Our venerable father Patapius 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 him for advice. […]
Category Archives: Daily Devotionals
Dec. 8 The Feast of the Maternity of Anna
The Feast of the Maternity of the Holy Anna, mother of Our Blessed Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary: According to tradition, Joachim and Anna were childless for fifty years of their married life. In their old age, they were promised that a daughter would be born to them. After nine months, St. […]
Dec. 7 Our Father among the saints Ambrose, Bishop of Milan
Our holy father Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, who on April 4th, on the holy day of Pascha, fell asleep in the Lord in 397. His memory is celebrated today on which, while still a catechumen, he undertook ruling the famous See of Milan in 373, while he was exercising the office of prefect of the […]
Dec. 06 Our Father Among the Saints Nicholas the Wonder-worker Archbishop of Myra
Our Holy father Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the Wonder-Worker. A native of Lycia, he became a monk at the New Zion monastery. When his parents died, he gave his entire inheritance to the poor. Ordained a priest in Patara, he was famous for his almsgiving. He was chosen as archbishop of Myra, and […]
Dec. 5 Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Sabbas the Sanctified
Our venerable father Sabbas the Consecrated was born in Cappadocia. He arrived at the desert of Judea and instituted a new sort of eremetical life in seven monasteries, which were called “laurae.” He gathered solitaries under one overseer (hegumen). In the great laura, which afterward was adorned with his name, he dwelt for many years, […]
Dec. 4 The Holy Great Martyr Barbara; Our Venerable Father John of Damascus
The holy great martyr Barbara was raised by her pagan father who shut her away from the world because of her great beauty. Barbara came to realize that the soulless idols her father worshiped could not be responsible for the inexpressible beauty of the world outside her window. She decided to live her life as […]
Dec. 3 The Holy Prophet Zephaniah
The holy prophet Zephaniah announced the destruction of the ungodly on the day of the wrath of the Lord and strengthened the host of poor and needy people in the hope of salvation. He was a native of Mount Sarabatha, from the tribe of Simeon. He lived and prophesied in the 7th century before Christ, […]
Dec. 2 The Holy Prophet Habakkuk
The holy prophet Habakkuk was the son of Asaphat from the tribe of Simeon. He prophesied six hundred years before Christ, during the time of King Manasseh, and foretold the destruction of Jerusalem. When Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem, Habakkuk sought refuge in the land of the Ishmaelites. Habakkuk also prophesied the liberation of […]
Dec. 1 The Holy Prophet Nahum
The Holy Prophet Nahum was born of the tribe of Simeon in a place called Elkosh on the far side of the Jordan. He lived about seven hundred years before Christ and prophesied the destruction of Nineveh about two hundred years after the prophet Jonah. Because of Jonah”s preaching, the Ninevites had repented, and God […]
Nov. 30 The Holy and Glorious Apostle Andrew, the First-Called
The holy and glorious apostle Andrew, the first-Called. Born in Bethsaida, he was the brother of Simon Peter and a fisherman with him. He was called first from the disciples of John the Baptist at the Jordan by the Lord Jesus. Andrew followed him and even brought his brother to the Lord. After Pentecost it […]