Hieromartyr Mark, Bishop of Arethusa, suffered for his faith in Christ under the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). By order of the emperor Constantine (May 21), Saint Mark had once destroyed a pagan temple and built a Christian church. When Julian came to the throne, he persecuted Christians…
Prayer Before Reading Scripture:
O Lord Jesus Christ open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear
Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the
earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that
I may perceive the wonders of Thy law. Speak unto me the hidden
and secret things of Thy wisdom. On Thee do I set my hope, O my
God, that Thou shalt enlighten my mind and understanding with
the light of Thy knowledge, not only to cherish those things which
are written, but to do them; that in reading the lives and sayings of
the saints I may not sin, but that such may serve for my restoration,
enlightenment and sanctification, for the salvation of my soul, and
the inheritance of life everlasting. For Thou art the enlightenment
of those who lie in darkness, and from Thee cometh every good
deed and every gift. Amen.
The historian Theodoritus relates that during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great, Saint Cyril destroyed many idols and pagan temples in Heliopolis, Phoenicia. He was put to death for this during the reign of Julian the Apostate. Pagans cut open his stomach and, like wild beasts, they ate his…
Saint John the Anchorite: During a persecution against Christians, the devout widow Juliania of Armenia hid from pursuers together with her two young children John and Themistea. She taught her children to pray and to read the Holy Scriptures. From time to time John secretly visited a nearby…
Saint Eustathius the Confessor, Bishop of Bithynia, was already at the beginning of his spiritual struggle a pious monk, meek and wise, filled with great faith and love for his neighbor. For his virtuous life he was made bishop of the city of Bithynia (a Roman province in northwest Asia Minor) and…
Saints Mark, Jonah and Bassa are venerated as the founders of the Pskov Caves monastery. It is not known exactly when the first hermit monks settled by the Kamenets stream in the natural caves of the hill, which the local inhabitants called “the holy hill.” The monastery Chronicle…
The holy Schema-monk Nikḗtas was born in the city of Orel in 1695. From childhood, he loved to go on pilgrimages to the holy places. As a youth, he left his parents and lived about a mile or so from the White Bluff (Beloberezhsk) Hermitage. It is not known when he received the monastic tonsure,…