Feasts and Saints

Venerable Theodore the Sanctified; Ven. Silas, Paisios and Nathan from Sihăstria Putnei

Orthodox Calendar, May 16 Venerable Theodore the Sanctified Saint Theodore was called “Sanctified” because he was the first in his monastery ordained to the priesthood. Saint Theodore came from Egypt and was the son of rich and illustrious Christian parents. The yearning for monastic life appeared early in him. Once there was a large party…

May 16, 2026basilica.ro

St. Jacob of Putna, Metropolitan of Moldavia; Venerable Pachomius the Great (Fish allowed)

Orthodox Calendar May 15 Holy Hierarch Jacob of Putna, Metropolitan of Moldavia The future Metropolitan of Moldavia was born on 20 January 1719 in a family of believers from Bukovina. Growing up in the spirit of true godliness, he entered the monastic life when he was only 12 years old. His spiritual formation is linked…

May 15, 2026basilica.ro

Leavetaking of Mid-Pentecost; Virginmartyr Glyceria; Venerable Sergius (Fish allowed)

Orthodox Calendar, May 13 Virginmartyr Glyceria Saint Glyceria suffered as a martyr for her faith in Christ in the second century, during a persecution against Christians under the emperor Antoninus (138-161). She came from an illustrious family, and her father Macarius was a high-ranking Roman official. Later, the family moved to the Thracian city of…

May 13, 2026basilica.ro

Martyr John the Wallachian; St. Epiphanius the Bishop of Cyprus; St. Germanus the Patriarch of Constantinople

Orthodox Calendar, May 12 Saint John the Wallachian He was born into a poor family in Oltenia during the time of Prince Matthew Basarab. In 1659, when he was fifteen years old, a band of Turks was attacking the Olt Valley from Ardeal and seizing many young people as slaves, including Saint John. The Turks…

May 12, 2026basilica.ro

Venerable Dionysius the Athonite of Colciu; Hieromartyr Mocius the Presbyter; Hierarch Methodius and Venerable Cyril, Teachers of the Slavs

Orthodox Calendar, May 11 Venerable Dionysius the Athonite of Colciu (1909–2004) St. Venerable Dionysius of Colciu was the abbot of the Cell of St. George at Colciu, belonging to Vatopedi Monastery on the Holy Mountain of Athos. He was a disciple of Venerable Antipa Dinescu, a strict ascetic and former abbot of Prodromou Skete, who…

May 11, 2026basilica.ro

Apostle Simon the Zealot; Saint Callistratus of Timișeni and Vasiova; 5th Sunday after Pascha

Orthodox Calendar, May 10 Apostle Simon the Zealot Saint Simon, originally from Cana in Galilee, was acquainted with the Lord and His Mother. Tradition holds that he was the bridegroom at the wedding where Jesus performed His first miracle, turning water into wine. Witnessing this miracle, he became a fervent follower of Christ and earned…

May 10, 2026basilica.ro

Prophet Isaiah; Martyr Christopher of Lycia; Translation of the relics of St Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra to Bari

Orthodox Calendar, May 9 Prophet Isaiah The Holy Prophet Isaiah lived 700 years before the birth of Christ, and was of royal lineage. Isaiah’s father Amos raised his son in the fear of God and in the law of the Lord. Having attained the age of maturity, the Prophet Isaiah entered into marriage with a…

May 9, 2026basilica.ro

†) Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian; Venerable Arsenius the Great (Fish permitted)

Orthodox Calendar, May 8 Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian The Church commemorates Saint John on this day because of the annual pilgrimage to his grave. When Saint John was more than one hundred years old, he took seven of his disciples and went to a spot outside the city of Ephesus. There he told…

May 8, 2026basilica.ro

Apparition of the Sign of the Holy Cross Over Jerusalem; Martyrs Acacius and Quadratus

Orthodox Calendar, May 7 Apparition of the Sign of the Precious Cross Over Jerusalem (351) The Precious Cross appeared in the sky over Jerusalem on the morning of May 7, 351 during the reign of the emperor Constantius, the son of Saint Constantine (May 21).At that time the heresy of Arianism, which taught that Christ…

May 7, 2026basilica.ro

Midfeast of Pentecost; Righteous Job the Long-Suffering; Martyr Barbarus (Fish permitted)

Orthodox Calendar, May 6 Righteous Job The righteous Job, whose name means “persecuted”, God’s faithful servant, was the perfect image of every virtue. The son of Zarah and Bossorha (Job 42), Job was a fifth-generation descendent of Abraham. He was a truthful, righteous, patient and pious man who abstained from every evil thing. Job was…

May 6, 2026basilica.ro

St Matrona of Hurezi; Greatmartyr Irene of Thessalonica; Holy New Martyr Ephraim

Orthodox Calendar, May 5 St Matrona of Hurezi Monastery Venerable Matrona, whose name in the world was Maria, was born on August 2, 1852, in Săliștea Sibiului, to devout parents named Nicolae and Stana. Shortly after her birth, her father, travelling with his flocks as far as the regions of the Holy Mountain, by divine…

May 5, 2026basilica.ro