Saints

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,...

Saint Mary lived in the fifth century. As a girl, she left her Christian family in order to follow her pleasures in unbridled sinful living. At one point she joined a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem, selling herself in exchange for passage. When they...

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...

This contemporary Byzantine icon depicts Saint Gabriel (Urgebadze) the Fool for Christ. A renowned Georgian saint, he endured brutal persecution during Soviet rule and lived a long faithful life as an ascetic. His relics and intercessions have long been...

One day a nun from the nearby convent of Diveyevo, coming to visit St. Seraphim at his hermitage in the woods near Sarov, found the old monk being visited by a bear. Terrified, the nun let out a scream. The staretz responded by patting the bear and...

This finely-painted icon of the holy priest-monk Saint Paisios of Mount Athos is by the hand of American iconographer Mark Fiorenzo. It depicts the holy saint in his monastic habit, wearing the Great Schema and his distinctive knit cap. He holds a...

Saint Herman was a Russian monk and missionary to the native Alaskan peoples. He was sent to Alaska with a group of ten monks in 1794. After a decade of work, Saint Herman became the head of the mission and was the headmaster of the school. He was...

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...

Father Seraphim (Eugene Rose) was born in San Diego, California, in 1934. He was baptized in the Methodist faith, but later lost his faith and became an atheist. In the 1950s, he attended college and delved into Buddhism, art and culture in San...

Saint Dymphna lived in the seventh century. She was born in Oriel in northeastern Ireland to Damon, a pagan king; her mother was a Christian. When she was 14 years old, Dymphna took a vow of chastity. Her mother died soon afterwards. After the death of...

Saint Moses the Ethiopian, also known as Moses the Black, lived in Egypt during the fourth century. He was a slave, but after committing a murder, his master cast him out. Moses carried on with his sinful life, and was widely feared for his infamous...

  Saint Nikephoros born in Greece in 1887. He suffered from leprosy and was sent to live in a leper colony at age 13. He joined the monastery of Chios in 1916 at age 24. He bore his ailment and its disfiguring effects with patience, chanting in the...

This stunning fresco depicts the arrival of the Gospel to the natives of Alaska.  Saints Herman, Juvenaly, and Innocent were the first saints of the Orthodox Church to shine forth in the wilderness of Alaska. With a missionary spirit desiring to...

Saint Euphrosynos (or Euphrosynus) was born into a humble family in Alexandria in the ninth century. Desiring an anonymous monastic life, he entered a certain monastery in Palestine. His obedience was to cook for the brethren, and while doing so, he...

This beautiful icon of beloved Saint Euphrosynos is by the hand of American iconographer Mark Fiorenzo. It shows the humble saint in his monastic clothing, holding the three golden apples of Paradise mentioned in the account of his life. Saint...

Saint Katherine (also spelled Catherine) was a Great Martyr who suffered in the year 305 at the hands of Maximinus of Alexandria. She is commemorated in the Slavic churches on November 24, the date of her martyrdom. In the Byzantine churches, she is...

Mother Maria (Skobtsova) was a native of Latvia, born in 1891. As a teenager, she was drawn to the teachings of the Socialists. Eventually her concern for the poor led her back to her faith in Christ, and she returned to her native Russian Orthodox...

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...

Saint Elizabeth was born in Germany in 1864 to a noble family. At age 14 she was orphaned, and was raised in part by her grandmother, Queen Victoria of Great Britain. She married into the Russian Royal Family in 1884, joining to her husband, Grand Duke...

Saint Christopher of Lycia was a third-century martyr. Originally named Reprobus, the Roman authorities became aware of him when he converted a group of soldiers to Christ. He was baptized with the name Christopher, which means "Christ-bearer." This is...

Saint Demetrios (or Demetrius) was born in Thessaloniki in the third century. He was a soldier in the Roman army and exhibited every Christian virtue. During the persecution of the emperor Diocletian, Demetrios was imprisoned. While in prison he spoke...

Saint Moses the Ethiopian, also called Moses the Black, lived in Egypt during the fourth century. He was a slave, but after committing a murder, his master cast him out. Moses carried on with his sinful life, and was widely feared for his infamous...

This 17th century icon comes from the Hilander monastery on Mount Athos. It features four prominent warrior saints, from left to right, Demetrios the Myrrh-streaming (also spelled Demetrius/Dmitri), George the Trophy-bearer, Prokopios (or Procopius),...

The Apostle Stephen was the first deacon of the Church. For this, he is called "Protodeacon" or "Archdeacon," and as he was the first Christian martyr, he is called "Protomartyr." While performing his missionary work, he defeated some Jews in a debate...

Saint Cecilia was from a wealthy Roman family. Through her witness to the Gospel, she brought her husband and brother into the Faith. They suffered martyrdom in the year 288, during the reign of Diocletian. Her feast is celebrated on November 22. She...

Saint John Climacus ("of the Ladder") is depicted as a hermit, writing his well-known book The Ladder of Divine Ascent, which is a staple of monastic thought and teaching. He is commemorated on March 30 and on the fourth Sunday of Lent in the Orthodox...

Saint Silouan the Athonite was a Russian Orthodox monk who lived in the 19th-20th centuries at the Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos. He was a great elder, with supernatural insight and powerful prayer. He was glorified in 1987 and his feast...

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...

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...

Saint Christopher was an early martyr, suffering for Christ about the year 251. His feast is celebrated on May 9 in the Orthodox Church, and he endures as one of the most well-known and venerated saints throughout the world. The depiction of 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,...

On February 15, 2015, the Moslem terrorists of Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) executed these 21 Coptic Orthodox men for their Christian faith. The video which showed the brutal beheadings called them "people of the cross, followers of the hostile...

This 19th century Old Believer icon of the great penitent Saint Mary of Egypt comes from Mstera, Russia. She stands in the center, surrounded by scenes of her meetings with Abba Zosimas. She is commemorated on April 1, and in the Orthodox Church, the...

Saint Joseph was born in Greece in 1897. At the age of 23 he began to read the lives of the Saints, which sparked a yearning to enter the monastic life. He began to withdraw to the uninhabited countryside, and finally departed to Mount Athos. He...

Saint Mary lived in the fifth century. As a girl, she left her Christian family in order to follow her pleasures in unbridled sinful living. At one point she joined a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem, selling herself in exchange for passage. When they...

Saint Photeini (also known as Photina, Photine, Photini, or Svetlana) was the Samaritan Woman met by Christ in John 4. Their conversation is the longest recorded dialogue between Christ and a single person.  She had had five husbands and was...

The Holy Martyr Longinus was among the soldiers who crucified Christ. When he witnessed the darkness and the earthquake, he made his famous confession, "Truly this man was the Son of God." According to tradition, Longinus was also stationed at the...

Saint Theodore the Soldier (or "the Recruit," "the Tyro" or Theodore of Amasea) was a soldier and martyr in the early 4th century, enduring the persecutions of the emperors Maximian and Maximus. When it was discovered he was a Christian, a judge...

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...

Also known as Isaac of Ninevah, he was born in Arabia in the early 7th century. As a young man he entered a monastery and devoted himself to the monastic life. Later in his life, he was ordained Bishop of Nineveh in the north of modern Iraq. After just...