a copy in the Church of the Kazan Mother of God in Kolomskoye.
The “Reigning” Icon, which belongs to the Panachranta type, shows the Theotokos seated on a throne with Her Son.
Troparion - Tone 4
The assembly of Angels serves you reverently, / and all the Powers of Heaven glorify you with unceasing voices, O Virgin Theotokos; / ardently we pray to you, O Sovereign Lady: / “May divine grace be upon your Reigning Icon, / and may the radiant beam of the glory of your miracles flow from it upon all who entreat you with faith, / crying out to God: Alleluia.”
Kontakion - Tone 8
Let us sing songs of victory to the Supreme Commander, for her power has been given to us; / and let us fear nothing, for our salvation is not of this world. / As we defend ourselves by the mercy of the exalted Sovereign Lady, / let us rejoice today, for our defender has come to guard her land.
Venerable Joachim of Ithaka
Saint Joachim (in the world John Patrikios) was born in 1786 in the village of Kalyvia on the island of Ithaka to devout and virtuous parents, Angelos and Agnes.
John lost his mother when he was young. His father married again, but John's stepmother tormented and tortured him. During those difficult years, the Saint struggled patiently and with humility, finding refuge in prayer in Saint Spyridon's chapel, and by studying holy books.
Saint Joachim (in the world John Patrikios) was born in 1786 in the village of Kalyvia on the island of Ithaka to devout and virtuous parents, Angelos and Agnes.
John lost his mother when he was young. His father married again, but John's stepmother tormented and tortured him. During those difficult years, the Saint struggled patiently and with humility, finding refuge in prayer in Saint Spyridon's chapel, and by studying holy books.
In his teenage years, he worked as a sailor on his father's boat, which caused the crew to respect and esteem him for his virtues and his character.
On one of his journeys he found refuge on the Holy Mountain. There, at Vatopedi Monastery, he was tonsured as a monk and received the name Joachim.
At the start of the Greek Revolution, the Monastery sent Father Joachim to the Pelopónnēsos as a preacher. The Saint taught, guided, supported, and encouraged the Greeks. Furthermore, with a boat belonging to Papa John
Makrḗ of Kephalonia he transported old men, women, and children from the Pelopónnēsos to the Ionian Islands, thereby saving them from an invasion by Pasha Imbraim.
Around 1827, Saint Joachim arrived in his English-occupied homeland of Ithaka. For 49 years he ministered in the world and protected his flock from sin, delusion, and heresy. There are reports of how Saint Joachim prayed and stood in the air above the ground, bathed in heavenly light. God gave him the gift of clairvoyance, and thus he became a counselor, an educator in Christ, and a physician of the Ithakians.
Saint Joachim reposed peacefully in 1848, and was glorified as a Saint in 1998. He is also commemorated on May 23 (the recovery of his relics).
Scripture Readings
View scripture readings for this date on OCA.org.
View readings on OCA.orgLiturgical data sourced from OCA.org and orthocal.info