Icons

This detail from a large 16th century fresco features an angel, titled "Angel of the Lord." He is dressed as a deacon, as Psalm 103 describes the angels as "ministering spirits." He holds a royal scepter and orb, representing the authority given to...

Saint Sylvester served as the 32nd bishop of Rome after the death of the Apostles. He was not able to attend the First Ecumenical Council in 325 due to illness, but he sent representatives. He reposed later that year. His feast is celebrated on...

The Three Holy Youths Ananias, Misael, and Azarias were among the Jews who were taken to Babylon in the sixth century BC. King Nebuchadnezzar took them into his royal household where they served, along with the Prophet Daniel. They were given Persian...

In this comforting icon of warm gold and red tones, the Lord Jesus lovingly cradles a young infant, demonstrating His tender love for children, infants, and the unborn. For thou didst form my inward parts,    thou didst knit me...

Saint Panteleimon lived in the late 3rd century. A native of Nicomedia, his mother wished for him to be raised a Christian. When she died young, his pagan father sent him to be educated as a physician. He was befriended by Saint Hermolaus, a priest,...

Saint Sebastian was a native of Milan. He was a member of the Senate and converted many to Christ in his zeal. He was arrested, beaten, and finally shot with arrows, giving up his soul to God in the year 288, together with several other martyrs. His...

Saint Ignatius is known to have been a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist, and a contributor to the early ministry of the Church. He is also believed to have been that “little child” who Jesus used as an example of the...

Saint (Elder) Paisios was an Athonite monk, spiritual father, founder of monasteries, and prolific writer of many works that have been translated and read throughout the world. He reposed in 1994. The saint was glorified by the Ecumenical Patriarchate...

Saint Elizabeth was the wife of Righteous Zacharias the high priest and the mother of Saint John the Forerunner. She was a descendent of Aaron and a sister of Saint Anna, the mother of the Theotokos. She was barren, but the Lord heard the prayers...

Saint Juvenaly (or Juvenal) was born in Siberia. He worked as a mining engineer. When he was 30 years old, his wife died and he joined a monastery. He was later sent to Alaska as a missionary, where he worked among the natives for three years. He...

After the Resurrection, the Myrrh-bearing Women came to the tomb. They found the soldiers fallen as dead, the stone rolled away, and an angel sitting on it. He showed them the Lord’s empty grave clothes, and told them to tell the Disciples of the...

Saint Abercius (or Averky) was bishop of Hierapolis and was known for his God-given ability of wonderworking. During a festival of Apollo, he destroyed the idols in the temple, to the horror of the pagans. He cried out that the gods had become drunk...

Saint Gregory was from Caesarea. He served the king of Armenia until he was discovered to be a Christian, and for this he was tortured. He was cast into a pit of snakes and left to die, but God preserved him and he later went free. He converted many...

Saint Ignatius is known to have been a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist, and a contributor to the early ministry of the Church. He is also believed to have been that “little child” who Jesus used as an example of the...

This 21st century icon depicts the Guardian Angel, the faithful companion and ever-present protector of every baptized Christian. The icon of the Guardian Angel is a perfect baptism gift. The Guardian Angel is commemorated on November 8, together...

Saint Meletius (or Meletios or Melitius) was an Armenian. He became bishop of Sebaste in 357, but was later banished and he went to Syria. After the deposition of the Arian bishop of Antioch, the Orthodox and the Arian factions debated over who to...

Saint Andrew was born about the year 650 in Damascus, Syria. At the age of 14 he joined the Monastery of St. Sabbas the Sanctified in Jerusalem. Known for his virtue, he became the secretary of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and attended the Sixth...

Saint Mocius was a priest in Amphipolis of Thrace. One day, Mocius entered the temple of Dionysius and overturned the altar while the proconsul was offering a sacrifice. He was subjected to torture and finally beheaded in Byzantium in the year 288. He...

Pantocrator, "almighty," is one of the many names of God used in the Bible. It refers to Christ as Sabaoth, "Lord of Hosts," the ruler of all, and the sustainer of the universe. This image of Christ is the most widely-used subject in all of...

Born to wealthy and devout Christian parents in Egypt, Anthony was always sensitive to the duties of faith. When his parents died, Anthony distributed his inheritance to the poor and went to live a life in solitude that set an example for...

Saint Spyridon was from Cyprus, and he worked as a shepherd. After the death of his wife, he was appointed Bishop of Trimythus, and he attended the First Ecumenical Council. There he refuted the Arians using his simple wisdom. God granted him the gift...

The Elder Simeon the Stylite was born in Cappadocia in the lat 4th century. The son of Christian parents, he was obedient and a dedicated worker. While still a boy, he was struck by the singing of the Beatitudes in church. With the help of a trusted...

Saint Dionysius of Korissos Kastoria (also called Dionysios Mikroathonitis) was the founder of the Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos in the 14th century. He reposed in 1388, and his feast is celebrated on June 25.

Saint Gregory was born in 1296 and raised in the imperial court of Constantinople, where he excelled in both religious and secular knowledge. He later departed to Mount Athos and labored in the Vatopedi Monastery. When his harsh asceticism brought an...

Saint Monica was born about the year 330. She had a gentle disposition and always kept guard of her tongue, and by this she avoided the wrath of her short-tempered pagan husband. Monica desired to have her three children baptized, but her husband would...

Aaron was the brother of Moses. While God assigned the task of Israelite leadership directly to Moses, Aaron became an important leader in his own right.  At his first encounter with God, Moses expressed concern that he was not well-spoken enough...

Melchizedek was the king of Salem during the time of Abraham. He is briefly mentioned in Genesis as having offered a sacrifice of bread and wine to God, and he blessed Abraham. He is a mysterious figure, but the key teaching of the Church is that...

The Apostle and Evangelist Mark (also called John Mark) is the author of the Gospel of Mark. According to Church tradition, he was the young man who was seized by soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane and fled away naked (Mark 14:51-52). He was a...

Saint Hierotheus was the first bishop of Athens. He was a member of the Aeropagus (Mars Hill), and with Saint Dionysius, he was converted by Saint Paul. Together with the Apostles, he was present at the funeral of the Theotokos. He reposed in the first...

Samuel’s prophecies were a driving force in the era after the Israelites had settled in one land. His conception and birth, after his then-barren mother Hannah offered her sorrow to God and asked for His mercy and blessing, foreshadows the...

Saint Alexis Toth (or Tovt) was a Hungarian-American Greek Catholic priest. After being mistreated by a series of Latin bishops, he converted to Orthodoxy and worked tirelessly to bring other uniate communities into the Orthodox Church. Saint Alexis...

Saint Hypatius attended the First Ecumenical Council, where he boldly defended the Faith against the Novatian heresy, the false doctrine that a person could not be forgiven of sins committed after baptism. He was captured by their sect and martyred in...

Saint Raphael was born in Beirut in 1860. He spent the first decades of his life traveling throughout the Middle East and Russia, gaining knowledge and experience as a clergyman. Father Raphael was called to America and established a parish in...

Saint Clement was a monk, and later became bishop of Ancyra in Galatia. He suffered persecution for some 30 years until he was martyred under the reign of Diocletian and Maximian in 296. His feast is celebrated on January 23.

Saint Tikhon was the first Patriarch of Moscow after the patriarchate was restored in 1917. But before this, he served as Bishop of the Aleuts and North America, and became an American citizen. He worked tirelessly to establish new churches in America,...

After the deaths of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia, Bishop Anthimus fled to care for his remaining flock. When the soldiers found him, he pretended to be someone else and treated the soldiers kindly, offering them food and lodging. He revealed himself...

Saint James was a high-ranking official in the Persian Empire in the early-5th century. He and his wife were secret Christians, and in fear of being discovered, he offered a sacrifice of incense to the Emperor Barakhranes after a victory in battle. He...