Wednesday, April 15, 2026
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Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Office
Apr 15, 2026, 1:01 AM
On Bright Wednesday we commemorate the holy monastic Fathers who have shone forth on the God-trodden Mt Sinai. This commemoration was established by the Church of Russia on April 17, 1997. Saints Theocharis and Apostolos are local saints of Arta. The first fell asleep in 1845 and the second a…
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Apr 15, 2026, 1:01 AM
Saint Aristarchus was one of the Seventy Apostles, whom the Lord Jesus Christ sent to proclaim the good news of the Gospel (Luke. 10:1-24). Saint Aristarchus, a co-worker of the holy Apostle Paul, became bishop of the Syrian city of Apamea. His name is repeatedly mentioned in the Acts of the Holy…
Saint Pudens was one of the Seventy Apostles whom the Lord Jesus Christ sent before him with the good news of the Gospel (Luke 10:1-24). Saint Pudens is mentioned in Saint Paul’s second Epistle to Timothy (2 Tim. 4:21). He occupied high position as a member of the Roman Senate. The saint…
Saint Trophimus was one of the Seventy Apostles, whom the Lord Jesus Christ sent to proclaim the good news of the Gospel (Luke. 10:1-24). Saint Trophimus hailed from the city of Edessa. His name is mentioned in the Acts of the Holy Apostles (Acts 20:4) and in Saint Paul’s second Epistle to…
The Holy Women Martyrs Basilissa (Vasilissa) and Anastasia lived in Rome and were converted to Christianity by the holy Apostles Peter and Paul. They devoted themselves to the service of the Lord. When the emperor Nero (54-68) persecuted Christians and gave them over to torture and execution,…
The Holy Martyr Suchias and his 16 Georgian Companions were illustrious dignitaries who served at the court of the Albanian (Hagbanite) ruler (i.e. “Caucasian Albania” on the present day territory of Azerbaizhan). Escorting the Albanian ruler’s daughter Satenika, wife of the…
The Holy Martyr Savva, a Goth, lived during the fourth century. At this time the Arian bishop Wulfilas preached Christianity among the Goths, and Saint Savva was among those who were baptized. Saint Savva led a virtuous life, devout, peaceful, temperate, simple, and quiet. He avoided women, and…
Saint Ephraim the Great of Atsquri—one of the most important figures in the Georgian Church of the 8th and 9th centuries—was a disciple and companion of Saint Grigol of Khandzta. On his way from Klarjeti in southern Georgia to Abkhazeti in the northwest, Saint Grigol met the young…
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Office
Apr 14, 2026, 1:01 AM
Commemoration of Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene of Lesbos The Newly-Appeared Martyrs of Lesbos, Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene These Saints were martyred by the Turks on Bright Tuesday (April 9, 1463) ten years after the Fall of Constantinople. For nearly 500 years, they were forgotten by…
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Apr 14, 2026, 1:01 AM
Saint Martin the Confessor, Pope of Rome, was a native of the Tuscany region of Italy. He received a fine education and entered into the clergy of the Roman Church. After the death of Pope Theodore I (642-649), Martin was chosen to succeed him. At this time the peace of the Church was disturbed by…
The Holy Martyrs Anthony, John, and Eustathius [Kumetis, Nezilas (Nežilas), and Krulis] were brothers who suffered for Christ under the Lithuanian Great Prince Algirdas (1345-1377). The prince was married to the Orthodox princess Maria Yaroslavna (+ 1346). He was baptized and during his…
The Holy Martyr Ardalion suffered for Christ under the emperor Maximian Galerius (305-311). Saint Ardalion was a talented actor. Once, he played the role of a Christian. In the play, the actor at first refused to offer sacrifice to idols, but then consented to renounce Christ. Suddenly the saint…
Saint Azades (Azat) was a wealthy man who served in the household of King Shapur II of Persia, and enjoyed his confidence. He was arrested for professing Christianity, and then suffered martyrdom with 1000 other Christians. After this, the king repented and ordered an end to the persecution of…
Monday, April 13, 2026
Office
Apr 13, 2026, 1:01 AM
On Bright Monday the Church commemorates the Sweet-Kissing (Glykophilousa) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Like the Ivḗron Icon (March 31), the Sweet-Kissing Icon was also saved from the iconoclasts by a pious woman in the ninth century. It also traveled miraculously upon the sea, arriving at…
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Apr 13, 2026, 1:01 AM
The Hieromartyr Artemon (Artémon) was born of Christian parents in Laodikeia (Laodίkeia), Syria in the III century. From his youth, he devoted himself to the service of the Church, and was a Reader for sixteen years. For his zeal, Bishop Sisίnnius ordained him as a Deacon. Saint Artemon also…
The Holy Martyr Crescens (Kreskes) was descended from an illustrious family and lived in Myra of Lycia. When a throng of city inhabitants were on the way to the pagan temple, he urged them to forsake paganism and come to Christ. This incident became known to the city prefect. When the prefect…
The Holy Martyr Thomais (Thomaίs) was born into a Christian family in the city of Alexandria. She was raised in piety, and loved to read spiritual books. When she was fifteen, Thomais married a fisherman, who was also a Christian. The young couple lived in the home of her husband’s family,…
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Office
Apr 12, 2026, 1:01 AM
Pascha (Easter) Enjoy ye all the feast of faith; receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness.(Sermon of Saint John Chrysostom, read at Paschal Matins) The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the center of the Christian faith. Saint Paul says that if Christ is not raised from the dead,…
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Apr 12, 2026, 1:01 AM
Saint Basil the Confessor, Bishop of Parium, lived during the eighth century. He was elected as bishop by the inhabitants of Parium, who venerated the saint as a true pastor of the flock of Christ. When the Iconoclast heresy broke out, Saint Basil resolutely came out on the side of icon veneration…
Saint Zeno, Bishop of Verona, was born a Greek and came from Syria. In his youth he became a monk and devoted himself to the study of Holy Scripture. Visiting several monasteries, the saint came to the city of Verona and settled there. The people chose him as bishop of the city. The emperors…
Saint Isaac the Syrian lived during the mid-sixth century. He came to the Italian city of Spoleto from Syria. The saint asked permission of the church wardens to remain in the temple, and he prayed in it for two and a half days. One of the church wardens began to reproach him with hypocrisy and…
The Monk Martyrs Menas, David and John lived in Palestine. They were martyred in the seventh century by Arabs, who shot them through with arrows (+ post 636, when Jerusalem was captured by the Arabs).
The holy princess Anthusa of Constantinople was the daughter of the Iconoclast emperor Constantine Copronymos (reigned 741-775) and his third wife Eudokia. She and her twin brother, the future emperor Leo the Khazar (775-780), were born on January 25, 750. Constantine had tortured the holy Abbess…
Saint Athanasia was abbess of a monastery on the island of Aegina in the ninth century. She was born into a pious Christian family, and her parents were named Nicetas and Marina. Already at seven years of age the girl studied the Psalter, which she read constantly and with feeling. Once, while…
Saint Acacius the New was a monk at the Holy Trinity monastery of Saint Dionysius of Olympus (January 24) at Zagora. After visiting several monasteries on Mount Athos, the saint on the advice of his father-confessor, Father Galacteon, settled in the skete monastery of Saint Maximus the Hut-Burner…
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Office
Apr 11, 2026, 1:02 AM
Great and Holy Saturday is the day on which Christ reposed in the tomb. The Church calls this day the Blessed Sabbath. “The great Moses mystically foreshadowed this day when he said:God blessed the seventh day.This is the blessed SabbathThis is the day of rest,on which the only-begotten Son…”
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Apr 11, 2026, 1:01 AM
The Hieromartyr Antipas, a disciple of the holy Apostle John the Theologian (September 26), was bishop of the Church of Pergamum during the reign of the emperor Nero (54-68). During these times, everyone who would not offer sacrifice to the idols lived under threat of either exile or execution by…
Saint James of Zheleznoborov was born in the second half of the XIV century, a son of the noble Anosov (or Amosov) line, which had their lands at Galich (Kostroma Province) As a young man he became the disciple of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, who tonsured him, and he remained at Holy Trinity…
Saint Barsanuphius of Tver was born in the year 1495, and was from Serpukhov. He was named John in Baptism, and he was taught to read and write. While still a youth, he was captured by the Crimean Tatars. Accepting this as the Lord’s will, he meekly submitted to his masters, and dutifully…
The Holy Martyrs Processus and Martinian were pagans and they served as guards at the Mamertine prison in Rome. State criminals were held in this prison, among them some Christians. Watching the Christian prisoners and listening to their preaching, Processus and Martinian gradually came to the…
Saint Pharmuthius lived during the fourth century at the same desert monastery where Saint John (March 29) lived in asceticism within a well, to whom Saint Pharmuthius gave food.
Saint John was a disciple of Saint Gregory the Decapolite (November 20). See April 18.
Our holy Father Callinicus (Calinic) of Cernica, who served as bishop of Ramnicu Valcea in Romania was born in Bucharest on October 7, 1787, near the church of Saint Bessarion. His parents, Anthony and Flora (Floarea) Antonescu, were honest and pious people. In holy Baptism he received the name…
Friday, April 10, 2026
Office
Apr 10, 2026, 1:02 AM
Great and Holy Friday On Great and Holy Friday, Christ died on the Cross. He gave up His spirit with the words: “It is finished” (John 19:30). These words are better understood when rendered: “It is consummated.” He had accomplished the work for which His heavenly Father had…
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Apr 10, 2026, 1:02 AM
The Holy Martyr Terence and his companions suffered under the emperor Decius (249-251). The emperor issued an edict commanding all subjects to offer sacrifice to the pagan idols. When the governor of Africa Fortunianus received this edict, he gathered the people into the city square, set out cruel…
The Holy Martyrs James the Presbyter and the deacons Azadanes and Abdikius died in Persia under the emperor Sapor in about the year 380. They were arrested together with Bishop Akepsimas (November 3). Weak from hunger, the sufferers had mustard and vinegar inserted into their nostrils. Then they…
In the 14th century, during the reign of King Bagrat V (1360-1394), Timur (Tamerlane) invaded Georgia seven times. His troops inflicted irreparable damage on the country, seizing centuries-old treasures and razing ancient churches and monasteries. Timur’s armies ravaged Kartli, then took the…
The Holy Patriarch Gregory (George Angelopoulos in the world) was born in 1745 at Dēmētsána in the Pelopónnēsos. He began his education in the village schools, since his father could not afford to send him to better schools. In 1765, he went to Athens to study under the renowned teacher…
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Office
Apr 9, 2026, 1:01 AM
THURSDAY: The Last Supper Two events shape the liturgy of Great and Holy Thursday: the Last Supper of Christ with His disciples, and the betrayal of Judas. The meaning of both is in love. The Last Supper is the ultimate revelation of God’s redeeming love for man, of love as the very essence…
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Apr 9, 2026, 1:01 AM
The Holy Martyr Eupsychius was born in the city of Caesarea in Cappadocia and received a Christian upbringing by his illustrious parents. During the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363), Saint Eupsychius entered into a Christian marriage. At Caesarea there was a pagan temple to the goddess…
The Holy Martyrs Bishop Desan, Presbyter Mariabus, Abdiesus, and 270 others were put to death under the Persian emperor Sapor II. Imprisoned, they refused to turn away from the Christian Faith. In their number also was the Martyr Ia, who is commemorated also on September 11.
Monk Martyr Archimandrite Bademus (Vadim) was born in the fourth century in the Persian city of Bithlapata, and was descended from a rich and illustrious family. In his youth, he was enlightened with the Christian teaching. The saint gave away all his wealth to the poor and withdrew into the…
Saint Eleni (who was also called Susanna) is one of the New Martyrs of Lesbos who are commemorated on Bright Tuesday. She was Saint Irene’s older cousin, and suffered along with Saints Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene on April 9, 1463 (Bright Tuesday). On November 12, 1961 Mrs. Basilike Rallis…
Newly-Appeared Martyrs of Lesbos, Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene were martyred by the Turks on Bright Tuesday (April 9, 1463) ten years after the Fall of Constantinople. For nearly 500 years, they were forgotten by the people of Lesbos, but “the righteous Judge... opened the things that…
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Office
Apr 8, 2026, 1:01 AM
On Great and Holy Wednesday, the hymns of the Bridegroom Service remind us of the sinful woman who poured precious ointment on Christ’s head at Simon the leper’s house (Mt. 26:7). The disciples complained about the wasteful extravagance, for the myrrh could have been sold and the money…
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Apr 8, 2026, 1:01 AM
Saints Herodion (Rodion), Agabus, Asyncritus, Rufus, Phlegon and Hermes were among the Seventy Apostles, chosen by Christ and sent out by Him to preach (Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles: January 4). The holy Apostle Herodion was a relative of Saint Paul, and his companion on many journeys. When…
Saint Niphon was a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery, where he struggled in asceticism. In imitation of the Holy Fathers, he uprooted the passions through fasting, vigil, and prayer, and adorned himself with every virtue. He was chosen as Bishop of Novgorod when Bishop John retired to a monastery…
Saint Rufus the Obedient, Hermit of the Caves, lived at the Kiev Caves monastery during the fourteenth century. He was distinguished for his obedience and glorified as a lover of labor and fasting. He was buried in the Far Caves. He is celebrated a second time on August 28, the Synaxis of the…
The Holy Martyr Pausilippus suffered under the emperor Hadrian (117-138). Denunced by the pagans, he was brought to trial before the emperor and staunchly declared himself a Christian. They beat him with iron rods and handed over to the governor named Precius, who for a long time attempted to make…
Saint Celestine, Pope of Rome (422-432), a zealous champion of Orthodoxy, lived during the reign of the holy Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450). He received an excellent education, and he knew philosophy well, but most of all he studied the Holy Scripture and pondered over theological…
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Office
Apr 7, 2026, 1:01 AM
Holy Week: A Liturgical Explanation for the Days of Holy Week 3. MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY: THE END These three days, which the Church calls Great and Holy have within the liturgical development of the Holy Week a very definite purpose. They place all its celebrations in the perspective of End…
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Apr 7, 2026, 1:01 AM
Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener to America was born as Vasily Ivanovich Belavin on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese. His childhood and adolescence were spent in the village in direct contact with…
Saint George, Metropolitan of Mytilene, from his youth led a monastic life, and was especially accomplished in the virtue of humility. In the reign of Leo the Isaurian (716-741) the saint underwent persecution from the iconoclasts and became a Confessor. During the reign of the emperor Constantine…
Saint Daniel of Pereslavl (in the world Demetrius) was born around 1460 in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky. He was the son of pious and God-loving parents, Constantine and Theodosia, who later was tonsured as a nun with the name Thekla. Therefore, it is not surprising that from his childhood,…
The Holy Martyr Calliopius was born in Perge, Pamphylia of the pious woman Theoklia, wife of a renowned senator. Theoklia was childless for a long time. She fervently prayed for a son, vowing to dedicate him to God. Soon after the birth of her son Theoklia was widowed. When Saint Calliopius…
After the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian abdicated in 305, Maximinus Daia was elevated to the rank of Caesar and was given the eastern provinces and Egypt to govern. He continued Diocletian's severe persecution of Christians, and in 306 he issued an edict requiring every man, woman, and child to…
Saint Serapion lived during the fifth century in Egypt. He was called the linen cloth-wearer (Sindonite) since he wore only a coarse linen garb called a “sindon.” From his youth the monk lived like the birds of the air, without a shelter. For several days at a time he did not eat, not…
Monday, April 6, 2026
Office
Apr 6, 2026, 1:01 AM
Holy Week: A Liturgical Explanation for the Days of Holy Week 3. MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY: THE END These three days, which the Church calls Great and Holy have within the liturgical development of the Holy Week a very definite purpose. They place all its celebrations in the perspective of End…
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Apr 6, 2026, 1:01 AM
Saint Eutychius, Archbishop of Constantinople, was born in a village called “Divine” in the province of Phrygia. His father Alexander was a soldier, and his mother Synesia was the daughter of the priest Hesychius of Augustopolis. Saint Eutychius received the first rudiments of his…
Saint Methodius, Archbishop of Moravia, died on April 6 in the year 885. His Life is found on May 11, when he is commemorated with Saint Cyril, Teacher of the Slavs.
At first Saint Platonis (Platonίs) was a deaconess, but later she withdrew into the Nisibian desert, where she founded a women’s monastery. The Rule of her monastery was known for its strictness. The sisters partook of food only once a day. When they were not praying, they spent their time in…
The Holy 120 Martyrs suffered under the Persian emperor Sapor. They were taken into captivity during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Constantios (337-361). They were consigned to the flames after firmly confessing their faith (c.344-347). Saint Shandulios (November 3) concealed their relics from…
The Holy Martyrs Jeremiah and the Priest Archilius (Alchimius) suffered martyrdom in the third century. Saint Gregory Dialogus (March 12) mentions them.
Saint Gregory was a native of Constantinople, and pursued an ascetic life on Mt. Athos in the Lavra of Saint Athanasius (July 5). He was the spiritual guide of Saint Gregory Palamas (November 14).
Saint Gennadios (Gennádios) was a monk in the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou on Mount Athos. One day, the Igoumen of the Monastery sent him to accompany the monks Boniface and Eudokimos (Eudókimos) to Constantinople so they could become martyrs. When they arrived the two monks were afraid to suffer…
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