The Romanian Patriarchate is highlighting the family of Saint Basil the Great as a model for contemporary Christian families, as it designated 2026 as the Solemn Year of Christian Family Pastoral Care and the Commemorative Year of the Holy Women in the Church Calendar. The official icon for 2026 depicts Saint Basil’s family, which produced eight saints.
Saint Basil’s family – a remarkable example of holiness
“The family of Saint Basil the Great offers us a remarkable example of how holiness gives birth to holiness,” Patriarch Daniel writes in the foreword to the 2026 Orthodox Calendar printed by the Archdiocese of Bucharest.
Within this family, St Basil’s parents, Basil and Emmelia, his grandmother Macrina the Elder and five of their children were canonised: Saint Basil the Great (January 1), Saint Gregory of Nyssa (January 10), Saint Peter of Sebaste (January 9), Saint Naucratius, a great hermit and miracle-worker in the Sinai desert (June 21), and Saint Macrina the Younger (July 19).
This family of saints has a special day assigned to it in the 2026 Orthodox Calendar — 19 July — and is depicted on the 2026 commemorative year icon in the Romanian Patriarchate.
Holy Palamas Family
Another family of saints was that of Saint Gregory Palamas, commemorated on November 14: Saint Constantius (father), Saint Kalloni (mother), Saint Gregory, and his brothers — Saints Theodosius and Macarius — as well as his sisters Epicharis and Theodota.
This shows that “Christian education and the living of Gospel virtues in the family can bear fruits of holiness for all generations,” the Patriarch of Romania writes.
Holy Families in the Orthodox calendar
Other holy families mentioned in the calendar include:
- Holy Prince Constantine Brâncoveanu the New Martyr, Princess Maria Brâncoveanu and their sons Constantine, Stephen, Radu and Matthew (August 16)
- Holy Martyr Eustathius with his wife Theopista and their two sons Agapius and Theopistus (September 20)
- Holy Martyr Terence and his wife Neonila with their seven sons (October 28)
- Venerable Xenophon with his wife Maria and their sons Arcadius and John (January 26)
- Holy Martyr Marius with his wife Martha and their sons Audifax and Abachum (July 6)
The parents of the Great Martyr George, Gerontius Stratēlatēs and Polychronia, are held as saints in tradition, while the parents of Saint Nicholas, Theophanes and Nona, were converted to Christianity by disciples of the Holy Apostles.
Follow the Basilica News Agency Facebook page for the series dedicated to holy families.
Photo: Basilica.ro
