Leavetaking of the Annunciation On the Leavetaking of the Feast of the Annunciation, the Church commemorates the Archangel Gabriel, who announced the great mystery of the Incarnation of Christ to the Virgin Mary. There is…
The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the earliest Christian feasts, and was already being celebrated in the fourth century. There is a painting of the Annunciation in the catacomb of Priscilla in Rome…
Forefeast of the Annunciation For spiritual preparedness of the faithful, all the Royal Feasts are preceded by a time of preparation, anticipation or introduction, called “Forefeast”. They also have a continuation of the feast period,…
The Monk Martyr Nikon was born at Neapolis (Naples). His father was a pagan, and his mother a Christian. He was not baptized, but his mother secretly instructed him in the tenets of Christianity. Nikon…
Hieromartyr Basil of Ancyra Hieromartyr Basil was a presbyter in Ancyra, Galatia. Fighting against the Arian heresy, he urged his flock to cling firmly to Orthodoxy. Because of this Saint Basil was deposed from his…
St. James the Confessor Saint James, Bishop and Confessor,was inclined toward the ascetic life from his early years. Saint James left the world and entered the Studite monastery, where he was tonsured. He led a…
Saints John, Sergius, Patrick and others were slain in the Monastery of Saint Sabbas. During the eighth century the area around Jerusalem was subjected to frequent incursions of the Saracens. The monastery of Saint Chariton…
The Holy Martyrs Chrysanthus and Daria and with them the Martyrs Claudius the Tribune with his wife Hilaria and their sons Jason and Maurus, and Diodorus the Presbyter and Marianus the Deacon. Saint Chrysanthus came…
Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, was born in Jerusalem in the year 315 and was raised in strict Christian piety. Upon reaching the age of maturity, he became a monk, and in the year 346…
Saint Alexis was born at Rome into the family of the pious and poverty-loving Euphemianus and Aglais. The couple was childless for a long time and constantly prayed the Lord to grant them a child.…