Icons From Mount Athos

Eight days after the Resurrection, we celebrate the "excellent unbelief of Thomas," in the words of one Vesperal hymn for the feast. His doubting and unbelief led the Lord to offer proof, which brings all of us to the knowledge of the risen Savior as...

Palm Sunday is the celebration of Christ's triumphal entry into the royal city of Jerusalem. Riding on a young donkey, he was met by a massive crowd who publicly hailed Him as king. They waved palm branches and laid their cloaks on the road before Him...

The Prophet Jonah (or Jonas) lived in the 8th century before Christ. He prophesied to the Israelites and the Ninevites, calling all to repentance. He also foretold of the coming Messiah. Jonah was eaten by a sea creature and spent three days in its...

The Church has received the tradition of the conception of the Mother of God from the ancient Fathers of the Church. The Virgin Mary was born to her parents about 16 or 17 years before the birth of Christ. Her father Joachim was descended from the royal...

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...

Although his parents were strong Christians, Ephraim (or Ephrem), born in Nisbis, was thoughtless and rebellious in his youth. It was not until his antics bordered on crime and he was accused of theft that Ephrem began to repent of his ways, and he...

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...

Saint Clement was converted to Christ through the Apostle Peter. He served as the third Bishop of Rome after the death of the Apostles, from about AD 91 to 99. His feast is celebrated on November 23 in the West, November 24 by the Greeks, and November...

As recorded in Matthew 26, a few days before Christ's death, a harlot came and anointed his feet with expensive ointment and wept for her sins. When they saw this, the disciples and especially Judas were angry. But Christ rebuked them and said she had...

Saint Gregory was elected as the 63rd Pope of Rome after the death of the Apostles in the year 590. He was known for his writings, especially the Dialogues, and his almsgiving. He initiated the first major missionary effort among the Anglo-Saxons. He...

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 Macarius the Great (or Makarios) was from Egypt. He struggled in the deserts near Skete in Thebaid, northern Egypt. He was called "the child elder" for his advanced wisdom and ascetic life. He was a renowned preacher, and some fifty of his...

According to Church tradition, after the bodily death of Mary the Theotokos, she was buried by the Apostles. But Thomas was delayed, and he desired to look upon her face one last time. When the tomb was opened, her body was gone (for Christ had already...

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...

The Holy Patriarch Abraham is commemorated on Sunday of the Forefathers (2nd Sunday Before Christmas) and October 9.

"And when they had mocked him they took off the purple and dressed him in his own clothes and led him out to crucify him. And they forced Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And...

Saint Gregory was born in 329 in Cappadocia. After his studies, he suffered in a shipwreck and feared for his soul, as he was unbaptized. God spared him, and arriving in Athens, he joined his friend Basil the Great. They lived as monastic brothers in...

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...

This detail from a large 16th century fresco depicts an Angel carrying a pair of ceremonial fans. On his back is the Epitaphion or Plashchanitsa, which represents the burial shroud of Christ and is used in the solemn services of Holy Friday and Holy...

Saint Cyril was born in Alexandria in the year 376. He was instructed in the faith by his uncle Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria. Cyril succeeded to the patriarchal throne himself in 412. When Nestorius began teaching his heresy, Cyril was a...

Saint George, sometimes called “the Trophy-bearer,” was born in the province of Cappadocia, Asia Minor (Turkey), in the third century and raised as a Christian. About age 20, he joined the Roman army under the emperor Diocletian,...

"Then Pilate released Barabbas to them, but Jesus he had scourged and handed him over to be crucified." (From the 5th Passion Gospel reading of Holy Friday in the Orthodox tradition.)

Saint Gregory was born in 329 in Cappadocia. After his studies, he suffered in a shipwreck and feared for his soul, as he was unbaptized. God spared him, and arriving in Athens, he joined his friend Basil the Great. They lived as monastic brothers in...

"At that time, Jesus went out with his disciples across the brook Kedron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Judas, his betrayer, also knew the place, because Jesus had often gathered there with his disciples. So Judas,...

The Lord's miracle of the healing of the man paralyzed for 38 years, as described in John 5:1-15, is celebrated on the third Sunday after Pascha (Easter) in the Orthodox Church.

This infanticidal slaughter was ordered by Herod, who was afraid of losing power to the one called "King of the Jews" by the Magi. Soon after the birth of Christ, all the male children in the Bethlehem region under two years of age were murdered. Mary...

Saint Nicholas was born in the third century in the city of Patara. His wealthy Christian parents died when he was young, and he gave his inheritance to the poor. Devoting himself to the Church, Nicholas was eventually ordained Bishop of Myra...

Saint Clement was converted to Christ through the Apostle Peter. He served as the third Bishop of Rome after the death of the Apostles, from about AD 91 to 99. His feast is celebrated on November 23 in the West, November 24 by the Greeks, and November...

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

"At that time Joseph of Arimathea, a noble councillor, who was also waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate wondered if he were already dead, and after summoning the centurion he asked him if...

Saint Cyrus was from Alexandria of Egypt. He attended university and became a physician, treating his patients free of charge and healing miraculously in the name of Christ. Under the persecutions of Diocletian, he fled to the Persian Gulf to join a...

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...

"But Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned him saying, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You say so.’ And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders he made no answer. Then...

Saint John became archbishop of Alexandria in 608. He fought against heresy throughout his episcopacy, but he is especially remembered for his generosity to the poor. He is also referred to as John the Almsgiver. He reposed in 619, at the age of 64...

"Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ And taking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee he began to grow sorrowful and distressed. Then Jesus said to...

The Church has received the tradition of the conception of the Mother of God from the ancient Fathers of the Church. The Virgin Mary was born to her parents about 16 or 17 years before the birth of Christ. Her father Joachim was descended from the royal...

After the Church was rocked by the heresy of Iconoclasm in the 8th century, the 7th Ecumenical Council proclaimed the ancient truth that images were a worthy and necessary part of Christian doctrine and worship, as they are proof of the incarnation of...