Orthodox Calendar December 29 14,000 Holy Infants They were killed by King Herod in Bethlehem. When the time came for the Incarnation of the Son of God and His Birth of the Most Holy Virgin…
Orthodox Calendar, December 28 The Holy 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia At the beginning of the fourth century the emperor Maximian (284-305) gave orders to destroy Christian churches, to burn service books, and to deprive all…
Orthodox Calendar, December 27 Saint Stephen, Protomartyr and Archdeacon He was the eldest of the seven deacons, appointed by the Apostles themselves, and therefore he is called “archdeacon.” He was the first Christian martyr, and…
Orthodox Calendar, December 26 Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God On the second day of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church has established the celebration of the…
Orthodox Calendar December 25 Our Lord’s Nativity was nine months after He took flesh from the Holy Spirit, at the Annunciation, when God sent Archangel Gabriel to announce Virgin Mary: “Greetings, you who are highly…
Orthodox Calendar December 24 Holy Martyr Eugenia was a Roman by birth. She lived at Alexandria, where her father Philip was sent by the emperor Commodus (180-192) to be Prefect of Egypt. Eugenia received a…
Orthodox Calendar December 23 Saint Antonina of Tismana Saint Antonina of Tismana was born on March 7, 1923, in the village of Runcu, Vâlcea County, into a family of devout Christians, Ispas and Maria. She…
Orthodox Calendar December 22 Saint Peter Mogila In 1632 Wladyslaw IV, the successor to King Sigismund of Poland, gave permission for the Orthodox to elect their own metropolitan of Kiev. Peter Mogila (1597–1646), the head…
Orthodox Calendar 21 December Holy Virgin Martyr Juliana Daughter of an illustrious pagan named Africanus, she was born in the city of Nicomedia. As a child, she was betrothed to a certain Elusius, one of…
Orthodox Calendar, December 20 Forefeast of the Nativity of the Lord The Forefeast of the Nativity of the Lord begins on December 20. From now on, most of the liturgical hymns will be concerned with…