Category Archives: Daily Devotionals

Our venerable father Nicetas, Bishop of Chalcedon, lived during the second half of the eighth century. He distinguished himself by his charity. He always helped the poor, lodged travelers in his home, cared for orphans and widows, and interceded for those who had been wronged. During the reign of the iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian […]

The Hieromartyr Therapontus, Bishop of Sardis, suffered for Christ in the third century. In fulfilling his priestly service, St. Therapontus enlightened many of the pagan Greeks with the light of the Christian Faith and baptized them. For this, he was brought before the governor Julian and put on trial where he fearlessly declared himself a […]

The holy apostle Carpus was one of the Seventy Apostles. He was a follower and companion of the Apostle Paul, by whom he was appointed Bishop of Varna in Thrace. He also preached the Gospel on Crete, where he received St. Dionysius the Areopagite in his home. St. Dionysius testifies that Carpus was a man […]

The third discovery of the Venerable Head of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John happened around the year 850. The head of St. John the Forerunner was first found on the Mount of Olives where it had been hidden by Joanna, wife of Chusa, after the saint’s beheading; and found the second time in […]

Our venerable father Simeon, of the Wondrous Mountain in Syria, was a priest and anchorite in the 6th century. He lived in conversation with Christ and the angels atop a column for forty–five years and was granted power over the demons and the powers of nature. He is also known as St. Simeon Stylites the […]

Our holy father Michael the Confessor was a monk in a monastery on the coast of the Black Sea before the Patriarch Tarasius (784-806) consecrated him as Bishop of the city of Synnada. He was present at the Seventh Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 787. St. Michael bravely and openly opposed the iconoclast heresy of […]

The holy martyr Basiliscus was a soldier and a cousin of St. Theodore the Recruit. Through his preaching and example, St. Basiliscus brought many to the Faith. He suffered greatly for the sake of Christ. His two brothers suffered with him and were crucified before he was sent to Prison in Comana where he met […]

Constantine reigned in ancient Rome and in Byzantium (which became New Rome), and was the first Christian emperor and champion of the Faith. Though he was not baptized until on his deathbed, he considered himself a Christian, and called the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 325 to settle the Arian heresy.  On the Via […]

The holy martyr Thaleleus at Agea in Cilicia. Born in Lebanon in the third century, St. Thaleleus was an eighteen-year-old fair haired young man, training to be a physician. He courageously confessed Christ as God. After several attempts to execute the martyr, he was finally beheaded. The relics of the holy martyr Thallelaeus are in […]

The holy martyr Patrick, Bishop of Prusa, and his companions were martyred during the reign of the emperor Julian the Apostate. Taken to a boiling spring, the governor asked if Christ would save them. Patrick replied, “If he will, he can keep me whole and uninjured, although I would wish, in this water, to be […]