Living Next Door to a Saint How many of us can say with certainty that we live next door to a Saint? Elder Porphyrios of Kavsokalivia, who passed away in the Lord in 1991, was recently canonized a Saint of the Orthodox Church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on November 27th 2013. He was a truly great Saint of our times who lived amongst us! A man who lived for many years very near to the home of the Saint, and whose wife had become paralyzed, went to see him one day. When he entered the place in which [...]

Saint Polycarp Commemorated on February 23rd Born in Ephesus around 70 AD, St Polycarp was raised by a devout Christian noblewoman, Callista, who received Polycarp in her care when his parents were martyred.  Polycarp was, from a young age, generous in spirit and thirsty to serve those around him in Christ’s name. He became the disciple of St John the Theologian alongside Saints Bucolos and Ignatius. Together they preached the Word until Bucolos was appointed bishop of Smyrna, with Polycarp as his assistant and later, his successor. Polycarp performed many miracles during this time: a huge fire was extinguished and [...]

Commemorated on January 26th On the 26th of January, we remember the Translation of the Relics of our Holy Father Theodore the “Studite” (a name derived from the Monastery of Studium) and his brother, Joseph of Thessalonica. St. Theodore was born in AD 759 to an aristocratic family in Constantinople. Theodore’s maternal uncle, Plato, was a monk who also became a Saint. Plato was an inspiration for Theodore and all his family. The family gave up their comfortable life in the world and dedicated themselves to Christ. Theodore became a monk at the Symbola monastery in Bithynia, and soon became [...]