Author Archives: maryadmin

Our venerable father Parthenius was the son of a deacon from the town of Melitopolis. As a child he remembered well the words of the Gospel and endeavored to fulfill them. He settled near a lake, where he fished. Then he sold the fish and distributed the money to the poor. By God’s providence he […]

Our venerable father Bucolus was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, who consecrated him Bishop of Smyrna. In Smyrna there were few that were baptized. In the darkness of paganism, St. Bucolus shone as bright as a candle. He distinguished himself with every virtue, especially meekness and humility. Before his death, Bucolus consecrated the […]

The holy martyr Agatha, the glorious virgin and martyr for Christ, was born in the Sicilian town of Palermo to noble and wealthy parents. When the emperor Decius began the persecution of Christians, St. Agatha was arrested and brought to trial before the judge Quintian. The judge, seeing Agatha beautiful in countenance, desired to have […]

Our venerable father Isidore of Pelusium, in Egypt, priest, who, notable in his teachings, spurning the world and riches, preferred to imitate the life of John the Baptist in the desert, having taken up the monastic state, founded a monastery in Pelusium in the 5th century, and was held in much esteem as a theologian […]

The synaxis of the holy prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna, who, the one a righteous and devout old man, and the other a widow and prophetess, were worthy to hail the infant Jesus as the Messiah and Savior, the blessed hope and redemption of Israel, when he had been brought to the temple to […]

The encounter of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ with Simeon and Anna is one of the most ancient of all feasts established in Jerusalem in the 4th century. St. Sophronius of Jerusalem wrote about this feast: “Let us all hasten to meet (encounter) Christ. Everyone should be eager to join the procession and […]

The holy martyr Tryphon was born in Phrygia, one of the districts of Asia Minor. From his early years, the Lord granted him the power to cast out demons and to heal various maladies. He once saved the inhabitants of his native city of Lampsacus from starvation. He was condemned to death by beheading with […]

St. Cyrus was a noted physician in the city of Alexandria, where he had been born and raised. He was a Christian and he treated the sick without charge. Preaching the gospel, the holy physician converted many pagans to Christ. During the persecution of Diocletian (284-305), St. Cyrus withdrew into Arabia, where he became a […]