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Saint Nestor, the Martyr for Christ

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, October 27, 2017 James W. Lillie We know very little concerning the martyr Nestor, other than that he was a close spiritual brother of Saint Dimitrios. He may have volunteered to fight the giant Vandal, Lyaeus, in order to prevent other Christians being drafted in to do so against their will. According to Saint Nikolaï Velimirović in the Ochrid Prologue, the emperor, Galerius, entertained the people with such spectacles and had a

Feast Day of St Euphemia the Great Martyr

On September 16, the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast Day of St Euphemia the Great Martyr. The Holy Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised was the daughter of Christians, the senator Philophronos and Theodosia. She suffered for Christ in the year 304 A.D. in the city of Chalcedon, on the banks of the Bosphorus opposite Constantinople. The Chalcedon governor Priscus circulated an order to all the inhabitants of Chalcedon and it surroundings to appear at

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

By Fr. John Breck, January 1, 2002 This is a date we shall never forget. Images of planes hurtling into the twin towers, the collapse of the buildings, the faces of the police, firefighters and other rescue workers who lost so many friends and co-workers, the anguished cries of family members who refused to accept the obvious. Images, too, of the Pentagon in flames, followed by the rerouting of Air Force One and the cautionary

The Placing of the Honorable Sash of the Most Holy Theotokos

August 31 The Placing of the Venerable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos in a church of Constantinople’s Chalcoprateia district took place during the reign of the emperor Theodosius the Younger. Before this the holy relic, entrusted to the Apostle Thomas by the Mother of God Herself, was kept by pious Christians at Jerusalem after Her Dormition. During the reign of Emperor Leo, the Wise (886-911), his wife Zoe was afflicted with an unclean spirit,

The Mote and the Beam – 1

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, December 2, 2017 James W. Lillie At Matthew 7, 1-3, the Lord warns us about the danger of judging other people. “Do not judge, or you will be judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam that is

Blessed Irene οf Chryssovalantou Monastery – 28 July

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, August 5, 2017 Blessed Irene was born in Cappadocia, into the bosom of a rich and noble family, after the death of the iconoclast emperor Theofilos (842). When Theodora became regent, she searched the empire for a wife for her son, Michael III (842-867). The imperial envoys took note of the beauty and nobility of Irene and sent her to Constantinople together with her sister, who later married Caesar Vardas, the

Dormition of the Righteous Anna, the Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos

Commemorated on July 25 Saint Anna was the daughter of the priest Matthan and his wife Mary. She was of the tribe of Levi and the lineage of Aaron. According to Tradition, she died peacefully in Jerusalem at age 79, before the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. During the reign of Saint Justinian, the Emperor (527-565), a church was built in her honor at Deutera. Emperor Justinian II (685-695; 705-711) restored her church, since Saint

Martyr Cyricus (Quiricus) and his mother, Julitta, of Tarsus

The Holy Martyrs Cyricus and Julita lived in the city of Iconium in the province of Lykaoneia in Asia Minor. Saint Julita was descended from an illustrious family and was a Christian. Widowed early on, she raised her three-year old-son Cyricus (Quiricus). During the emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians, Saint Julita departed the city with her son and two trustworthy servants, leaving behind her home, property, and servants. Concealing her noble rank, she hid out

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Icon of the Theotokos the Life-Giving Spring, Zoodochos Pigi.

Commemorated on Friday of the Bright Week. There once was a beautiful church in Constantinople built in the fifth century by the holy Emperor Leo the Great that was dedicated to the Mother of God. Before he was emperor, Leo walking in a wooded area met a thirsty blind man who asked Leo to help him find water. He searched for water, but was unable to find any. Suddenly, he heard a voice telling him

The Fifth Wednesday of Great Lent. The Monastic Life: The Way of Perfection, Part II

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, June 16, 2015 By Prof. Georgios Mantzaridis Christian monasticism has always been associated with stillness or silence, which is seen primarily as an internal rather than an external state. External silence is sought in order the more easily and perfectly to attain inner stillness. This stillness is not the same as inertia or inaction, but awakening and activation of the spiritual life. It is intense vigilance and total devotion to God. Withdrawing