Orthodox Calendar February 25 St. Tarasius the Archbishop of Constantinople Saint Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople was of illustrious lineage. He was born and raised in Constantinople, where he received a fine education. He was rapidly promoted at the court of the emperor Constantine VI Porphyrogenitos (780-797) and Constantine’s mother, the holy Empress Irene (August 7),…
Orthodox Calendar February 24 First and second finding of the Honorable Head of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John After the Beheading of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John (August 29), his body was buried by disciples in the Samarian city of Sebaste, and his venerable head was hidden…
Orthodox Calendar, February 23 Hieromartyr Polycarp the Bishop of Smyrna Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who was “fruitful in every good work” (Col. 1:10), was born in the first century, and lived in Smyrna in Asia Minor. He was orphaned at an early age, but at the direction of an angel, he was raised by…
Orthodox Calendar February 22 Expulsion of Adam from Paradise Scripture reading (Matthew 6:14-21) “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a…
Orthodox Calendar February 21 Venerable Timothy of Symbola Saint Timothy of Symbola, was of Italian descent. He became a monk at a young age and pursued asceticism at a monastery called “Symbola,” in Asia Minor near Mount Olympus. At that time Theoctistus was the archimandrite of the monastery. Saint Timothy was the disciple of Theoctistus…
Orthodox Calendar February 20 Saint Leo, the Bishop of Catania He was bishop of the city of Catania, in Sicily. He was famed for his benevolence and charity, and his Christian love for the poor and the vagrant. The Lord granted him the gifts of healing various illnesses, and working miracles. When Saint Leo was…
Orthodox Calendar February 19 Apostles Archippus, Philemon and Apphia Saints Archippus, Philemon and Apphia, Apostles of the Seventy were students and companions of the holy Apostle Paul. In the Epistle to Philemon, the Apostle Paul names Saint Archippus as his companion, and mentions him again in the Epistle to the Colossians (Col. 4:17). Saint Archippus…
Orthodox Calendar February 18 St. Leo the Great the Pope of Rome Saint Leo I the Great, Pope of Rome (440-461), received a fine and diverse education, which opened for him the possibility of an excellent worldly career. He yearned for the spiritual life, however, and so he chose the path of becoming an archdeacon…
Orthodox Calendar February 17 Great Martyr Theodore the Recruit (Tyro) The martyr was a soldier in the city of Alasium of the Pontine district (northeast province of Asia Minor, stretching along the coast of the Euxine, i.e. the Black Sea), under the command of a certain Brincus. They commanded him to offer sacrifice to idols.…
Orthodox Calendar February 16 Martyr Pamphilius A native of the city of Beirut, he was educated at Alexandria, after which he was made a priest at Caesarea. He devoted much labor to collating manuscripts and correcting copyist errors in the texts of the New Testament. The corrected texts of Saint Pamphilius were copied and distributed…
Orthodox Calendar February 15 Saint Onesimus, Apostle of the Seventy In his youth he was a servant of Philemon, a Christian of distinguished lineage, living in the city of Colossae, Phrygia. Guilty of an offense against his master and fearing punishment, Saint Onesimus fled to Rome, but as a runaway slave he wound up in…
