2026
Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John (January 7) John comes from the Hebrew name Yohanan (יוֹחָנָן). It is composed of (1) יה (yah), the shortened name of the Lord, and (2) the verb חנן (hanan),
Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, was a younger brother of Saint Basil the Great (January 1). His birth and upbringing came at a time when the Arian disputes were at their height. Having received an
The Venerable Saint Theodosius the Great, also Theodosius the Cenobiarch lived during the fifth-sixth centuries (423 AD – 529 AD), and was the founder and organizer of the cenobitic way of monastic life.[note 1] The monastery that he founded in 476 AD became known
Saint John the Hut-Dweller was the son of rich and illustrious parents, and was born in Constantinople in the early fifth century. He received a fine education, and he mastered rhetoric and philosophy by the
Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great and king of the Jews, grew wroth against the Church of Christ, and slew James, the brother of John the Evangelist. Seeing that this pleased the Jews,
In the half-century after the First Ecumenical Council held in Nicaea in 325, if there was one man whom the Arians feared and hated more intensely than any other, as being able to lay bare
Saint Macarius the Great of Egypt was born around 331 in the village of Ptinapor in Egypt. At the wish of his parents he entered into marriage, but was soon widowed. After he buried his
This Saint, who was from Melitene in Armenia, was the son of pious parents named Paul and Dionysia. He was born about 377. Since his mother had been barren, he was named Euthymius-which means “good
The Martyr Neophytos, who was from Nicea in Bithynia, was the son of pious parents, Theodore and Florence. Led by grace from his childhood, he took up his dwelling in a cave upon Mount Olympus
Martyr Xenia of Rome fifth century Saint Xenia of Rome, in the world Eusebia, was the only daughter of an eminent Roman senator. From her youth she loved God, and wished to avoid the marriage
Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople Reading from the Synaxarion: This great Father and Teacher of the Church was born in 329 in Arianzus, a village of the second district of Cappadocia, not far from
St. Xenophon the Righteous, and his family Saint Xenophon, his wife Maria, and their sons Arcadius and John, were noted citizens of Constantinople and lived in the fifth century. Despite their riches and position, they