Holy Martyr Alexandra the Empress (Commemorated 21st April)   Alexandra was the wife of Roman Emperor Diocletian, who mercilessly persecuted Christians in the late third and early 4th century AD. She witnessed the martyrdom of Saint George and was one of many who converted upon seeing how perseveringly the Saint withstood his many tortures. Not only did the pagan masses see this Christian man approach Emperor Diocletian determined to make his case, but they saw him miraculously remain unharmed by the tortures, undeterred in his devotion to Christ before the cruellest of emperors. Having confessed Christ as the true God, [...]

The Holy and Righteous St Symeon the God-Receiver (Commemorated 3rd February)   Holy Tradition teaches Holy Tradition teaches that Symeon was one of the seventy Jewish scholars chosen for the task of translating the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, also known as the Septuagint, used to this day by the Orthodox Church. Symeon was specifically assigned the task of translating the book of Isaiah. When he came to the verse foretelling the Incarnation of Christ, ‘Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel’ (Is. 7:14), he wanted to cross out ‘virgin’ and replace [...]

Holy Martyr Themistocles of Myra (Commemorated 21st December)   Themistocles was a shepherd during the reign of Emperor Decius in the 3rd century, quietly attending to his sheep in the mountains of Lycia. It was at this time that the governor of the region, Asclepius, began to persecute Christians. Dioscorides was a fellow Christian from the city who appeared at Themistocles’ door seeking refuge. Just minutes behind him were Asclepius’ soldiers. They commanded Themistocles to give him up, but Themistocles asked them to show mercy: “Let him go, brothers… Don’t hand him over to the judge, and you’ll have given [...]

Saint Longinus (Commemorated 16th October)   Saint Longinus was the centurion under the command of Pontius Pilate who was present at the Crucifixion of Christ. According to the Holy Evangelist Matthew, ‘when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”’ (Matt 27:54). This faith of Longinus was perfected when he became a witness to the Resurrection of our Lord. When the chief priests bribed the soldiers, Longinus and two of his soldiers refused to keep silent but instead [...]

The Metastasis of St John the Theologian (Commemorated 26th September)   The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St John the Theologian spent the last years of his life in the city of Ephesus. When he grew weak from old age, he was no longer able to preach publicly as he used to. His unceasing sermon to his disciples was the constant repetition of the Lord’s commandment: “My little children, love one another”. According to Saint John’s biography by his beloved companion and disciple Saint Prochorus, when the Apostle had reached the age of 105 years and received from God the knowledge of [...]