ON THIS DATE: From the Prologue to Ohrid/Ochrid

An online Synaxaristes including martyrologies and hagiographies of the lives of the Orthodox Church's saints. All Forum Rules apply. No polemics. No heated discussions. No name-calling.
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5 November/18 November

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  1. Our Holy Father Galaction and our Mother Episteme, Martyrs.

They were born in the city of Edessa in Phoenicia, both of pagan parents. Galaction's mother was barren until she was baptised. After her baptism, she brought her husband also to the true Faith and baptised her son Galaction, bringing him up a Christian. When the time came for Galaction to marry, his devout mother Leucippe died, and his father betrothed him to a maiden called Episteme. Galaction did not wish to enter into marriage at all, and he quickly urged Episteme to be baptised and then to become a nun at the same time as he became a monk. Both went away to the mountain of Publion, Galaction to a men's monastery and Episteme to a women's, and each of them became a true light in the monastery. They were first in labours, in prayer, in humility and obedience, and first in love. They did not leave their monasteries, and neither saw the other until the time of their death. A fierce persecution arose, and they were both brought to trial. While they were mercilessly whipping Galaction, Episteme was weeping, and they then whipped her also. They cut off their hands and feet, and finally their heads. One Eutolius, a man who had been a servant of Episteme's parents and then a monk together with Galaction, took their bodies and buried them. He also wrote the Lives of these two wonderful martyrs for Christ, who suffered and received their heavenly crowns in 253.

  1. The Holy Apostles Patrobus, Hermes, Linus, Gains and Philologus.

They were of the Seventy. Patrobus was bishop of Neapolis; Hermes was in Philipopolis (Rom. 16:14), Linus in Rome (II Tim. 4:21), Gaius in Ephesus (Rom. 16:23) and Philologus in Synope (Rom. 15:16). All of them fulfilled the Law of Christ with love and went to His Kingdom.

  1. St Jonah, Archbishop of Novgorod

Born in Novgorod and orphaned early, he was taken and educated by a God-fearing woman. Michael the Fool for Christ of Klops saw him once as a young boy and said to him prophetically: 'Ivan, my little one, be diligent in your studies, for you will be archbishop in Novgorod the Mighty'. And so it came to pass, for later, after the death of Archbishop Euthymius, this Jonah was elected and consecrated to the throne of Novgorod. Jonah was God-fearing and merciful, such as is rare in a mortal man. He built churches and monasteries and cared for his flock as a true and good shepherd. He was offered the throne of Moscow as Metropolitan but declined, excusing himself because of his great age. He entered into rest peacefully on November 5th, 1570, and went to the joyful, heavenly mansions. One hundred years after his death, a great fire broke out in Novogorod. The relics of this holy hierarch did not catch fire among the flames, but on the contrary, began to show healing powers and to give off a sweet and wonderful fragrance.

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6 November/19 November

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  1. St Paul the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople.

When the blessed Patriarch Alexander was lying on his deathbed, the lamenting faithful asked him whom he would leave to follow him as chief pastor of the flock of Christ. Then the sick Patriarch said to them: 'If you want to have a shepherd who will teach you and whose virtues will illumine you, choose Paul; but, if you want a suitable man as a figurehead, choose Macedonius.' The people chose Paul. This was not acceptable to the Arian heretics, nor to the Emperor Constantius, who was at that time in Antioch, and so Paul was quickly deposed and fled to Rome together with St Athanasius the Great. There, both Pope Julian and the Emperor Constans gave them a warm welcome and upheld them in their Orthodoxy. The Emperor and the Pope sent letters which restored Paul to his episcopal throne, but, after the death of Constans, the Arians raised their heads again and drove the Orthodox Patriarch off to Cucusus in Armenia. While Paul was celebrating the Liturgy one day in exile, he was set on by the Arians and strangled with his pallium. This was in the year 351. In the time of the Emperor Theodosius, in 381, his relics were translated to Constantinople, and, in 1236, to Venice, where they still lie. * His beloved priests and secretaries, Marcian and Martyrius, suffered soon after their Patriarch, on October 25th, 355 (see their lives on that day).

  • A small piece of their relics is kept at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in London, as well as the Russian Orthodox Cathedral "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in San Francisco

  • Our Holy Father Varlaam of Chutinsk, the Wonderworker.

Born and brought up a Christian in Novgorod the Great, he became a monk on the death of his parents and devoted himself to strict asceticism. He founded a monastery on the bank of the Volkhov river, on a site shown to him by a heavenly light. He was a great wonderworker both during his lifetime and after his death, being able to penetrate human secrets, to drive out unclean spirits and to heal all sicknesses. A servant of Prince Vasilii Vasilievitch was taken seriously ill, and he asked to be carried to the grave of St Varlaam, and further asked that, if he should die on the way, they should take his dead body to the saint. And so it came to pass: he died on the road, and they brought him dead into the monastery, where he was restored to life, stood up and prostrated himself before the tomb of the saint. In 1471, Tsar Ivan the Terrible gave orders that the saint's grave be dug up. As soon as they had begun to uncover it, a flame sprang from the grave and blazed along the walls of the church. The Tsar was so terrified that he fled from the church and, in his haste, forgot his staff, which is kept to this day beside the saint's tomb. In commemoration of this wonder, St Varlaam is also remembered on the Friday after the Sunday of All Saints.

  1. Commemoration of the falling of ash from the air.

This occurred in Constantinople in 472 (or 475, according to the Greek Synaxarion), during the reign of the Emperor Leo the Great and Patriarch Gennadius.

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7 November/20 November

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  1. The Holy 33 Martyrs of Melitene.

He was born in the Cappadocian city of Tijane of a good and God- fearing mother, Stratonica, who was blind. Hieron was a very zealous Christian, and cared for his blind mother with a truly filial love. Because of both his faith and his mother, he refused to go into the army, and fended off and drove away those who were sent to take him, for he was loth to leave his helpless, blind mother and be forced as a soldier to bow down and offer sacrifice to idols. Finally, Hieron was seized and taken before the governor of the city of Melitene, along with other Christians. While they were on the road, a man in white apparel appeared one night to Hieron and said to him: 'Behold, Hieron, I reveal to thee thy salvation: thou shalt not wage war for any earthly king, but shalt engage in a battle for the King of heaven, and quickly shalt thou come to Him and receive from Him both honour and glory.' Hieron's heart was filled with ineffable joy at these words. When they reached Melitene, they were all thrown into prison, where Hieron strengthened them all in their faith with great ardour, exhorting them that not one should fall away but that all should freely give their bodies over to torment and death for Christ. To a man, they all confessed their faith in Christ the Lord before the judge, except for one kinsman of Hieron's called Victor, who repudiated his faith. Hieron's hands were cut off , then he was flogged and tortured in various ways, until he was finally beheaded with the sword together with the others. Going out to the place of execution, the thirty-three martyrs sang the psalm: 'Blessed are those that are undefiled in the way, and walk in the Law of the Lord' (Ps. 1:1). Let us remember by name these honourable martyrs, who are inscribed in the Book of Life: Hesychius, Nicander, Athanasius, Mamas, Barachius, Callinicus, Theogenes, Nikon, Longinus, Theodore, Valerius, Xanticus, Theodulus, Callimachus, Eugene, Theodochus, Ostrichius, Epiphanius, Maximian, Ducitius, Claudian, Theophilus, Gigantius, Dorotheus, Theodotus, Castrichius, Anicetas, Themilius, Eutychius, Hilarion Diodotus and Amonitus. A certain man called Chrysanthus found Hieron's severed head and gave it burial, and he later built over it a church in honour of St Hieron. One of the martyr's hands was taken to his blind mother. St Hieron suffered with his companions in 298, and entered into the glory of Christ.

  1. The Holy Martyr Thessalonica, with Auctus and Taurion.

This maiden was the daughter of Cleon, a pagan priest, a rich and arrogant man. Because of her faith in Christ, her father drove her from the house and the city. Two respected citizens, Auctus and Taurion by name, reproached Cleon for his inhuman treatment of his daughter, and Cleon thereupon denounced them as Christians. They were savagely tortured and beheaded for Christ, and the maiden Thessalonica was tortured and killed soon after. They suffered in the Macedonian city of Amphipolis, near present-day Kavala, and so these martyrs were found worthy, by their sufferings, of the immortal Kingdom.

  1. Our Holy Father Lazarus of Mount Galesius.

A pillar of light appeared above the house where he was born. He left his village in Magnesia and went to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to the holy places, becoming a monk there in the monastery of St Sava the Sanctified. After ten years, he settled on Mount Galesius and toiled in asceticism upon a pillar as a stylite, and was a wonderworker both during his lifetime and after his death. The Emperor Constantine Monomachus had great respect for him. St Lazarus entered into his eternal home at the end of the eleventh century.

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8 November/21 November

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  1. The Holy Archangel Michael and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven.

The angels of God have been commemorated by men from the earliest times, but this commemoration often degenerates into the divinization of angels (IV Kings 23:5; A.V. II Kings). Heretics always wove fantasies round the angels. Some of them saw the angels as gods and others, if they did not so regard them, took them to be the creators of the whole visible world. The local Council in Laodicea, that was held in the fourth century, rejected in its 35th Canon the worship of angels as gods, and established the proper veneration of them. In the time of Pope Sylvester of Rome and the Alexandrian Patriarch Alexander, in the fourth century, this Feast of the Archangel Michael and the other heavenly powers was instituted, to be celebrated in November. Why in November? Because November is the ninth month after March, and it is thought that the world was created in the month of March. The ninth month after March was chosen because of the nine orders of angels that were the first created beings. St Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of the Apostle Paul (that Apostle who was caught up to the third heaven), writes of these nine orders in his book: 'Celestial Hierarchies'. These orders are as follows: six- winged Seraphim, many-eyed Cherubim, godly Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. The leader of the whole angelic army is the Archangel Michael. When Satan, Lucifer, fell away from God, and carried half the angels with him to destruction, then Michael arose and cried to the unfallen angels: 'Let us give heed! Let us stand aright; let us stand with fear!', and the whole angelic army sang aloud: 'Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of Thy glory!' (See on the Archangel Michael: Joshua 5:13-15 and Jude v.9). Among the angels there rules a perfect unity of mind, of soul and of love; of total obedience of the lesser powers to the greater and of all to the holy will of God. Each nation has its guardian angel, as does each individual Christian. We must keep in mind that, whatever we do, openly or in secret, we do in the presence of our guardian angel and that, on the Day of Judgement, a great multitude of the holy angels of heaven will be gathered around the throne of Christ, and the thoughts, words and deeds of every man will be laid bare before them. May God have mercy on us and save us at the prayers of the holy Archangel Michael and all the bodiless powers of heaven. Amen.

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9 November/22 November

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  1. The Holy Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius.

These two wonderful men were martyred for the name of Christ in the time of the Emperor Diocletian (284-305). They were harshly beaten, and then burned in iron coffins, and after that tied to horses' tails and dragged over stones and thistles. They were thus broken to pieces and gave their holy souls into God's hands. Their relics were buried in Pentapolis.

  1. Our Holy Father John the Dwarf (Kolobos).

He is counted among the greatest of the Egyptian ascetics. 'Kolobos' means 'little' or 'dwarf, for he was little of stature. He came to Scetis with his brother Daniel, and, with surpassing zeal, gave himself to asceticism, such that his brother had to urge him to moderation. He was a disciple of St Pambo, and later the teacher of St Arsenius the Great. One of his fellow-disciples with St Pambo was St Paisius the Great. One day, when he was in conversation with St Paisius about what sort of asceticism to adopt, an angel of God appeared to them, and ordered John to stay where he was and gather companions, and Paisius to go into the desert and live as a solitary. To test John's obedience, Pambo ordered him to water a dry stick that he had stuck in the ground until it bore leaves. With no hesitation or doubt, John watered this dry stick for three whole years, from day to day, until, by God's power, it put forth leaves and bore fruit. Then Pambo gathered the fruits from this tree, took them to the church and shared them out among the brethren, saying: 'Come and taste of the fruits of obedience!' John the Dwarf had many disciples, and some of his wise sayings have been preserved. He entered peacefully into rest and the joy of his Lord early in the fifth century.

  1. Our Holy Mother Matrona of Constantinople.

She was from Perga in Pamphylia. Quickly finding marriage to Dometian, a Constantinopolitan nobleman, unbearable, she fled, dressed herself in men's clothing and, under the name of Babylas, went to the monastery of St Bassian in Constantinople. As her husband searched for her unremittingly, she was forced to move constantly from place to place: Emesa, Sinai, Jerusalem, Beirut, finally returning to Constantinople. She received the monastic habit at the age of twenty-five, and lived in asceticism for seventy-five years. Living a hundred years in all, she died peacefully as abbess of a monastery in Constantinople, and entered into the joy of her Lord in the year 492.

  1. Our Holy Father Euthymius of Docheiariou, and his disciple Neophytus.

They were Serbs by descent and kinsmen of high-ranking aristocrats in Byzantium. Euthymius was a friend of St Athanasius and his steward Laurus, and later founded the monastery of Docheiariou. He entered peacefully into rest in 990. His nephew Neophytus succeeded his uncle as abbot of Docheiariou, increasing the number of brethren and building a great church. He entered into rest at the beginning of the eleventh century.

  1. St Simeon Metaphrastes.

A gifted Constantinopolitan, he had both worldly and spiritual learning. He became the Emperor's chief administrator, and the first among the nobles at court. But he lived a life pure and unstained, as a true ascetic. He was distinguished by a rare military courage and diplomatic wisdom, and was for this greatly valued by the Emperor Leo the Wise, who once sent him to Crete to make peace terms with the Arabs, who had at that time seized the island. Succeeding in this mission, he returned to Constantinople and soon withdrew from the world and all secular occupation. He wrote lives of the saints, adding 122 new 'biographies' and correcting 539 others. He entered into rest in about 960, and a fragrant and healing myrrh flowed from his body.

  1. Our Holy Mother Theoctista of Paros.

She was born on the island of Lesbos, and became a nun at the age of seventeen. Savage Saracens descended on the island and enslaved all who fell into their hands, including Theoctista and her sister. When the Saracens carried the slaves off to the bazaar on the island of Paros, Theoctista escaped from the crowd and hid herself. She hid in an abandoned church in the middle of the island, where she lived in asceticism for thirty- five years. She entered into rest in 881.

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10 November/23 November

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  1. The Holy Apostles Olympas, Erastus, Quartus, Herodion, Sosipater and Tertius.

They were all among the Seventy. The last three are also commemorated elsewhere: Herodion on April 8th, Sosipater on April 28th and Tertius on October 30th. Ss Olympas and Herodion were followers of the Apostle Peter and, when Peter suffered, they suffered too, being beheaded at Nero's command. Erastus was steward of the Church in Jerusalem, and later became Bishop of Paneas in Palestine. Quartus was bishop in Beirut; he suffered greatly and brought many to the Christian faith. Sosipater was bishop in Iconium, and Tertius followed him as bishop there. They strove in spirit, became victors and were crowned with wreaths of glory.

  1. The Holy Martyr Orestes.

From the town of Tyana in Cappadocia, St Orestes was a cradle Christian and a doctor by profession. He was harshly interrogated by a wicked governor, Maximinus, in the reign of Diocletian (284-305). When the governor urged him to deny Christ and worship idols, Orestes replied: 'If you knew the power of the Crucified, you would reject idolatrous lies and worship the true God.' For this he was harshly beaten, then flayed and cut about, then burned in boiling lead and finally thrown into prison to die of hunger. The young Orestes spent seven days without bread or water. On the eighth day, he was brought before the governor, who began to threaten him with terrible tortures. To this Orestes replied: 'I am ready to undergo every torture, having the sign of my Lord Jesus Christ inscribed on my heart.' Then the governor ordered -that twenty nails be hammered into his legs and that he be bound behind a horse and dragged through thistles and rocks until he expired. In the place where Orestes' body was thrown, a man radiant as the sun appeared, gathered the bones and took them to a hill near Tyana, burying them there. This great saint, Orestes, appeared to St Dimitri of Rostov and showed him all his wounds.

  1. St Nonnus, Bishop of Heliopolis.

He was renowned as a great ascetic in the Tabennisiot monastery in Egypt, because of which he was chosen as bishop in 448, in the diocese of Edessa. He was later translated to the diocese of Heliopolis, and there brought thirty thousand Arabs to the Christian faith. After the death of Bishop Ibo, St Nonnus returned to Edessa, where he remained till his death in 471. Through his prayers, the notorious sinner Pelagia was brought to the Christian faith. She was later glorified for the holiness of her life (see Oct. 8th).

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11 November/24 November

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  1. The Holy and Great Martyr Menas.

An Egyptian by birth and a soldier by profession,, St Menas, as a true Christian, could not bear to look upon the foul offering of sacrifice to idols, so he left the army and the town, the society of men and everything else, and went to a deserted mountain. It was easier for Menas to live with the wild beasts than with pagans. One day, Menas looked from afar in spirit at a pagan festival in the town of Cotyaeus, then went to the town and, before them all, confessed his faith in Christ the living God, denouncing idolatry and paganism as falsehood and darkness. The governor of that town, one Pyrrhus, asked who and what he was. The saint replied: 'My fatherland is Egypt; my name is Menas. I was an officer, but, seeing the worship of idols, I rejected your honours. I have come now to proclaim my Christ before you all as the living God, that He may reveal me as His servant in the Kingdom of God.' Hearing this, Pyrrhus put holy Menas to harsh torture. He was flogged, flayed with iron flails, burned with torches and tortured in many other ways, finally being beheaded. His body was burned to prevent Christians taking it, but they did succeed in rescuing some bits from the flames. They buried these remains with care, and they were later taken to Alexandria and buried there, a church being built over them. St Menas suffered in about 304, and entered into the Kingdom of Christ. He was and remains a great wonderworker in both lives: both on earth and in heaven. Whoever has glorified Menas or invoked his aid with faith in time of need has received help. He has often appeared as a soldier on horseback, to help the faithful or punish the faithless.

  1. The Holy Martyr Stephen of Decani, King of Serbia.

He was the son of King Milutin and father of King Dusan. At the command of his ill-informed father he was blinded, and at the command of his light-minded son was, in old age, drowned. At the time of his blinding, St Nicolas appeared to him in the church at Ovce Polje (the Sheep-Pasture) and gestured towards his own eyes, saying: 'Stephen, don't be afraid; your eyes have been given to me and I will return them to you in due course.' He spent five years in Constantinople, as an exile in the monastery of the Pantocrator. By his wisdom and ascesis, his meekness and devotion, his patience and greatness of soul, Stephen surpassed not only the monks in that monastery but those in the whole of Constantinople. When five years had passed, St Nicolas appeared to him again and said to him: 'I have come to fulfill my promise.' He then made the sign of the Cross over the blind king, and he received his sight. Out of gratitude to God, he built the monastery of Decani, a rare example of the finest Byzantine work and one of the most famous memorials of Serbian devotion. The holy King Stephen, St Sava and the holy Prince Lazar make a trio of holiness, nobility and self-sacrifice, the gift of the Serbian people. He lived his time on earth as a martyr, and died a martyr in 1336, receiving the wreath of immortal glory from the Almighty whom he had served so faithfully.

  1. The Holy Martyrs Victor and Stephanis.

Victor was a Roman soldier, and was tortured for Christ in the time of the Emperor Antoninus (138-161). During his torture, a young woman, Stephanis, revealed that she also was a Christian. Victor was beheaded and Stephanis was torn in half, being tied by the hands and feet to the tops of palm trees.

  1. The Holy Martyr Vincent the Deacon.

From the diocese of Saragossa in Spain, he was terribly tortured for Christ the Lord, and finally burned on an iron grid. He gave his soul into God's hands in 304. His body is preserved in Rome, in the church bearing his name.

  1. Our Holy Father Theodore the Studite.

The famous abbot of Studium, he suffered greatly for the sake of the icons. He was a wise organiser of the monastic life, an inspired teacher of Orthodoxy and wonderful ascetic. He entered into rest in Constantinople in 826, at the age of sixty-eight.

  1. St Urosica, Prince of Serbia.

He was son of King Dragutin. He preserved his chastity and purity in marriage, and myrrh flowed from his tomb.

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