Five Miracles of Saint Arsenios of Paros

By Archimandrite Philotheos Zervakos

Miracle 6

A woman named Helen Davaria, who lived in Paroikia, often went up to the Monastery and performed various tasks for the sisters of the Monastery. One day the Venerable Arsenios said to her:

"Child, here you come and work, what do the sisters give you for your labor? Do they pay you?"

"No, they don't give me money because they don't have any, but they give me bread, coffee, sugar and other things."

"From these things that they give you, do you give to some poor person, when he asks you or you when you happen to meet someone on the road?"

Miracles 1 - 4 of Saints Cyrus and John as Recorded by Saint Sophronios of Jerusalem

Sophronios states that he is opening his account of the miracles with a record of those miracles effected for people of Alexandria, where the Saints' martyrdom occurred at Menouthis, where their shrine is placed, and where many people can attest to their power.

The Miracles of Saints Cyrus and John

Miracle 1

Healing of Ammonios of Alexandria From Scrofula and a Stomach Disease

By St. Sophronios of Jerusalem (summarized)

There was a certain Ammonios in Alexandria, who held the office of octavarius and was one of the first citizens of the city. He had a fortune and took pride in his father, Julian, who had held for quite a long time an important office in the administration of the Church of Alexandria under Bishop Eulogios [581-608].

January: Day 31: Teaching 2: Holy and Wonderworking Unmercenaries Cyrus and John

 

January: Day 31: Teaching 2:
Holy and Wonderworking Unmercenaries Cyrus and John
 
(To Those Complaining About the Difficulty of Salvation)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Cyrus, today remembered by the Church, was born and educated in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. He was a famous physician and treated people for free; loving his neighbors with all his heart, he never took anything for his labors. Visiting the sick, he at the same time gave them moral advice and urged them to guard against sins, saying that spiritual illness is much more dangerous than physical illness. Often pagans, listening to the instructions of Cyrus, abandoned their errors and turned to Christ.

At that time, Diocletian reigned, a cruel persecutor of the true faith. When the governor of Alexandria was informed that Cyrus was spreading Christianity among the pagans, he was ordered to be seized. Having learned of this, Cyrus withdrew to Arabia and there continued to heal spiritual and physical ailments. Here he was joined by a young soldier, John, a native of Edessa; he began to study with Cyrus and imitate his holy life. Together they helped the sick and preached the word of God.

January: Day 31: Teaching 1: Saint Nikitas, Bishop of Novgorod

January: Day 31: Teaching 1:
Saint Nikitas, Bishop of Novgorod
 
(Prayer and Fasting as Weapons in the Fight Against the Devil)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Nikitas, Bishop of Novgorod, remembered today by the Church as a Wonderworker, was at first a recluse and monk of the Kiev Caves. Having been elevated to the rank of Bishop of Novgorod, he shepherded the Novgorod Church for 13 years, and was glorified during his lifetime with the gift of miracles.

At the beginning of his asceticism, when he withdrew into seclusion, with the aim of being glorified, he was deceived by the devil. The devil appeared to him in the form of an angel and said: "Do not pray, but only read and teach others, and I will pray instead of you." The holy ascetics, contemporaries of Nikitas, came to him, brought him to his senses, and, by their prayers and fasting, drove the devil away, and led him out of seclusion.

Saint Nikitas reposed in 1108, his relics were found in 1558 and are openly resting in the Novgorod Hagia Sophia Cathedral.

The Three Hierarchs and the Identity of Hellenism (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Three Hierarchs and the Identity of Hellenism

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

(A panygeric speech from January 30th 2015 delivered at the University of Patras)

The Course and Development of Greek Thought

Studying ancient Greek philosophy, we feel a sense of wonder at how it was able to study "being" and the world through different perspectives, yet having a unified infrastructure, how it developed and became a great movement of philosophy, religion and politics.

Two main points should be emphasized in this unity.

The first is that we have a continuous evolution of the way in which the ancient Greeks philosophized and practiced religion, but within the framework of the Greek consciousness. One observes with great astonishment how the ancient Greek spirit avoided stagnation and was distinguished by a dynamic course. One can delimit, despite the danger of the matter, some phases of the development of the Greek spirit.

At the beginning one observes the prevalence of magical religions, nature is worshiped, which constitutes an inferior religion. Then anthropomorphism develops, the worship of the gods of Olympus, as described in Homer and Hesiod. This anthropomorphism in reality embodies human desires for immortality, health, merriment, and power. Then appear the Ionian naturalists, who turn to nature, rejecting the religious view of the interpretation of the world. The original cause of the world is considered by Thales of Miletus to be water, by Anaximander to be the infinite, by Anaximenes to be air. Then appears the mystical way of life, the orgiastic phase of religion, as expressed by Dionysus, the Orphics and Pythagoras, who bring god within man and are mainly interested in dealing with pain. The ontological interpretation of nature, as expressed by the Eleatics (Parmenides) and Heraclitus, deals with the relationship and difference between "being" and "becoming". Also, the appearance of rationalism, as expressed by the Sophists, first of all Protagoras, who are considered precursors of the Enlightenment of the 18th century AD, who perceive truth not as an object, but as a subject connected to human thought. Subsequently, the idealistic, classical metaphysics of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle fought the anthropomorphism of God and made God an idea. Then the post-classical period of Hellenism expressed by the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers, who identified the nature of man with reason, spoke of the necrosis of the passive part of the soul and of course gave priority to eudaimonia, as they understood it. Finally, Neoplatonism with Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus and Proclus, which was the last glimmer of ancient Greek philosophy and especially of metaphysics, connected Platonism with Gnosticism.

January: Day 30: Teaching 1: Commemoration of the Holy Three Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom

January: Day 30: Teaching 1:
Commemoration of the Holy Three Hierarchs: 

Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom
 
(Against the Fascination With Spiritualism)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Long after the death of the Holy Hierarchs Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, whose memory is celebrated today, a dispute arose in Christian society about which of them was higher in dignity and closer to God. In order to allay this discord, which threatened the peace of the Church, the Saints appeared to John, Metropolitan of Euchaita, a learned and pious man, and declared to him: “We are equal before God. Inspire Christians to abandon discord and preserve unanimity. Set up a feast for us on one day; we will help all who remember us to salvation.” Having said this, they, illuminated by heavenly light, became invisible.

Archbishop Anastasios of Albania Resource Page

From Saint Kosmas to Anastasios of Albania

 

An Orthodox View of Contemporary Economics, Politics, and Culture

 

The Miracle in Albania

 

A Personal Story Archbishop Anastasios of Albania Once Told University Students in an Amphitheater

 

Churches in Albania: 150 Built from Scratch, 70 Restored and 160 Preserved 

 

Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana Consecrated  

Albanian Officials Order Seizure of Church in Permet

 

Ruined 15th Century Byzantine Church in Albania is Restored 

The Veneration of Saint Asteios (Asti) in Albania

 

Anastasios, Jewel of Resurrectional Life (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 

Writings 

The Relationship Between Orthodox and Other Christians

 

The Heresy Tackled at the Holy and Great Synod 

Mysticism (1 of 3)

Mysticism (2 of 3)

Mysticism (3 of 3)

The Epistle of Ignatius of Antioch to the Magnesians

Ignatius, who is also called Theophoros, to the [Church] blessed in the grace of God the Father, in Jesus Christ our Saviour, in whom I salute the Church which is at Magnesia, near the Moeander, and wish it abundance of happiness in God the father, and in Jesus Christ.

Chapter I.-Reason of Writing the Epistle.

Having been informed of your godlylove, so well-ordered, I rejoiced greatly, and determined to commune with you in the faith of Jesus Christ. For as one who has been thought worthy of the most honourable of all names, in those bonds which I bear about, I commend the Churches, in which I pray for a union both of the flesh and spirit of Jesus Christ, the constant source of our life, and of faith and love, to which nothing is to be preferred, but especially of Jesus and the Father, in whom, if we endure all the assaults of the prince of this world, and escape them, we shall enjoy God.

The Epistle of Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians

Ignatius, who is also called Theophoros, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly most happy, being blessed in the greatness and fulness of God the Father, and predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be always for an enduring and unchangeable glory, being united and elected through the true passion by the will of the Father, and Jesus Christ, our God: Abundant happiness through Jesus Christ, and His undefiled grace.

Chapter I.-Praise of the Ephesians.

I have become acquainted with your name, much-beloved in God, which ye have acquired by the habit of righteousness, according to the faith and love in Jesus Christ our Saviour. Being the followers of God, and stirring up yourselves by the blood of God, ye have perfectly accomplished the work which was beseeming to you. For, on hearing that I came bound from Syria for the common name and hope, trusting through your prayers to be permitted to fight with beasts at Rome, that so by martyrdom I may indeed become the disciple of Him "who gave Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God," [ye hastened to see me ]. I received, therefore, your whole multitude in the name of God, through Onesimus, a man of inexpressible love and your bishop in the flesh, whom I pray you by Jesus Christ to love, and that you would all seek to be like him. And blessed be He who has granted unto you, being worthy, to obtain such an excellent bishop.

January: Day 29: Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer

 

January: Day 29:
Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer
 
(On the Benefits and Saving Power of Invoking the Name of the Savior)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today the Holy Church celebrates the memory of the Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer.

Once the secular authorities reported him to Emperor Trajan that he did not allow Christians to participate in pagan celebrations on the occasion of Trajan's victories. Trajan, having arrived in Antioch, called for him. "Are you called a God-bearer?" he asked him. "And what kind of a name is that?" - "A God-bearer is one who bears Christ God in his soul," said Saint Ignatius.

Trajan tried for a long time to persuade Ignatius to renounce Christ, promising honors and riches for his renunciation. The God-bearer replied that it was better for him to suffer for Christ than to live, having renounced Him, in greatness and glory. Then the emperor condemned Ignatius to be devoured by wild beasts. And so Ignatius, bound with heavy bonds, was led to Rome for execution. He joyfully went to execution for his beloved Christ and consoled the Christians who came out to him weeping from the cities he passed by. He even had the fortitude to write several letters to the Christians on the way.

Prologue to the Complete Works of Venerable Ephraim the Syrian (Elder Theoklitos Dionysiatis)

By Monk Theoklitos Dionysiatis

The decision to publish [in Greek] the extant writings of our Venerable Father Ephraim the Syrian through "Perivoli tis Panagias" is certainly an inspiration from God, because his divinely inspired teaching has until now remained inaccessible to the Orthodox, not only because his works were rare in some monastery libraries, but also because the plain language of the old editions, under today's linguistic conditions, was "an enclosed garden and a sealed fountain" [Song of Songs 4:12].

Already with the "prudent and clothed" translation into the vernacular by the good and modest philologist Mr. Konstantinos Frantzolas, the divinely-illumined radiance of the sanctified heart and the enlightened mind by the Holy Spirit of the great Ephraim, become the inalienable property of the Greek-speaking Orthodox people.

Anastasios, Jewel of Resurrectional Life (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durres and All Albania was admitted to a Tirana hospital on 30 December 2024 due to a "seasonal virus", and was airlifted by the Hellenic Air Force to Athens four days later and admitted to Evangelismos Hospital, where he underwent emergency laparoscopic surgery to treat gastrointestinal bleeding. He died from multiple organ failure on 25 January 2025, at the age of 95.

By decision of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, his tabernacle was placed the following day at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens to be venerated by the faithful.

By decision of His Beatitude Archbishop Hieronymos of Athens and All Greece, on 26 January 2025 His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, as Vice-President of the Holy Synod, in the presence of the sacred tabernacle of the late Archbishop of Anastasios.

The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Albania declared a five-day period of ecclesiastical mourning. The funeral service will be held at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Tirana on 30 January, where he will be buried in a special crypt under the cathedral.

 

The following video depicts Metropolitan Hierotheos on the morning of 28 January handing over the sacred tabernacle of the late Archbishop Anastasios to the people of Albania at the border between Greece and Albania, sending him off with the singing of "Christ is Risen".

January: Day 28: Teaching 2: Saint Ephraim of Pereyaslavl

January: Day 28: Teaching 2:
Saint Ephraim of Pereyaslavl
 
(The Benefits of Building Temples and Charitable Institutions)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Ephraim of Pereyaslavl, whose memory is celebrated today, came from a noble family. He was the treasurer of the Grand Prince of Kiev, Iziaslav Yaroslavich, which means he was in charge of his entire household and economy. The bustling and noisy life at the court of the Grand Prince finally became a burden to him, and he decided to retire from the world. He came one day to Saint Anthony of the Caves and began to beg him to receive him into his cave. Saint Anthony accepted him and soon Ephraim was tonsured into monasticism. Since Ephraim took monastic vows without the consent of the prince, Saint Anthony had to endure many troubles because of him, and for some time he even had to leave the cave itself. But soon everything calmed down, and Saint Anthony and his brethren began to labor as before in their former place.

January: Day 28: Teaching 1: Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

January: Day 28: Teaching 1:
Venerable Ephraim the Syrian
 
(On Humility)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Ephraim the Syrian, now being glorified, lived in the 4th century. He was born in Nisibis of poor but pious parents. When he was still a child, God showed his parents his future greatness. They saw a vine growing in Ephraim’s mouth, growing and filling the whole earth with branches bearing fruit. Birds came and ate the fruit.

In his youth, Ephraim did not live entirely piously, and doubted God’s Providence. Finally, enlightened by a vision, he left the world and withdrew into the desert. Here, under the guidance of Saint James, later Bishop of Nisibis, he practiced asceticism and studied the Holy Scriptures. James took Venerable Ephraim with him to the First Ecumenical Synod. After the death of James, he moved to Edessa, in Syria, where he lived in the desert, which is why he received the name “the Syrian”.

Saint Philon of Karpasia as a Model for our Lives

St. Philon, Bishop of Karpasia (Feast Day - January 24)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Philon was born in Karpasia, Cyprus, in the 4th century AD and was the spiritual child of Saint Epiphanios, Archbishop of Constantia, Cyprus, who, appreciating his many gifts, ordained him Bishop of Karpasia. In fact, he esteemed him so much that, when he needed to be absent, he appointed him as his replacement on the Archbishopric throne. For example, when he traveled to Rome in 382 AD for ecclesiastical matters and later in Constantinople in 401 AD, shortly before his death, he assigned him the administration of the Archbishopric and, moreover, with the right to ordain Clergy.

The Karpasia region is the peninsula located at the northeastern tip of Cyprus, in which valuable Sacred Temples dedicated to the memory of Saint Philon were built at times, with characteristic frescoes, which, unfortunately, were removed after the Turkish invasion of 1974, and the Sacred Temples remain looted and abandoned.

January: Day 26: Venerable Xenophon and His Wife Maria

January: Day 26:
Venerable Xenophon and His Wife Maria
 
(On Devotion To the Will of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable Xenophon and his wife Maria, now being commemorated by the Church, were among the first nobles of Constantinople and at the same time were very pious people. Their two sons, Arcadius and John, imitated the piety of their parents. When Arcadius and John had grown considerably, their parents announced to them that they must go overseas to a foreign land to study various sciences. The obedient youths willingly set out on a long and dangerous journey, because they had a love for learning. The journey was at first favorable, but soon a storm arose, and the sailors had to lower the sails. The ship, damaged by the waves, began to fill with water. Everyone was terrified. Arcadius and John burst into tears and prayed to God for salvation. Meanwhile, the storm grew even stronger. Then the sailors, seeing no hope of saving the ship, went down into a small vessel and set out to sea to try their luck. Arcadius0 and John, seeing the sailors fleeing and the ship sinking, took off their clothes and exclaimed, "Farewell, dear parents!" and threw themselves into the sea. They struggled with the waves for a long time and were finally thrown ashore in different places. They considered each other lost and therefore did not dare go to their parents, fearing to shock them with sad news. Soon, however, the parents learned of the shipwreck and considered their children drowned, but they did not express despair with a single word, but "cast their sorrow before God," completely surrendering themselves and their children to the will of God.

January: Day 27: Translation of the Relics of our Holy Father John Chrysostom

January: Day 27:
Translation of the Relics of our Holy Father John Chrysostom
 
(On Slander)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The great Ecumenical Teacher and Saint, a profound interpreter of the Holy Scriptures, the organizer of the rites of ecclesiastical worship, nicknamed Chrysostom for his eloquence, the day of the transfer of whose holy relics is now celebrated, John, was born in Antioch in 367 to wealthy parents. Having received an excellent education, he neglected earthly honors and dedicated himself to the service of the Church. In the rank of Presbyter of the Church of Antioch and then Archbishop of Constantinople, he sternly denounced the vices of contemporary society. Leading a life of extreme abstinence and sacrificing everything for the poor, he tried to arouse compassion for them in others; with this goal in mind, he often compared in his preaching extravagance that knew no measure with appalling poverty, and thereby armed against himself the rich nobles and especially the Empress Eudoxia, the wife of the Emperor Arcadius. Slandered by the envious and haters for insulting the royal majesty, he was sent into exile in 404, first to the Cucusus (in Armenia), and then two years later even further to Abkhazia. Before reaching the place of exile, the Saint died in the city of Comana on September 14, 407, with the words: "Glory to God for all things." His disciple and successor, Archbishop Proclus of Constantinople, convinced Emperor Theodosius the Younger to transfer the holy relics of Chrysostom from Comana to Constantinople. The emperor, weeping over the relics of the Saint, asked forgiveness for his mother Eudoxia.

Two Sermons on Zacchaeus (St. Maximus of Turin)

By St. Martin of Turin

 

Sermon 95

On Zacchaeus

It has been my frequent wish, beloved brethren, to preach on the parable from this section of the Gospel and to speak of the grace of the wealthy Zacchaeus in words of great eloquence and to be abundant in praise of him, since he was free-giving for his own salvation. For who would not praise a person who was able to give his own wealth to himself and to acquire everlasting dominion for himself by owning temporal property? He gave his wealth, I say, to himself, because what we possess is another’s if we do not use it properly for salvation; for whatever seems to be mine will not be mine when I depart from the world if it is kept from being useful to me in the world.

It has been my wish, then, to preach on Zacchaeus’ wealth and grace – that of a rich person, clearly, and of one forever rich, because he merited to be richer to Christ than to the world, and he was wealthier in the possession of faith than in temporal goods. Zacchaeus must be praised, then, because although the rich are excluded from the glory of the heavenly kingdom (as the Lord says: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19.24)), he hastened to enter into the kingdom of heaven by means of those very riches and to pass through that strait and narrow needle’s eye with the twisted mass of his body. What is a ruinous hindrance to others was profitable to his salvation.

Homily One on the Fifteenth Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily One on the Fifteenth Sunday of Luke
(32nd Sunday After Pentecost)

By St. John of Kronstadt

Today's Gospel, beloved brethren, teaches us by the example of the chief of the publicans, Zacchaeus, the good science of giving alms to the poor, to repent in deed, and not only in word, and to satisfy our neighbors for the offenses we have committed against them (Luke 19:1-10). It teaches all, both rich and poor, the science of active repentance, the science of giving generously and within one's power of alms to the poor and by recompense to the offended, to acquire the great and rich mercy and favor of the Lord and the eternal salvation of the soul.

Zacchaeus was a publican, a tax-farmer, or a collector of taxes from his fellow citizens; and the tax-farmers often collected taxes, not without sin, and not without greater sin they extorted, so to speak, taxes from the people, often by all kinds of oppression and unrighteousness, if only to take twice or three times more than they themselves paid to the Roman officials appointed from Rome to collect, and to enrich themselves as much as possible at the expense of the people's need. And Zacchaeus, for this reason, was very rich and was very disliked by the people, who called him a sinner. But this sinner – wondrous are You, Lord, in all things! – with the coming of the Lord to Jericho and to the house of iniquity, came to his senses, knew the ugliness and ruinousness of the love of money, gain, unrighteousness with hardness of heart, and sincerely repented to the Lord of all his iniquities and became a righteous man. "Lord!" he said, "I will give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have wronged anyone in any way, I will repay fourfold." O blessed voice of the repentant publican, who felt all his blessedness from the visit to his house by the first Goodness and the Source of the blessedness of rational creatures! How the publican was suddenly reborn! He who had previously known only the art of making money and getting rich, now suddenly learned the good science of giving and distributing and carefully unwinding the ball that he had previously diligently wound.

Zacchaeus Was Consumed With the Desire To Know God (Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou)

By Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou

According to Cyril of Alexandria, Zacchaeus was consumed with the desire to know God the Saviour in person and to see Him. This is the seed of salvation and when this seed falls into the heart of man, he has a great longing to see Who the Lord is. Once he is possessed by this longing he will do certain things which will seem mad in the eyes of the world, but which will in fact prepare the way for his first meeting with the Saviour. Such was the case of Zacchaeus when he began to seek the Lord.

And this was the Lord’s desire, for the Son of God came to save sinners. It is hardly astonishing that He should want to save a chief publican: in every time and place, the Lord seeks out His own. Zacchaeus’ desire made him run ahead and climb a sycamore tree so that he could see the Lord. But what was happening in his heart was visible only to Him Who is both God and Man. The crowd could not see the transformation of his heart, nor could they understand the nature of his desire. But even before Zacchaeus had seen Him, the Lord had perceived the movement of Zacchaeus’ heart in a supernatural way, with the eyes of His divinity. He saw that the wild and greedy heart of the chief publican had now begun to soften and, melting with desire, had become transfigured so that he was ready to bear within himself the image of Christ.

January: Day 25: Teaching 1: Saint Gregory the Theologian

January: Day 25: Teaching 1:
Saint Gregory the Theologian
 
(On Reconciliation With Neighbors)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Gregory, Archbishop of Constantinople, whose memory is celebrated today, was famous for his exalted life. By the desire of the Emperor Theodosius and the people, Gregory was elected to the see of Constantinople and presided over the Second Ecumenical Synod. But when a dispute arose at the Synod over this election, the Holy Hierarch voluntarily resigned the see of Constantinople. “I willingly follow the Prophet Jonah,” said Saint Gregory, renouncing his office, “for the salvation of the ship (that is, the Church) I am ready to sacrifice myself.” After this, Saint Gregory devoted himself to a strict hermit life: he lived among the rocks, near beasts, walked barefoot, wore poor clothes, slept on the bare ground and never lit a fire to warm his body. He left behind many remarkable works, for which, especially for his works on God the Word, the Savior of the world, he was called "the Theologian". Like Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, he is called a Great and Universal Teacher. He died in 389.

January: Day 24: Venerable Xenia of Rome

January: Day 24:
Venerable Xenia of Rome
 
(The Feat of Virginity)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Xenia, now being glorified, in the world known as Eusebia, was the daughter of noble and wealthy parents who lived in Rome, and from her very childhood loved Christ and wished to devote her whole life to serving Him. But when she learned that her parents were arranging her marriage with a young man equal to her in wealth and nobility, and learned that they would not allow her to refuse a union with him, Eusebia judged according to the word of the Apostle, that "it is not right in the sight of God to listen to men more than to God" (Acts 4:19), and on the eve of the wedding celebration, when everything in the house was prepared for her entry into a new, even more brilliant than before life, she, at night, with two slaves devoted to her, hid from her parents' house, taking with her some valuable things that belonged to her.

The Holy Cave of Saint Dionysios of Olympus

Saint Dionysios of Olympus, known in the world as Demetrios Kaletsis, was born around 1500 in the village of Sklatina in Karditsa, in what is now Drakotrypa. After passing through the monasteries of the Great Meteoron in Kalambaka, Mount Athos and others, in 1542 he settled on Mount Olympus.

At an altitude of 900m. inside the Enipeas Gorge, on a naturally fortified plateau, between two streams and 18 kilometers from Litochoro, he built the Old Monastery. He dedicated it to the Holy Trinity, but later it became known as the Sacred Monastery of Saint Dionysios of Olympus.

Saint Dionysios lived an ascetic life in a cave under a rock, which is about a 20 minute walk from the Old Monastery. The place was named “Agios Spilaios” and is still preserved today, while it attracts thousands of visitors every year. The chapel next to the cell of the Saint is dedicated to the Nativity of the Theotokos and celebrates on September 8th. At the location is also a spring of holy water which gushes from the mountain.

The Last Legacy of the Byzantine Period in the Turkish Capital: The Church of Saint Clement of Ancyra

The Church of Saint Clement (Aziz Klemens Kilisesi) is located in the Altındağ district of Ankara. It was built in the 4th century and dedicated to Saint Clement, the bishop of the city of Ancyra at that time. Although it is known that other churches, monasteries and cathedrals were built in different years during the Eastern Roman period, it is considered the only Byzantine church in Ankara because it is the only example that has survived to the present day. The only remaining parts of the building, which was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman period but was completely abandoned after it burned down during the Ankara Fire in 1916, are one wall and a marble block with a Latin cross. The horizontal arms of the cross have been removed.  A few saved column capitals and window frames are exhibited in the Roman Bath Open Air Museum. Today the church is in danger of completely disappearing.

January: Day 23: Teaching 1: Holy Hieromartyr Clement of Ancyra

January: Day 23: Teaching 1:
Holy Hieromartyr Clement of Ancyra
 
(The Inconsistency of the Objections of Those Who Dissuade Themselves From Performing Deeds of Spiritual Mercy)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Clement, now being glorified, began to reveal the high qualities of his soul even in childhood. During the famine, when many pagans, having no food, abandoned their children in the streets and left by themselves, Saint Clement gathered them into his mother's house and fed them. Soon the house was filled with pagan boys, whom Clement took under his care. He cared not only for their bodies, but also for their souls: he taught them the Christian faith and tried to have them baptized.

II. When you give a coin or a piece of bread to a beggar, do not forget, brethren, that every Christian has a holy duty to help not only the body, but also the soul of his neighbor; among them there are many beggars with knowledge of God. At every convenient opportunity, tell the beggar what you know about God and His holy law - and you will act as Saint Clement did.

"Saint Bessarion, I Can't Reach To Kiss You": A Miracle Before the Relics of our Venerable Father Bessarion

A pilgrimage a few years ago to the Agathon Monastery has been deeply imprinted in our hearts and minds, where our late Holy Elder Kyrillos, in front of the shrine of the incorruptible Elder Bessarion, with the simplicity that distinguished him, told us about a miraculous event.

Present were the Abbot of the Sacred Monastery of Agathon, the late Elder Damaskinos.

Also present were Elder Gabriel, now Abbot of the Monastery of the Venerable David, then as the companion and subordinate of Elder Kyrillos, along with the Priest from Ypati, Father Demetrios Karagiannis, my brother George with his wife, and me with my husband Konstantinos and our son.

A little earlier, we had celebrated Divine Liturgy together in the Monastery of Great Meteoron, in Ypati, at the Church of Saint Athanasios of Meteora and we had with us the Holy Head of Venerable David, since the Elder had brought it with the fathers to Lamia.

There, in front of the sacred relic of Venerable Bessarion, the Elder told us that a few years ago, not far from the time of the transfer of the incorruptible relics of Venerable Bessarion, he had the desire and came to the Agathon Monastery to venerate the sacred relic.

At that time, the relic of the Saint was in the same place in the left chapel of the katholikon, but without the later glass cover of the wooden box, where it was initially placed. Thus, one could directly kiss the relic without the interference of the glass case.

As Elder Kyrillos told us, he wanted to kiss the hand of the Saint, which tightly holds the small Gospel, from the time of his burial. "So," he says, "as I approached the sacred relic with reverence and with faith I said pleadingly to the Saint: 'Saint Bessarion, I can't reach to kiss you (Elder Kyrillos was short and had difficulty moving while the relic was placed too high for him), please give me your hand to kiss.'"

The Saint then opened his hand, put down the Gospel, and Father Kyrillos, quite naturally, took his hand into his own. He raised it to the level of his mouth as if it were a living body with elasticity, kissed it with reverence and left it in its original position. Once again the Saint took hold of the Gospel and has continued to hold it tightly ever since.

Father Demetrios Karagiannis, rector of Saint Nicholas in Ypati, who was present at this scene, as a novice hymnographer, did not fail to recount this miraculous event, during which natural laws were visibly dissolved, in the Sacred Service that he recently composed in honor of Venerable Bessarion.

During Great Vespers, in one of the Prosomia, he mentions the following:

"A dreadful miracle was seen by you, when you offered to the hand of Kyrillos your Divine temporary dwelling - grace-flowing, august and revered - for the sake of being kissed, and now the divine words of the Prophet in the Psalms have been fulfilled, who in the Spirit said that the righteous will not taste death. Therefore, encircling the grace-flowing coffin, blessed one, we all ask for the graces of your intercessions, for the mediation of the righteous is very powerful before the Lord."

A Personal Testimony AND GLORY TO GOD,

Sofia Kalogirou

 

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

January: Day 22: Holy Apostle Timothy

 

January: Day 22:
Holy Apostle Timothy
 
(On Obedience to Spiritual Mentors)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. When the Holy Apostle Paul preached in the city of Lystra and performed a miracle there, healing a lame man, many of the inhabitants of that city believed in the Lord, including one Jewish woman. She, having received the Holy Apostle into her home, asked him to take her son as one of his disciples. The youth was called Timothy, whose memory is celebrated today. The Apostle Paul gave Timothy instructions; leaving Lystra, he entrusted him to other Christians and then, seeing that the youth was filled with faith and love for the Lord, he took him with him.

From that time on, Saint Timothy became the faithful companion of the Holy Apostle Paul and his beloved disciple. He labored with him and suffered persecution, visited Ephesus, Corinth, and many other cities and regions of Greece and Asia Minor with him, and zealously helped him spread the word of God. Sometimes, the Apostle Paul, fully trusting his beloved disciple, sent him to newly converted people to strengthen them in the faith. He was sent with such a mission to the Thessalonians and Corinthians. To Timothy himself, the Holy Apostle Paul wrote two epistles, filled with love and wise teachings. “But you, O man of God,” he says among other things, “flee the love of money, and strive to make progress in righteousness, piety, faith, love, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:11, 12).

January: Day 21: Teaching 2: Venerable Maximus the Confessor

January: Day 21: Teaching 2:
Venerable Maximus the Confessor
 
(Christians Must Confess Their Calling Without Shame)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In the 7th century, the false teaching of the Monothelites arose in the Eastern Church, who recognized in Jesus Christ one divine will with two natures, divine and human. The defenders of the heresy were two Patriarchs, those of Alexandria and Constantinople; it was also held by the Greek Emperor Heraclius himself, who issued a decree confirming the heresy. But the Orthodox teaching found a firm defender in the Venerable Maximus, now being glorified by the Church. He convinced the faithful by word and writing to stand firm for the truth. On his advice, the Roman Bishop Martin convened a Synod in Rome in 649, at which the heresy and its defenders were condemned. Emperor Constans II, the successor of Heraclius, himself an adherent of Monothelitism, ordered Martin to be seized and brought to Constantinople; Maximus was also taken with him. The fate of the latter was very sad. They tried to convert him to heresy by various tortures, kept him in prison, beat him cruelly, trampled him underfoot. But Venerable Maximus, despite the tortures, remained unshakable and firmly defended Orthodoxy. Finally, the emperor ordered his tongue to be cut out and his right hand to be cut off, so that he could not proclaim the truth either by word or by writing. After this, the Confessor was dragged through the city in disgrace and finally exiled to imprisonment on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. He endured much suffering before he reached his place of exile. Arriving there, the Venerable languished in prison for three years under the supervision of cruel guards and died in 662.

January: Day 21: Teaching 1: Holy Martyr Agnes

January: Day 21: Teaching 1:
Holy Martyr Agnes
 
(On the Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the Dead)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. When the Holy Martyr Agnes, whose memory is celebrated today, died, her parents were constantly at her grave, where they wept bitterly for their beloved daughter. But one night they saw maidens walking past them, brightly adorned with gold-embroidered garments and shining with heavenly glory. Among them was also Saint Agnes, in the same glory as her companions, and at her right hand was a Lamb, whiter than snow. And behold, Agnes, having asked the maidens to wait for her, said to her parents: “Do not weep for me as for one dead; but rejoice for me and rejoice with me, for I have entered the heavenly habitations with these maidens, and with Him Whom I loved on earth with all my heart, with Him I now live in heaven.” After these words the holy virgin became invisible.

II. The Holy Martyr Agnes, by her appearance from the afterlife, by her assurance that she did not die, but lives in the heavenly habitations with our Lord Jesus Christ, with this heavenly Lamb, slain for the sins of the world, proves to us the truth of the immortality of the human soul and the future resurrection of our bodies on the day of the General Judgment of God before the coming of the eternal kingdom of glory.

January: Day 20: Teaching 2: Venerable Peter, Who Was a Publican

January: Day 20:* Teaching 2:
Venerable Peter, Who Was a Publican
 
(On the Motivations for Philanthropy)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable Peter, whose memory is celebrated today, was at first a rich man, but unmerciful, and was not only deaf to the prayers of the poor who asked his help, but also cruel in his treatment of them. From such hardness the merciful God saved Peter in the following way.

One day, some beggars, talking among themselves about their benefactors, reproached the unmerciful Peter, from whom none of them had ever seen any alms. Then one of the beggars offered to ask the unmerciful rich man for alms, and for this purpose, stopping at the gate of his house, boldly and persistently asked Peter for alms when he was leaving the house with a lot of bread for the prince's house. Peter in anger looked for a stone to drive away the beggar, but not finding one, he grabbed the bread and threw it in the beggar's face, who picked up the bread and told his companions that he had received it from Peter himself. Two days later, Peter fell seriously ill and in a vision it seemed to him that he stood before a court where his deeds were being weighed. On the one hand he saw gloomy men collecting the sinful deeds of his life, on the other he saw light-bearing men standing in sorrow and not knowing what to put on the scales against the multitude of grave sins of the publican. Then one of the light-bearing men said that there is only one bread, which Peter gave in the person of a beggar to Christ and that involuntarily. Having put this bread on the scales, they saw that it outweighed all his evil deeds. The light-bearing angels said to Peter: "Go and add to this bread also alms, so as not to fall into the power of the devil and not be subjected to eternal torment." Coming to his senses, Peter thought: "If small and involuntary alms so contribute to deliverance from the powers of darkness, how much more can the work of doing good with zeal and generosity help." From that time on, he completely changed in his life – he began to distribute alms to the needy without meagerness, and not only to understand the holy feeling of Christian mercy, but also to live it and enjoy it.

January: Day 20: Teaching 1: Venerable Euthymios the Great

 

January: Day 20: Teaching 1:
Venerable Euthymios the Great
 
(Why Did the Lord Hide the Hour of Death From Us?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Euthymios, whose memory is celebrated today, was born in the city of Melitene, near the Euphrates. When, after the death of his father, his mother gave him to be raised by his uncle, a priest, he presented the boy to the bishop. The bishop loved Euthymios for his good behavior and made him a Reader in the Church, and then a Priest, and entrusted him with the management of the monasteries in the city. But Venerable Euthymios wanted solitude, and at the age of 30 he secretly left the city and after some time, near the Dead Sea, founded a lavra. The lavra was poor at first, but the monk firmly hoped in God, and God sent everything necessary for it.

One monk refused the obedience that was assigned to him. Suddenly he fell to the ground unconscious. Then, at the request of the brethren, Venerable Euthymios healed him and said: “Obedience is a great virtue. The Lord loves it more than sacrifice."

Mark the Eugenikos, the Champion of Orthodoxy (Photios Kontoglou)

Saint Mark the Eugenikos, the Pillar of Orthodoxy [Church of Saint Nicholas in Kato Patision of Athens - Painted by Photios Kontoglou, 1962-63]

 

By Photios Kontoglou

“To the superstition of our common people (if superstition ever produced any good) we Greeks of today owe our existence. Without this most fortunate stubbornness of our predecessors, superstition would have increased even more, and the numerous orders of Western monks would have devastated the territory of suffering Greece, and the Nero-like criteria of the Holy Inquisition would have inflamed the Greeks." - Adamantios Korais
 

Of a thousand and two things and people, most of them insignificant, we remember and talk about. But who can remember some venerable people who saved our race from spiritual tyranny. The fear of spiritual slavery comes to us from the West just as our material slavery came to us from the East.

January: Day 19: Venerable Makarios the Great

 

January: Day 19:
Venerable Makarios the Great
 
(On Prayer for the Dead)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today we commemorate one of the great ascetics of the Egyptian deserts, Venerable Makarios of Egypt, who lived in the 4th century A.D.

One day, while walking in the desert, Venerable Makarios saw a dry human skull on the ground. Turning it with his staff, Makarios noticed that the skull seemed to make a sound. “Whose skull are you?” asked the Elder. And from the skull came this answer: “I was the head of all the priests who lived here; and you, Abba Makarios, are filled with the Spirit of God. When you pray for us, who are in torment, we experience some comfort.” “What kind of comfort is this for you, and what kind of torment?” asked the Elder. “As the sky is distant from the earth, so great is the fire in which we are tormented. We are scorched on all sides, from head to toe,” the skull answered with a groan; “and we cannot see each other. But when you pray for us, we partially see each other, and this gives us some comfort.” Hearing this, the Elder wept and said: "Unhappy is the day in which a man transgresses the commandment of God." Then he asked again: “Do you have other, greater torments?” A voice was heard from the skull: “Others are even deeper beneath us.” “Who are these?” the Elder asked again. “We, who have not known God, still experience some of God’s mercy,” the voice from the skull continued, “but those who, having known God, have rejected Him and do not keep His commandments, they experience even more severe, unspeakable torments beneath us.” The Holy Elder then buried the skull in the ground and went away in deep thought.

Homily on the Twelfth Sunday of Luke (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Twelfth Sunday of Luke

On the Healing of the Ten Lepers

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Dear brothers and sisters, today we are offered a very edifying Gospel story about the miraculous healing of ten lepers by our Lord Jesus Christ. The Evangelist Luke narrates that the Lord, going to Jerusalem, passed between Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten lepers, who stood afar off, and cried with a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." And when He saw them, He said to them, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. But one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him; and he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, "Were not ten cleansed? Where then are the nine? How is it that they did not return to give glory to God, except this stranger?" And He said to him,"Arise, go your way: Your faith has made you well" (Luke 17:12–19).

Homily One on the Twelfth Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily One on the Twelfth Sunday of Luke
(29th Sunday After Pentecost)

By St. John of Kronstadt

“Were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? How were they not found returning to give glory to God?” (Luke 17:17–18).

Today the Gospel was read about the healing of ten lepers by the Savior, of whom only one returned to thank the Lord for the healing. But what kind of disease is this - leprosy, from which the Lord healed the ten lepers mentioned? In our area there are no such diseases: they are found in the East in hot countries. However, we have a disease somewhat similar to leprosy - this is smallpox, when it is in its most severe form, or a disease that occurs from an unclean life. Those suffering from leprosy usually have their entire body covered with a kind of crust and wounds, their eyes become purulent, their entire face and tongue swell, and an unbearable stench comes from the mouth and the whole body. Finally, when the disease reaches its highest degree, all the hair on the head falls out; the wounds eat through the body to the bones and become covered with worms; the limbs fall off, and the sick, exhausted by suffering, dies. Anyone who showed signs of this disease was considered unclean and was required by law to immediately appear before the priest, who would decide whether he really had leprosy. If this was the case, then the sick, because of the extreme contagiousness of this disease, was excommunicated from his own family and driven out of the city or village. Those expelled retired to the forests, built huts for themselves there and lived, eating what their relatives brought them.

January: Day 18: Saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria

January: Day 18:
Saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria
 
(On the Means of Rebuking Those Who Are in Error)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Among the fearless confessors of the holy faith, who courageously denounced heretics, are the great saints Athanasius and Cyril, now being glorified.

Still young, not yet ordained as a priest, while deacon of the Alexandrian Church, Athanasius, at the First Ecumenical Synod in 325 A.D. denounced more strongly than others the godless Arius, who falsely taught about the Son of God. His bright mind, thorough knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, the irresistible power of his words surprised the unrighteous-minded and aroused the hatred of his enemies. At the Synod, Arius's teaching was refuted. Arius was then condemned and sent into exile. From that time on, the life of Saint Athanasius became a series of sufferings and severe sorrows. And something that the malice and hatred of his enemies, the Arians, did not bring upon him. Soon after the Synod, the Archbishop of Alexandria died, and Saint Athanasius was made his successor. He was accused of taking unfair income from churches, and the emperor was assured that Athanasius was helping his enemies, that he was cruel to the clergy, and had even killed one bishop. He was banished from Alexandria five times, but the Saint endured everything complacently, zealously continuing to affirm Orthodoxy in his exile. He died in 373 after forty-seven years of ruling his flock.

January: Day 17: Venerable Anthony the Great

January: Day 17:
Venerable Anthony the Great
 
(The Power of the Word of God, Work and Prayer in the Work of Saving Man)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Anthony, whose memory is celebrated today, was born in Egypt in the middle of the 3rd century to rich and noble Christians and was raised by them in the fear of God and Christian piety. Frequently visiting the temple of God and listening attentively to the word of God, he once heard the words from the Gospel: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come and follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). These words sank deep into his heart, and he decided to part with the world and its treasures forever, he sold the rich inheritance received from his parents and gave the money to the poor. He had a sister in his care - he made arrangements for her, and he himself decided to serve God in complete solitude, and settled beyond the Nile River in a cave. Here he spent his time in work and prayer and in the strictest abstinence. He ate only bread and water, ate food after sunset and not every day. Sometimes he did not sleep for several days in a row, prayed at night, and wove baskets during the day, with which he bought himself bread. His desert life was hard! Cold, hunger, and heat - he experienced everything. And most importantly: he had to endure much from the enemy of the human race - the devil. The devil wanted to drive him out of the desert. And so around his solitude the ascetic often heard noises, and the likenesses of lions, wolves, snakes, scorpions appeared, all these likenesses threatened to attack him and rushed into his cave. The ascetic was horrified and trembled. The feeling of fear changed to regret about the money he had given away, about the pleasures of life he had left behind. He often became despondent, yearned, wept - his situation was most unbearable. In the midst of such a struggle and spiritual confusion, he once exclaimed: "Lord! What should I do? I want to be saved, but my thoughts are hindering me!" After these words he immediately saw before him a man who was working, and after working he began to pray, and after praying he began to work again. It was an angel sent from God to enlighten Venerable Anthony. Venerable Anthony understood what he needed to do. He increased his work and prayer, and after 20 years of staying in the coastal cave he finally achieved a bright and calm state of mind.

January: Day 16: Teaching 1: Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Peter

January: Day 16: Teaching 1:
Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Peter
 
(It Is Worthy and Righteous to Venerate the Chains of the Holy Apostle Peter)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the 16th day of January, the Holy Church celebrates a spiritual celebration in memory of one event from the life of the great Apostle Peter.

The event commemorated by the Holy Church took place in the first century of the Christian Church, when the Holy Apostles and all Christians were imprisoned and executed. It was not easy for the confessors of the Christian faith to live then. This is how the Apostle Luke narrates this in the Book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles:

"Peter [who was imprisoned by order of King Herod, to be executed after the feast of the Passover] was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the Church. And when Herod was about to bring him out [to execute him], that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, 'Gird yourself and tie on your sandals;' and so he did. And he said to him, 'Put on your garment and follow me.' So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, 'Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people'” (Acts 12:5-11).

January: Day 15: Teaching 2: Venerable Paul of Thebes

 

January: Day 15: Teaching 2:
Venerable Paul of Thebes
 
(God's Providence For Man)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable Anthony, who had labored for 70 years in the Egyptian desert, once thought that there was no other hermit in that desert and that he was the first hermit in the Thebaid; but the Lord revealed to him during a dream that there was another hermit in the inner desert who had begun to lead a hermit life before him and had pleased God with his labors. Having awakened, the Venerable Anthony took his staff and went to look for the one about whom the Lord had told him. The holy elder walked for three days in unbearable heat. In the sultry, rocky desert he saw nothing but the tracks of wild animals; finally he saw a hyena running quickly. Anthony followed it and came to a cave; but the entrance to the cave was closed. He began to beg the hermit who was in it to open it for him.

January: Day 15: Teaching 1: Venerable John the Hut-Dweller

January: Day 15: Teaching 1:
Venerable John the Hut-Dweller
 
(What Does Love for God Consist Of?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable John, who is today being glorified, was called "the Hut-Dweller" because he lived in a hut, or kalyva, near his parents' house. He lived in the 5th century, and was descended from rich and noble parents who lived in Constantinople. His parents gave him an excellent education. From his early years, John's soul harbored an extraordinary love for God. He loved to read spiritual books, which convinced him that everything in the world is futile, that no one and nothing can or should be the exclusive object of love for the human heart, except God, our Creator, Provider, and Savior. One day he met a monk, whom he begged to take him with him to the monastery. Having begged his parents for the Holy Gospel as a gift, John and the monk secretly sailed away on a ship to a distant monastery, where he stayed for six years, astonishing all the brothers with his exploits of piety. Then, by God's arrangement, he went to his parents' house in the clothing of a beggar, without revealing himself to them or being recognized by them. In time, at John's request, the steward of his parents' house made a hut or kalyva for him near their house, in which John spent three years. The Lord Himself appeared to the Saint and revealed that his soul would soon pass to Him and dwell with the righteous. Then Venerable John wished to reveal himself to his parents. Appearing before them, he gave them the Gospel which they had given him and said: "I am your son! It is not I myself who am the cause of your sorrows, but this Gospel. It has taught me to love God more than anything." What joy there was when the parents saw their beloved son, and how they regretted that they did not recognize him in the face of a beggar! John died soon after this, on the third day, being no more than 25 years old. At his own request, he was buried by his parents on the site of the hut, where they later built a church and a hospice. The holy relics of John were first kept in Constantinople and then transferred to Rome.