saints

† Third Finding of the Honorable Head of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

Orthodox Calendar, May 25 The Third Discovery of the Venerable Head of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John occurred in about the year 850. The head of Saint John the Forerunner was found in the city of Emesia during a time of unrest at Constantinople connected with the exile of Saint John Chrysostom (November…

May 25, 2026basilica.ro

St. Michael the Confessor the Bishop of Synnada; Myrrh-Bearing Mary of Clopas

Orthodox Calendar, May 23 Saint Michael the Confessor From his youth he longed for the monastic life and was sent by Patriarch Tarasius (784-806) to a monastery on the coast of the Black Sea. Saint Theophylactus (March 8), the future Bishop of Nicomedia also entered the monastery together with him. At the monastery both monks…

May 23, 2026basilica.ro

(†) The Ascension of our Lord (Heroes Day); Equal of the Apostles and Emperor Constantine with his Mother Helen

Orthodox Calendar May 21  The Ascension of our Lord I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God, and Your God (John 20:17). In these words the Risen Christ described to Mary Magdalene the mystery of His Resurrection. She had to carry this mysterious message to His disciples, “as they mourned and…

May 21, 2026basilica.ro

Leavetaking of Pascha; Martyr Thallelaeus at Aegae in Cilicia; Ven. Talasius; St. Lydia of Philippisia

Orthodox Calendar, May 20 Martyr Thallelaeus The Martyrs Thallelaeus, Alexander and Asterius lived during the reign of Numerian (283-284). The prefect of the city of Aegea sent soldiers to seek out Christians. They brought to him Thallelaeus, an eighteen-year-old blond-haired youth. To the prefect’s questions Saint Thallelaeus replied, “I am a Christian, a native of…

May 20, 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