St Catherine the Great Martyr (Nov 24 or 25/Dec 7) boldly confronted the idol-worshipping Emperor Maxentius and denounced his idolatrous errors. The emperor summoned fifty of his wisest men to debate with Catherine on matters of faith, hoping to put her to shame. When Catherine outwitted them all, the emperor, in a rage, ordered all fifty of those men burned. By St Catherine’s prayers, all fifty confessed Christ and declared themselves Christians before their execution.
After Catherine had been put in prison, she converted the emperor’s commander, Porphyrius, and two hundred soldiers to the true Faith, as well as Empress Augusta-Vasilissa herself. They all suffered for Christ.
After Catherine had been put in prison, she converted the emperor’s commander, Porphyrius, and two hundred soldiers to the true Faith, as well as Empress Augusta-Vasilissa herself. They all suffered for Christ.
During the torture of the royal martyr St Catherine, an angel of God came to her and destroyed the wheel on which the holy virgin was being tortured for her faith. Afterward, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to her and comforted her. After many tortures, Catherine was beheaded at the age of eighteen, in the year 310. Milk, instead of blood, flowed from her body. Her miracle-working relics repose on Mount Sinai.
Source: St. Nikolai Velimirovic, The Prologue of Ohrid – Volume Two
Source: St. Nikolai Velimirovic, The Prologue of Ohrid – Volume Two
"And I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life." Philippians 4:3
St Clement (Nov 25/ Dec 8) was among the first in the unbroken chain of priestly ordination stretching back to Christ. Baptized by the holy Apostle Peter, St Clement his zealous disciple and constant companion. St Peter would later consecrate him as the first bishop of Rome.
For converting hundreds to Christ, St Clement caught the attention of Roman authorities, who banished him to harsh labour in a stone quarry Crimea. He was followed there by his own disciples, who preferred exile to the absence of their spiritual Father. The Menoligion tells of Clement's martyrdom by drowning by being thrown overboard from a boat with a ship’s anchor tied to him.
St Clement (Nov 25/ Dec 8) was among the first in the unbroken chain of priestly ordination stretching back to Christ. Baptized by the holy Apostle Peter, St Clement his zealous disciple and constant companion. St Peter would later consecrate him as the first bishop of Rome.
For converting hundreds to Christ, St Clement caught the attention of Roman authorities, who banished him to harsh labour in a stone quarry Crimea. He was followed there by his own disciples, who preferred exile to the absence of their spiritual Father. The Menoligion tells of Clement's martyrdom by drowning by being thrown overboard from a boat with a ship’s anchor tied to him.
After the saint’s disciples prayed to see the martyr’s body, the sea drew back a distance of three miles from the shore, revealing a marble cave shaped like a church. There they found his incorrupt body. Each year on the anniversary of Saint Clement’s martyrdom, the sea receded, allowing the faithful to venerate his holy relics.
Unshakeable and godlike tower of the Church, holy Father Clement, protect us all by your prayers.
Unshakeable and godlike tower of the Church, holy Father Clement, protect us all by your prayers.
O Saviour, grant Your heavenly blessing to our children. Fill them with Your Holy Spirit, that they may always love You and strive to fulfill Your holy will as devout members of Your Church.
Grant them so to please You in this age that they may finally inherit Your glorious Kingdom in the age to come. For Yours it is to save us, and to You we ascribe glory: to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Photo: Saint Archangel Michael Orthodox Church, Koliganek, Alaska
Grant them so to please You in this age that they may finally inherit Your glorious Kingdom in the age to come. For Yours it is to save us, and to You we ascribe glory: to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Photo: Saint Archangel Michael Orthodox Church, Koliganek, Alaska
I remember once I told Saint Porphyrios (Dec 2): "I'm afraid of what is to come, the ugly times."
He looked at me puzzled and giving me a swift slap on the hand he said: "Who can do you harm, my child, if you have Christ inside your heart. Turn your eyes towards Christ. You don't become saints by chasing away the evil. Forget about the evil. You should actually turn your eyes towards Christ and He will save you. Instead of standing at the door and shooing away the enemy, despise him. When you see evil approaching from one direction, you softly give your attention to something else. So, when the evil is coming to offend you, give your interior strength to good, to Christ. Plead: "Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me." He knows how to give you His mercy and in whatever way that is best for you. And after you are full of good, then you no longer turn your attention towards the evil. With the grace of God, you become good. And then the evil is unable to find a place to stand and disappears."
He looked at me puzzled and giving me a swift slap on the hand he said: "Who can do you harm, my child, if you have Christ inside your heart. Turn your eyes towards Christ. You don't become saints by chasing away the evil. Forget about the evil. You should actually turn your eyes towards Christ and He will save you. Instead of standing at the door and shooing away the enemy, despise him. When you see evil approaching from one direction, you softly give your attention to something else. So, when the evil is coming to offend you, give your interior strength to good, to Christ. Plead: "Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me." He knows how to give you His mercy and in whatever way that is best for you. And after you are full of good, then you no longer turn your attention towards the evil. With the grace of God, you become good. And then the evil is unable to find a place to stand and disappears."
"He who loves God disdains corruptible things, and prefers the knowledge of Him." ☦️ Desert Monastic Saint Savva the Sanctified (Dec 5/18)
Humans and animals alike had an affection for St Savva. Once, while the Saint was in his cave, he prayed to the Lord to send him water. Outside, he heard a noise. Looking out, he saw a donkey digging its hooves into the earth. Soon, clear water appeared. The donkey quenched his thirst and disappeared. The next day the St Savva came down from his cave, dug with his trowel a little deeper at the same spot and water gushed out. The monks of the Lavra drink from this water source to this day.
St Savva surrendered his soul to God in 552.
“With the rivers of your tears, you have made the barren desert fertile. Through sighs of sorrow from deep within you, your labors have borne fruit a hundred-fold. By your miracles you have become a light, shining upon the world. O Savas, our Holy Father, pray to Christ our God, to save our souls.”
Humans and animals alike had an affection for St Savva. Once, while the Saint was in his cave, he prayed to the Lord to send him water. Outside, he heard a noise. Looking out, he saw a donkey digging its hooves into the earth. Soon, clear water appeared. The donkey quenched his thirst and disappeared. The next day the St Savva came down from his cave, dug with his trowel a little deeper at the same spot and water gushed out. The monks of the Lavra drink from this water source to this day.
St Savva surrendered his soul to God in 552.
“With the rivers of your tears, you have made the barren desert fertile. Through sighs of sorrow from deep within you, your labors have borne fruit a hundred-fold. By your miracles you have become a light, shining upon the world. O Savas, our Holy Father, pray to Christ our God, to save our souls.”
Hierarch Father Nicholas (Dec 19/Dec 6), entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved.
In 2017, the relics of Saint Nicholas were removed from their reliquary in Bari, Italy, where they have been kept since 1087. With surgical precision, medical experts extracted a rib next to the saint's heart. The relics were then placed in a special ark weighing 40kg and covered in gold leaf. The holy relics were then transported to Russia and received at Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Moscow. An estimated 45,000 people have venerated Saint Nicholas' within the first two days. Millions have since offered veneration to the holy hierarch.
In 2017, the relics of Saint Nicholas were removed from their reliquary in Bari, Italy, where they have been kept since 1087. With surgical precision, medical experts extracted a rib next to the saint's heart. The relics were then placed in a special ark weighing 40kg and covered in gold leaf. The holy relics were then transported to Russia and received at Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Moscow. An estimated 45,000 people have venerated Saint Nicholas' within the first two days. Millions have since offered veneration to the holy hierarch.
Myrrh began streaming from the miracle-working icon of the Holy and Righteous Anna, Mother of the Theotokos (Conception Dec 9 / Dec 22), at the Church of Our Lady (Joy of All Who Sorrow) in Philadelphia in 2004. The icon, later brought to St Tikhon's Seminary by Fr Athanasy Mastalski, continues to exude a sweet fragrance. It has brought many healings.
"Today the universe rejoices, for Anna has conceived the Theotokos through God's dispensation, for she has brought forth the one who is to bear the ineffable Word!”
"Today the universe rejoices, for Anna has conceived the Theotokos through God's dispensation, for she has brought forth the one who is to bear the ineffable Word!”
The foretelling of Christ's death, burial and resurrection is written into the Nativity Icon of Christ.
"And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger..." Luke 2:7
"And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb..." Mark 15:46
"And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger..." Luke 2:7
"And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb..." Mark 15:46