saints of the day

†) Venerable Daniel the Hermit; Martyrs Sebastian and Zoe at Rome; St Modestus the Archbishop of Jerusalem (Fish permitted)

Orthodox Calendar, December 18 Venerable Daniel the Hermit He was born in a village not far from Rădăuţi, to righteous parents, being baptised with the name of Demetrius. Having loved spiritual life, when he was 16 years old, he left his parents’ house and joined the community of the Rădăuţi Monastery dedicated to Saint Nicholas,…

Dec 18, 2025basilica.ro

Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths: Ananias, Azarias, and Misael

Orthodox Calendar, December 17 Prophet Daniel The Prophet Daniel is the fourth of the major prophets. In the years following 600 B.C. Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians, the Temple built by Solomon was destroyed, and many of the Israelite people were led away into the Babylonian Captivity. Among the captives were also the illustrious…

Dec 17, 2025basilica.ro

Prophet Haggai; Blessed Empress Theophano

Orthodox Calendar, December 16 Holy Prophet Haggai He was the tenth of the Twelve Minor Prophets. He was of the Tribe of Levi and he prophesied during the times of the Persian emperor Darius Hystaspis (prior to 500 B.C.). Upon the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity, he persuaded the people to build…

Dec 16, 2025basilica.ro

Hieromartyr Eleutherius the Bishop of Illyria, and His Mother; Martyr Susanna; Venerable Paul of Latros

Orthodox Calendar, December 15 Hieromartyr Eleutherius Hieromartyr Eleutherius, his mother Evanthia and Caribus the Eparch: Saint Eleutherius, the son of an illustrious Roman citizen, was raised in Christian piety by his mother. His virtue was such that at the age twenty, he had been elevated to bishop of Illyria. In the reign of the emperor…

Dec 15, 2025basilica.ro

Martyrs Thyrsus, Callinicus, Philemon and Apollonius; (Fish permitted) 28th Sunday after Pentecost (Sunday of the Forefathers)

Orthodox Calendar, December 14 The Holy Martyrs Thyrsus, Leucius and Callinicus They suffered for Christ under Emperor Decius (249-251) at Caesarea in Bithynia. Saint Leucius, having reproached Prefect Cumbricius his unjust persecution of Christians, was executed after being tortured. As soon as his head was cut off, his soul departed to heaven. Saint Thyrsus, who…

Dec 14, 2025basilica.ro

†) Saint Dositheus, Metropolitan of Moldavia; † Martyrs Eustratius, Auxentius, Eugene, Mardarius and Orestes at Sebaste; Virgin-martyr Lucy of Syracuse (Fish permitted)

Orthodox Calendar, December 13 Saint Dositheus, Metropolitan of Moldavia He was born in 1624, in Suceava, today’s Romania and passed into eternal life in 1693, Żółkiew (Jovkva), Poland – today’s Ukraine. He was Metropolitan of Moldavia (1671 -1673, 1675-1686), a scholar, a fine poet, a good translator and a witness to the Orthodox faith. For…

Dec 13, 2025basilica.ro

†) Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Tremithus

Orthodox Calendar, December 12 Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Tremithus Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Tremithus was born towards the end of the third century on the island of Cyprus. He was a shepherd, and had a wife and children. He used all his substance for the needs of his neighbors and the homeless, for…

Dec 12, 2025basilica.ro

Martyrs Menas, Hermogenes and Eugraphus of Alexandria

Orthodox Calendar, December 10 The Holy Martyrs Menas, Hermogenes, and Eugraphus They suffered for their faith in Christ under the emperor Maximian (305-313). Saint Menas was sent by the emperor from Athens to Alexandria to suppress the riots that had arisen between the Christians and the pagans. Distinguished for his gift of eloquence, Menas instead…

Dec 10, 2025basilica.ro

The Conception by Righteous Anna of the Most Holy Mother of God; Prophetess Hannah the mother of the Prophet Samuel (Fish allowed)

Orthodox Calendar, December 9 Saint Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary She was the youngest daughter of the priest Nathan from Bethlehem, descended from the tribe of Levi. She married Saint Joachim (September 9), who was a native of Galilee. For a long time Saint Anna was childless, but after twenty years, through the…

Dec 9, 2025basilica.ro

St. Patapius of Thebes; Apostles Caesar, Tychicus, and Onesiphorus of the Seventy

Orthodox Calendar, December 8 Saint Patapius He was born at Thebes into a pious Christian family. Reaching the age of maturity, he scorned the vanities of the world and so went into the Egyptian desert where he became known for his ascetic deeds. Though he wished to dwell in silence, people began to come to…

Dec 8, 2025basilica.ro

†) St. Philothea of Argeş, the Protectress of Romania; St. Ambrose the Bishop of Milan; 27th Sunday after Pentecost (Fish allowed)

Orthodox Calendar, December 7 Saint Philothea (Philofthea) of Argeş She was born in Trnovo, the old capital of Bulgaria, around 1206. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was from Wallachia. She died when Philothea was still a child, and her father remarried. The child was often punished by her stepmother, who accused her…

Dec 7, 2025Iulian Dumitraşcu