Orthodox Calendar, September 12 Hieromartyrs Autonomus, Macedonius & Theodulus The Hieromartyr Autonomus was a bishop in Italy. During the time of the persecution against Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305), Saint Autonomus left his own country and resettled in Bithynia, in the locality of Soreus with a man named Cornelius. Saint Autonomus did his apostolic…
Orthodox Calendar, September 11 Venerable Theodora of Alexandria She lived with her husband in Alexandria, Egypt. Love and harmony ruled in their family, and this was hateful to the Enemy of salvation. Goaded on by the devil, a certain rich man was captivated by the youthful beauty of Theodora and began with all his abilities…
Orthodox Calendar, September 10 Martyrs Menodora, Metrodora and Nymphodora The Holy Virgins Menodora, Nymphodora, and Metrodora (305-311) were sisters from Bithynia (Asia Minor). Distinguished for their special piety, they wanted to preserve their virginity and avoid worldly associations. They chose a solitary place for themselves in the wilderness and spent their lives in deeds of…
Orthodox Calendar, September 9 Holy & Righteous Ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna Saint Joachim, the son of Barpathir, was of the tribe of Judah, and was a descendant of King David, to whom God had revealed that the Savior of the world would be born from his seed. Saint Anna was the daughter of…
Orthodox Calendar, September 8 The Most Holy Virgin Mary was born at a time when people had reached such a degree of moral decay that it seemed altogether impossible to restore them. People often said that God must come into the world to restore faith and not permit the ruin of mankind. The Son of…
Orthodox Calendar, September 7 Forefeast of the Nativity of the Mother of God The first lesson at Great Vespers (Genesis 28:10-17) describes Jacob’s dream of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, and the angels ascending and descending upon it. The second lesson (Ezekiel 43:27-44:4) speaks of the gate of the sanctuary which faces east.…
Orthodox Calendar, September 6 Commemoration of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Colossae In Phrygia, not far from the city of Hieropolis, in a place called Cheretopos, there was a church named for the Archangel Michael, built over a miraculous spring. This church was built by a certain inhabitant of the city of Laodicia…
Orthodox Calendar, September 5 Holy Prophet Zachariah and the Righteous Elizabeth They were the parents of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John. They were descended from the lineage of Aaron: Saint Zachariah, son of Barach, was a priest in the Jerusalem Temple, and Saint Elizabeth was the sister of Saint Anna,…
Orthodox Calendar, September 4 The Icon of the Mother of God “The Unburnt Bush” The icon of the Mother of God known as “The Unburnt Bush” depicts the biblical event from the Old Testament in which the Holy Prophet Moses, while at the foot of Mount Sinai (Horeb), saw a bush that was burning but…
Orthodox Calendar – September 3 Saints Neophyte and Meletios Venerable Neophyte lived in seclusion somewhere near Cozia Monastery in the Olt River Valley, in today’s Romania. He was born in the 16th century to pious parents and entered monasticism at Cozia Monastery. He built himself a cave on Sălbaticul (Wild) Mountain and descended to the…
Holy Great Martyr Mamas He was born in Paphlagonia, Asia Minor in the third century of pious and illustrious parents, the Christians Theodotus and Rufina. The parents of the saint were arrested by the pagans for their open confession of their faith and locked up in prison in Caesarea in Cappadocia. Knowing his own bodily…
