Icons

Orthodox icon of Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer (Theophoros).

Commemorated December 20.

The Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, was a disciple of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, as was also of St Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (February 23). St Ignatius was the second bishop of Antioch, and successor to Bishop Euodius, Apostle of the Seventy. According to Tradition, when St Ignatius was a little boy, Jesus held him and said: "Unless you turn and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven "(Mt. 18:3). The Saint was called God-Bearer (Theophoros), because he bore God in his heart and prayed unceasingly to Him and because he was held in the arms of Christ. 

THE TEXT ON THE SCROLL: "What I want is God’s bread, which is the flesh of Christ, who came from David’s line; and for drink I want his blood: an immortal love feast indeed!" (Epistle of St. Ignatius to the Romans)

Orthodox icon of Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer (Theophoros) (2).

Commemorated December 20.

The Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, was a disciple of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, as was also of St Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (February 23). St Ignatius was the second bishop of Antioch, and successor to Bishop Euodius, Apostle of the Seventy. According to Tradition, when St Ignatius was a little boy, Jesus held him and said: "Unless you turn and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven "(Mt. 18:3). The Saint was called God-Bearer (Theophoros), because he bore God in his heart and prayed unceasingly to Him and because he was held in the arms of Christ. 

THE TEXT ON THE SCROLL: "What I want is God’s bread, which is the flesh of Christ, who came from David’s line; and for drink I want his blood: an immortal love feast indeed!" (Epistle of St. Ignatius to the Romans)

Orthodox icon of Saint Ioannikios the Great.

Commemorated November 4.

Saint Joannicius the Great was born in Bithynia in the year 752 in the village of Marikat. His parents were destitute and could not provide him even the basics of an education. From childhood he had to tend the family cattle, their sole wealth. Love for God and prayer completely dominated the soul of the child Joannicius. Often, having shielded the herd with the Sign of the Cross, he went to a secluded place and spent the whole day praying, and neither thieves nor wild beasts came near his herd.

By order of the emperor Leo IV (775-780), a multitude of officials went through the cities and towns to draft young men for military service. Young Joannicius was also drafted into the imperial army. He earned the respect of his fellow soldiers for his good disposition, but he was also a brave soldier who struck fear in the hearts of his enemies. St Joannicius served in the imperial army for six years. More than once he was rewarded by his commanders and the emperor. But military service weighed heavily on him, his soul thirsted for spiritual deeds and solitude.

St Joannicius, having renounced the world, longed to go at once into the wilderness. However, on the advice of an Elder experienced in monastic life, he spent a further two years at the monastery. Here the saint became accustomed to monastic obedience, to monastic rules and practices. He studied reading and writing, and he learned thirty Psalms of David by heart. After this, commanded by God to go to a certain mountain, the monk withdrew into the wilderness. For three years he remained in deep solitude in the wilderness, and only once a month a shepherd brought him some bread and water.

The ascetic spent day and night in prayer and psalmody. After each verse of singing the Psalms St Joannicius made a prayer, which the Orthodox Church keeps to this day in a somewhat altered form, The Father is my hope, the Son is my refuge, the Holy Spirit is my protection. By chance, he encountered some of his former companions from military service. The saint fled the wilderness and withdrew to Mount Kountourea to hide himself from everyone. Only after twelve years of ascetic life did the hermit accept monastic tonsure. The saint spent three years in seclusion after being tonsured. wrapped in chains, Then he went to a place called Chelidon to see the great ascetic St George (February 21).

The ascetics spent three years together. During this time St Joannicius learned the entire Psalter by heart. As he grew older, St Joannicius settled in the Antidiev monastery and dwelt there in seclusion until his death. St Joannicius spent seventy years in ascetic deeds and attained to a high degree of spiritual perfection. Through the mercy of God the saint acquired the gift of prophecy, as his disciple Pachomius has related. The Elder also levitated above the ground when he prayed. Once, he crossed a river flooded to overflowing.

The saint could make himself invisible for people and make others also hidden from sight. Once, St Joannicius led Greek captives out of prison under the very eyes of the guards. Poison and fire, with which the envious wanted to destroy the saint, did him no harm, and predatory beasts did not touch him. He freed the island of Thasos from a multitude of snakes. St Joannicius also saved a young nun who was preparing to leave the monastery to marry; he took upon himself the agonized maiden's suffering of passion, and by fasting and prayer, he overcame the seductive assault of the devil. Foreseeing his death, St Joannicius fell asleep in the Lord on November 4, 846, at the age of 94.

Reference: O.C.A.

Orthodox icon of Saint Ioannikios the Great (2)

Commemorated November 4.

Saint Joannicius the Great was born in Bithynia in the year 752 in the village of Marikat. His parents were destitute and could not provide him even the basics of an education. From childhood he had to tend the family cattle, their sole wealth. Love for God and prayer completely dominated the soul of the child Joannicius. Often, having shielded the herd with the Sign of the Cross, he went to a secluded place and spent the whole day praying, and neither thieves nor wild beasts came near his herd.

By order of the emperor Leo IV (775-780), a multitude of officials went through the cities and towns to draft young men for military service. Young Joannicius was also drafted into the imperial army. He earned the respect of his fellow soldiers for his good disposition, but he was also a brave soldier who struck fear in the hearts of his enemies. St Joannicius served in the imperial army for six years. More than once he was rewarded by his commanders and the emperor. But military service weighed heavily on him, his soul thirsted for spiritual deeds and solitude.

St Joannicius, having renounced the world, longed to go at once into the wilderness. However, on the advice of an Elder experienced in monastic life, he spent a further two years at the monastery. Here the saint became accustomed to monastic obedience, to monastic rules and practices. He studied reading and writing, and he learned thirty Psalms of David by heart. After this, commanded by God to go to a certain mountain, the monk withdrew into the wilderness. For three years he remained in deep solitude in the wilderness, and only once a month a shepherd brought him some bread and water.

The ascetic spent day and night in prayer and psalmody. After each verse of singing the Psalms St Joannicius made a prayer, which the Orthodox Church keeps to this day in a somewhat altered form, The Father is my hope, the Son is my refuge, the Holy Spirit is my protection. By chance, he encountered some of his former companions from military service. The saint fled the wilderness and withdrew to Mount Kountourea to hide himself from everyone. Only after twelve years of ascetic life did the hermit accept monastic tonsure. The saint spent three years in seclusion after being tonsured. wrapped in chains, Then he went to a place called Chelidon to see the great ascetic St George (February 21).

The ascetics spent three years together. During this time St Joannicius learned the entire Psalter by heart. As he grew older, St Joannicius settled in the Antidiev monastery and dwelt there in seclusion until his death. St Joannicius spent seventy years in ascetic deeds and attained to a high degree of spiritual perfection. Through the mercy of God the saint acquired the gift of prophecy, as his disciple Pachomius has related. The Elder also levitated above the ground when he prayed. Once, he crossed a river flooded to overflowing.

The saint could make himself invisible for people and make others also hidden from sight. Once, St Joannicius led Greek captives out of prison under the very eyes of the guards. Poison and fire, with which the envious wanted to destroy the saint, did him no harm, and predatory beasts did not touch him. He freed the island of Thasos from a multitude of snakes. St Joannicius also saved a young nun who was preparing to leave the monastery to marry; he took upon himself the agonized maiden's suffering of passion, and by fasting and prayer, he overcame the seductive assault of the devil. Foreseeing his death, St Joannicius fell asleep in the Lord on November 4, 846, at the age of 94.

Reference: O.C.A.

Orthodox icon of Saint Irenaeus, Irineos, Ireneus of Lyon (France).

Commemorated August 23.

The Hieromartyr Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, was born in the year 130 in the city of Smyrna (Asia Minor). He received there the finest education, studying poetics, philosophy, rhetoric, and the rest of the classical sciences considered necessary for a young man of the world. His guide in the truths of the Christian Faith was a disciple of the Apostle John the Theologian, St Polycarp of Smyrna (February 23).

St Polycarp baptized the youth, and afterwards ordained him presbyter and sent him to a city in Gaul then named Lugdunum [the present day Lyons in France] to the dying bishop Pothinus. A commission was soon entrusted to St Irenaeus. He was to deliver a letter from the confessors of Lugdunum to the holy Bishop Eleutherius of Rome (177-190). While he was away, all the known Christians were thrown into prison. After the martyric death of Bishop Pothinus, St Irenaeus was chosen a year later (in 178) as Bishop of Lugdunum.

During this time, St Gregory of Tours (November 17) writes concerning him, by his preaching he transformed all Lugdunum into a Christian city! When the persecution against Christians quieted down, the saint expounded upon the Orthodox teachings of faith in one of his fundamental works under the title: Detection and Refutation of the Pretended but False Gnosis. It is usually called Five Books against Heresy (Adversus Haereses).

At that time there appeared a series of religious-philosophical gnostic teachings. The Gnostics [from the Greek word gnosis meaning knowledge taught that God cannot be incarnate [i.e. born in human flesh], since matter is imperfect and manifests itself as the bearer of evil. They taught also that the Son of God is only an outflowing (emanation) of Divinity. Together with Him from the Divinity issues forth a hierarchical series of powers ( aeons, the unity of which comprise the Pleroma, i.e. Fullness.

The world is not made by God Himself, but by the aeons or the Demiourgos,  which is below the Pleroma. In refuting the heresy of Valentinus, St Irenaeus presents the Orthodox teaching of salvation. The Word of God, Jesus Christ, through His inexplicable blessedness caused it to be, that we also, should be made that which He is ... , taught St Irenaeus.

Jesus Christ the Son of God, through exceedingly great love for His creation, condescended to be born of a Virgin, having united mankind with God in His own Self. Through the Incarnation of God, creation becomes co-imaged and co-bodied to the Son of God. Salvation consists in the Sonship and Theosis  (Divinization) of mankind. In the refutation of another heretic, Marcian, who denied the divine origin of the Old Testament, the saint affirms the same divine inspiration of the Old and the New Testaments: It is one and the same Spirit of God Who proclaimed through the prophets the precise manner of the Lord's coming, wrote the saint.

Through the apostles, He preached that the fulness of time of the filiation had arrived, and that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. The successors of the Apostles have received from God the certain gift of truth, which St Irenaeus links to the succession of the episcopate (Adv. Haer. 4, 26, 2). Anyone who desires to know the truth ought to turn to the Church, since through Her alone did the apostles expound the Divine Truth. She is the door to life.

St Irenaeus also exerted a beneficial influence in a dispute about the celebration of Pascha. In the Church of Asia Minor, there was an old tradition of celebrating Holy Pascha on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan, regardless of what day of the week it happened to be. The Roman bishop Victor (190-202) forcefully demanded uniformity, and his harsh demands fomented a schism. In the name of the Christians of Gaul, St Irenaeus wrote to Bishop Victor and others, urging them to make peace. After this incident, St Irenaeus drops out of sight, and we do not even know the exact year of his death.

St Gregory of Tours, in his Historia Francorum, suggests that St Irenaeus was beheaded by the sword for his confession of faith in the year 202, during the reign of Severus. The Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, St Polycarp of Smyrna, and St Irenaeus of Lyons are three links in an unbroken chain of the grace of succession, which goes back to the Original Pastor, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In his old age, St Irenaeus wrote to his old friend the priest Florinus: When I was still a boy, I knew you... in Polycarp's house....

I remember what happened in those days more clearly than what happens now.... I can describe for you the place where blessed Polycarp usually sat and conversed, the character of his life, the appearance of his body, and the discourses which he spoke to the people, how he spoke of the conversations which he had with John and others who had seen the Lord, how he remembered their words, and what he heard from them about the Lord ... I listened eagerly to these things, by the mercy of God, and wrote them, not on paper, but in my heart (Eusebius, Hist. Eccles.).

Reference: O.C.A.

Orthodox icon of Saint Irene of Cappadocia, Deaconess of Chrysovalandou.

Commemorated July 28.

Protector Saint of: Fertility Problems

This Orthodox icon shows Saint Irene who was the daughter of a wealthy family from Cappadocia, and was born in the ninth century. After the death of her husband Theophilus, the empress Theodora ruled the Byzantine Empire as regent for her young son Michael. St Theodora (February 11) helped to defeat the iconoclast heresy, and to restore the holy icons. We commemorate this Triumph of Orthodoxy on the first Sunday of Great Lent.

When Michael was twelve years of age, St Theodora sent messengers throughout the Empire to find a suitably virtuous and refined girl to be his wife. St Irene was chosen as a candidate along with her sister. While passing Mt. Olympus in Asia Minor, Irene asked to stop so she could receive the blessing of St Joannicius (November 4), who lived on the mountain. The saint, who showed himself only to the most worthy pilgrims, foresaw the arrival of St Irene, and also her future life. The holy ascetic welcomed her and told her to proceed to Constantinople, where the women monastery of Chrysovalantou had need of her.

Amazed at his clairvoyance, Irene fell to the ground and asked St Joannicius for his blessing. After blessing her and giving her spiritual counsel, he sent her on her way. When the party arrived in Constantinople, Irene's relatives met her with great ceremony. Since the steps of a man are rightly ordered by the Lord  (Ps. 36/37:23), God arranged for Michael to marry another girl a few days before, so that Irene might be free to become a bride of Christ. Far from being disappointed, Irene rejoiced at this turn of events. Remembering the words of St Joannicius, Irene visited the Monastery of Chrysovalantou.

She was so impressed by the nuns and their way of life that she freed her slaves and distributed her wealth to the poor. She exchanged her fine clothing for the simple garb of a nun, and served the sisters with great humility and obedience. The abbess was impressed with the way that Irene performed the most menial and disagreeable tasks without complaint. St Irene often read the Lives of the Saints in her cell, imitating their virtues to the best of her ability. She often stood in prayer all night with her hands raised like Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 17:11-13).

St Irene spent the next few years in spiritual struggles defeating the assaults of the demons, and bringing forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). When the abbess sensed the approach of death, she told the other nuns that they should not accept anyone but Irene as the new abbess. Irene was not told of the abbess's instructions, and when she died the community sent representatives to go and seek the advice of the patriarch, St Methodius (June 14). He asked them whom they wanted as their superior. They replied that they believed he would be guided by the Holy Spirit. Without knowing of the late abbess's instructions to the nuns, he asked if there was a humble nun by the name of Irene in their monastery.

If so, he said, they should choose her. The nuns rejoiced and gave thanks to God. St Methodius elevated Irene to the rank of abbess and advised her how to guide those in her charge. Returning to the monastery, Irene prayed that God would help her to care for those under her, and redoubled her own spiritual efforts. She displayed great wisdom in leading the nuns, and received many revelations from God to assist her in carrying out her duties. She also asked for the gift of clairvoyance so that she would know what trials awaited her nuns. Thus, she was in a better position to give them the proper advice.

She never used this knowledge to embarrass others, but only to correct their confessions in a way which let them know that she possessed certain spiritual gifts. Saint Irene had many gifts including clairvoyance. She was visited by saints and angels who guided her. She could see the needs of other who came to her for spiritual help and because she knew even what they would not tell her, she could give them effective direction. St Irene performed many miracles during her life we will account for one here. On great Feasts it was her habit to keep vigil in the monastery courtyard under the starry skies. Once, a nun who was unable to sleep left her cell and went into the courtyard.

There she saw Abbess Irene levitating a few feet above the ground, completely absorbed in prayer. The astonished nun also noticed that two cypress trees had bowed their heads to the ground, as if in homage. When she finished praying, Irene blessed the trees and they returned to their upright position. Afraid that this might be a temptation from the demons, the nun returned the next night to see if she had been mistaken. Again she saw Irene levitating as she prayed, and the cypress trees bowing down.

The nun tied handkerchiefs to the tops of the two trees before they went back to their places. When the other sisters saw the handkerchiefs atop the trees, they began to wonder who had put them there. Then the nun who had witnessed these strange events revealed to the others what she had seen. When St Irene learned that the nun had witnessed the miracle and told the others, she was very upset. She warned them not to speak of it to anyone until after her death. Irene kept the feast of St. Basil especially holy because they both came from Cappadocia.

After the feast day of St. Basil, during the third watch of the night, she heard a voice saying, "Welcome the sailor who brings fruit to you today and eat it with joy; let your soul rejoice;" followed by a similar voice during Matins saying, "Go to the door and bring in the sailor who is visiting you." She invited the sailor in and greeted one another, and stayed until the end of the Liturgy. After Liturgy, Irene enquired after the sailor's journey, to which he replied, "I am a sailor from Patinas and I joined a boat coming to this town for business.

As we were passing the coast of that island, we saw a very old man on the shore who called to us to wait for him. We could not because we were near the rocks, so with a good wind behind us we left. He then shouted all the more loudly ordering the boat to stop. This it did at once. Then he came to us walking on the waves and soon entered the boat. Then taking three apples from beneath his cloak, he gave them to me saying, 'When you go to the capital, give these to the patriarch and tell him that the Almighty sends them to him from His beloved disciple, John.' After that he took another three and asked that these be presented to you, the abbess of Chrysovalantou.

To you he said, 'Eat these and all that your beautiful soul desires will be granted you because this gift comes to you from John in Paradise.' Having said this he blessed God, wished us well, and disappeared." Irene offered a prayer of thanksgiving, with tears of joy, for St. John the Theologian, the Apostle, Evangelist, and beloved disciple of Christ. The sailor asked for a blessing and left the monastery. Irene fasted for a week, thanking God for the apples. After this, she ate small pieces of the first apple daily, without any other form of sustenance, for forty days; when she ate, she smelt as if she was exuding myrrh; during this time, the remaining apples became more beautiful and aromatic.

On Holy Thursday, she directed her sisterhood to receive Communion; after the Liturgy, the second apple was divided between them; when eaten, so sweet was the taste that the sisters felt as if their souls were being fed. The third apple was kept until Irene would know what to do with it. On Holy Friday, during the singing of the hymns of the Passion, Irene had a vision of countless radiant angelic beings entering the church: some with stringed instruments, singing beautiful hymns to God; others with goblets of myrrh, to be poured onto the altar, which filled the monastery with a wonderful fragrance. Among these beings was a particularly majestic man, a face radiant like the sun, who was treated with devotion.

He approached the altar and, taking the shroud offered to him by the other beings, covered the now-fragrant altar. The angel who stood by the altar, with great sadness, cried out to the majestic one, "Until when, O Lord?" to which a voice replied, "Until the second Solomon, when the heights will be united with the depths and all will be one. Then the Lord will be exalted and the memory of Irene will be glorified." Irene took this as confirmation of her teaching that no one, whether herself or another of the sisters, could be glorified until they achieved the Kingdom in death. Irene gathered the community, reiterating the necessity of running from worldly honor to achieve and behold the glory of God.

On July 28, St Irene called the nuns together in order to bid them farewell. She also told them to select Sister Mary as her successor, for she would keep them on the narrow way which leads to life (Matthew 7:14). After entreating God to protect her flock from the power of the devil, she smiled when she saw the angels who had been sent to receive her soul. Then she closed her eyes and surrendered her soul to God. At the all-night vigil, there were so many people rich and poor that the monastery gates had to be closed by force.

The next day, at the funeral, the even larger congregation was amazed at the beauty of Irene, who was over 102 years old. Throughout the funeral and burial there was an unexplainable and indescribable fragrance filling the monastery. In some parishes it is customary to bless apples on the feast of St Irene Chrysovalantou.

Orthodox icon of Saint Irene of Cappadocia, Deaconess of Chrysovalandou (2).

Commemorated July 28.

Protector Saint of: Fertility Problems

Orthodox icon of Saint Irene of Cappadocia, Deaconess of Chrysovalandou (3).

Commemorated July 28.

Protector Saint of: Fertility Problems

Orthodox icon of Saint Irene of Cappadocia, Deaconess of Chrysovalandou (3).

Commemorated July 28.

Protector Saint of: Fertility Problems

Orthodox icon of Saint Irene the Great Martyr (1). Copy of a contemporary icon.

Commemorated May 5.

The holy Great Martyr Irene was born in the city of Magedon in Persia during the fourth century. She was the daughter of the pagan king Licinius, and her parents named her Penelope. Penelope was very beautiful, and her father kept her isolated in a high tower from the time she was six so that she would not be exposed to Christianity. He also placed thirteen young maidens in the tower with her. An old tutor by the name of Apellian was assigned to give her the best possible education. Apellian was a Christian, and during her lessons, he told the girl about Christ the Savior and taught her the Christian Faith and the Christian virtues.

Apellian explained that the dove signified her education, and the olive branch stood for the grace of God which is received in Baptism. The eagle with the wreath of flowers represented success in her future life. The raven and the snake foretold her future suffering and sorrow.

It is said that an angel gave her the name Irene and instructed her in the faith. It was Timothy. the disciple of Saint Paul, who baptized her. Shortly after this, she destroyed all her father’s idols. he questioned her and ordered that she be bound. She was cast between many horses so they might trample on her. Instead, one of the horses, instead of harming the saint turned on Licinius, her father, crushing his right hand and slaying him. Afterwards at the request of bystanders she prayed for him and he was resurrected.  He then came to believe in the true God and di his wife, Licinia. 

Since St Irene had dedicated herself to Christ, she refused to marry any of the suitors her father had chosen for her. When Licinius learned that his daughter refused to worship the pagan gods, he was furious. He attempted to turn her from Christ by having her tortured. She was tied up and thrown beneath the hooves of wild horses so that they might trample her to death, but he horses remained motionless. Instead of harming the saint, one of the horses charged Licinius, seized his right hand and tore it from his arm. Then it knocked Licinius down and began to trample him. They untied the holy virgin, and through her prayers Licinius rose unharmed in the presence of eyewitnesses with his hand intact.

After Licinius renounced the world Sedekias rose to power. He tried to force her to sacrifice to the idols but she refused. He then ordered Saint Irene to cast into a deep pit filled with poisonous snakes and other reptiles. She persevered and emerged safe after fourteen days. Next they amputated her feet but through the miracle of an angel she was able to stand again on her feet. Next they bound her to  a wheel turned by the force of water. The water miraculously stopped flowing. as a result of these miracles many, eight thousand, came to believe in Jesus Christ.

Sedekias was ousted and his son, Saavor, fought with those who had deposed his father. Irene met him in Magedon and through her prayers his entire army was stricken blind. She again prayed that their sight be restored and it was. Even so those who were ungrateful pierced her heels with spikes and tied a sack of sand to her back and led her on a three mile March. But, suddenly, the earth opened up and swallowed ten thousand infidels. Because of these events there were thirty thousand infidels who accepted Christ as their savior. Savor still persisted as a pagan but shortly he died apparently the work of an angel sent by God. Saint Irene was then able to walk through the city unhindered and performing many miracles.

Next, the saint went to the city of Callinicus, or Callinicum (possibly on the Euphrates River in Syria). The ruler of that place was King Numerian, the son of Sebastian. When she began to teach about Christ, she was arrested and tortured by the pagan authorities. She was placed into three bronze oxen which were heated by fire. She was transferred from one to another, but miraculously she remained uninjured. Twenty thousand of idolaters embraced Christianity as a result of this wondrous event.

Christ’s holy martyr then traveled to the city of Constantina, forty miles northeast of Edessa. By 330, the Persian king Sapor II (309-379) had heard of St Irene’s great miracles. To prevent her from winning more people to Christ, she was arrested, beheaded, and then buried. However, God sent an angel to raise her up again, and she entered the city of Mesembria with an olive branch in her hand. She was accepted by the ruler who immediately accepted Christ and was baptized along with many others by Timothy.

When she returned to her home Magedon, she mourned the death of her father. She left her mother and went to Ephesus where she taught the people and performed many miracles. The Lord revealed to her that the end of her life was approaching. Then St Irene left the city accompanied by six people, including her former teacher Apellian. On the outskirts of the town, she found a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. After making the Sign of the Cross, she went inside, directing her companions to close the entrance to the cave with a large stone, which they did. When Christians visited the cave two days later, they did not find the body of the saint.

Thus did God glorify St Irene, who loved Him and devoted her life to serving Him. Although many of these miracles may seem improbable to those who are skeptical, nothing is impossible with God.
St Irene led thousands of people to Christ through her preaching, and by her example. The Church continues to honor her memory and to seek her heavenly intercession.

The holy, glorious Great Martyr Irene is invoked by those wishing to effect a swift and happy marriage. In Greece, she is also the patron saint of policemen. St Irene is also one of the twelve Virgin Martyrs who appeared to St Seraphim of Sarov (January 2) and the Diveyevo nun Eupraxia on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1831. By her holy prayers, may the Lord have mercy upon us and save us.

 Reference: G.O.A.A.

Orthodox icon of Saint Irene the Great Martyr (2).

Commemorated May 5th.

The holy Great Martyr Irene was born in the city of Magedon in Persia during the fourth century. She was the daughter of the pagan king Licinius, and her parents named her Penelope. Penelope was very beautiful, and her father kept her isolated in a high tower from the time she was six so that she would not be exposed to Christianity. He also placed thirteen young maidens in the tower with her. An old tutor by the name of Apellian was assigned to give her the best possible education.

Apellian was a Christian, and during her lessons, he told the girl about Christ the Savior and taught her the Christian Faith and the Christian virtues. When Penelope reached adolescence, her parents began to think about her marriage. One day, a dove flew through the window carrying an olive branch in its beak, depositing it upon a table. Then an eagle swooped in with a wreath of flowers in its beak, and also placed it upon the table. Finally, a raven flew in carrying a snake, which it dropped on the table.

Penelope was puzzled by these events and wondered what they meant. Apellian explained that the dove signified her education, and the olive branch stood for the grace of God which is received in Baptism. The eagle with the wreath of flowers represented success in her future life. The raven and the snake foretold her future suffering and sorrow. It is said that an angel gave her the name Irene and instructed her in the faith. It was Timothy. the disciple of Saint Paul, who baptized her. Shortly after this, she destroyed all her father's idols. he questioned her and ordered that she be bound.

She was cast between many horses so they might trample on her. Instead, one of the horses, instead of harming the saint turned on Licinius, her father, crushing his right hand and slaying him. Afterwards at the request of bystanders she prayed for him and he was resurrected. u00a0He then came to believe in the true God and di his wife, Licinia.u00a0 Since St Irene had dedicated herself to Christ, she refused to marry any of the suitors her father had chosen for her. When Licinius learned that his daughter refused to worship the pagan gods, he was furious. He attempted to turn her from Christ by having her tortured.

She was tied up and thrown beneath the hooves of wild horses so that they might trample her to death, but he horses remained motionless. Instead of harming the saint, one of the horses charged Licinius, seized his right hand and tore it from his arm. Then it knocked Licinius down and began to trample him. They untied the holy virgin, and through her prayers Licinius rose unharmed in the presence of eyewitnesses with his hand intact. After Licinius renounced the world Sedekias rose to power. He tried to force her to sacrifice to the idols but she refused. He then ordered Saint Irene to cast into a deep pit filled with poisonous snakes and other reptiles. She persevered and emerged safe after fourteen days.

Next they amputated her feet but through the miracle of an angel she was able to stand again on her feet. Next they bound her to a wheel turned by the force of water. The water miraculously stopped flowing. as a result of these miracles many, eight thousand, came to believe in Jesus Christ. Sedekias was ousted and his son, Saavor, fought with those who had deposed his father. Irene met him in Magedon and through her prayers his entire army was stricken blind. She again prayed that their sight be restored and it was. Even so those who were ungrateful pierced her heels with spikes and tied a sack of sand to her back and led her on a three mile March.

But, suddenly, the earth opened up and swallowed ten thousand infidels. Because of these events there were thirty thousand infidels who accepted Christ as their savior. Savor still persisted as a pagan but shortly he died apparently the work of an angel sent by God. Saint Irene was then able to walk through the city unhindered and performing many miracles. Next, the saint went to the city of Callinicus, or Callinicum (possibly on the Euphrates River in Syria). The ruler of that place was King Numerian, the son of Sebastian.

When she began to teach about Christ, she was arrested and tortured by the pagan authorities. She was placed into three bronze oxen which were heated by fire. She was transferred from one to another, but miraculously she remained uninjured. Twenty thousand of idolaters embraced Christianity as a result of this wondrous event. Christ's holy martyr then traveled to the city of Constantina, forty miles northeast of Edessa.

By 330, the Persian king Sapor II (309-379) had heard of St Irene's great miracles. To prevent her from winning more people to Christ, she was arrested, beheaded, and then buried. However, God sent an angel to raise her up again, and she entered the city of Mesembria with an olive branch in her hand. She was accepted by the ruler who immediately accepted Christ and was baptized along with many others by Timothy. When she returned to her home Magedon, she mourned the death of her father. She left her mother and went to Ephesus where she taught the people and performed many miracles.

The Lord revealed to her that the end of her life was approaching. Then St Irene left the city accompanied by six people, including her former teacher Apellian. On the outskirts of the town, she found a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. After making the Sign of the Cross, she went inside, directing her companions to close the entrance to the cave with a large stone, which they did. When Christians visited the cave two days later, they did not find the body of the saint. Thus did God glorify St Irene, who loved Him and devoted her life to serving Him. Although many of these miracles may seem improbable to those who are skeptical, nothing is impossible with God.

St Irene led thousands of people to Christ through her preaching, and by her example. The Church continues to honor her memory and to seek her heavenly intercession. The holy, glorious Great Martyr Irene is invoked by those wishing to effect a swift and happy marriage. In Greece, she is also the patron saint of policemen. St Irene is also one of the twelve Virgin Martyrs who appeared to St Seraphim of Sarov (January 2) and the Diveyevo nun Eupraxia on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1831. By her holy prayers, may the Lord have mercy upon us and save us.

Reference: G.O.A.A.

Orthodox icon of Saint Irene the Great Martyr (3). Copy of a contemporary icon.

Commemorated May 5.

The holy Great Martyr Irene was born in the city of Magedon in Persia during the fourth century. She was the daughter of the pagan king Licinius, and her parents named her Penelope. Penelope was very beautiful, and her father kept her isolated in a high tower from the time she was six so that she would not be exposed to Christianity. He also placed thirteen young maidens in the tower with her. An old tutor by the name of Apellian was assigned to give her the best possible education. Apellian was a Christian, and during her lessons, he told the girl about Christ the Savior and taught her the Christian Faith and the Christian virtues.

Apellian explained that the dove signified her education, and the olive branch stood for the grace of God which is received in Baptism. The eagle with the wreath of flowers represented success in her future life. The raven and the snake foretold her future suffering and sorrow.

It is said that an angel gave her the name Irene and instructed her in the faith. It was Timothy. the disciple of Saint Paul, who baptized her. Shortly after this, she destroyed all her father’s idols. he questioned her and ordered that she be bound. She was cast between many horses so they might trample on her. Instead, one of the horses, instead of harming the saint turned on Licinius, her father, crushing his right hand and slaying him. Afterwards at the request of bystanders she prayed for him and he was resurrected.  He then came to believe in the true God and di his wife, Licinia. 

Since St Irene had dedicated herself to Christ, she refused to marry any of the suitors her father had chosen for her. When Licinius learned that his daughter refused to worship the pagan gods, he was furious. He attempted to turn her from Christ by having her tortured. She was tied up and thrown beneath the hooves of wild horses so that they might trample her to death, but he horses remained motionless. Instead of harming the saint, one of the horses charged Licinius, seized his right hand and tore it from his arm. Then it knocked Licinius down and began to trample him. They untied the holy virgin, and through her prayers Licinius rose unharmed in the presence of eyewitnesses with his hand intact.

After Licinius renounced the world Sedekias rose to power. He tried to force her to sacrifice to the idols but she refused. He then ordered Saint Irene to cast into a deep pit filled with poisonous snakes and other reptiles. She persevered and emerged safe after fourteen days. Next they amputated her feet but through the miracle of an angel she was able to stand again on her feet. Next they bound her to  a wheel turned by the force of water. The water miraculously stopped flowing. as a result of these miracles many, eight thousand, came to believe in Jesus Christ.

Sedekias was ousted and his son, Saavor, fought with those who had deposed his father. Irene met him in Magedon and through her prayers his entire army was stricken blind. She again prayed that their sight be restored and it was. Even so those who were ungrateful pierced her heels with spikes and tied a sack of sand to her back and led her on a three mile March. But, suddenly, the earth opened up and swallowed ten thousand infidels. Because of these events there were thirty thousand infidels who accepted Christ as their savior. Savor still persisted as a pagan but shortly he died apparently the work of an angel sent by God. Saint Irene was then able to walk through the city unhindered and performing many miracles.

Next, the saint went to the city of Callinicus, or Callinicum (possibly on the Euphrates River in Syria). The ruler of that place was King Numerian, the son of Sebastian. When she began to teach about Christ, she was arrested and tortured by the pagan authorities. She was placed into three bronze oxen which were heated by fire. She was transferred from one to another, but miraculously she remained uninjured. Twenty thousand of idolaters embraced Christianity as a result of this wondrous event.

Christ’s holy martyr then traveled to the city of Constantina, forty miles northeast of Edessa. By 330, the Persian king Sapor II (309-379) had heard of St Irene’s great miracles. To prevent her from winning more people to Christ, she was arrested, beheaded, and then buried. However, God sent an angel to raise her up again, and she entered the city of Mesembria with an olive branch in her hand. She was accepted by the ruler who immediately accepted Christ and was baptized along with many others by Timothy.

When she returned to her home Magedon, she mourned the death of her father. She left her mother and went to Ephesus where she taught the people and performed many miracles. The Lord revealed to her that the end of her life was approaching. Then St Irene left the city accompanied by six people, including her former teacher Apellian. On the outskirts of the town, she found a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. After making the Sign of the Cross, she went inside, directing her companions to close the entrance to the cave with a large stone, which they did. When Christians visited the cave two days later, they did not find the body of the saint.

Thus did God glorify St Irene, who loved Him and devoted her life to serving Him. Although many of these miracles may seem improbable to those who are skeptical, nothing is impossible with God.
St Irene led thousands of people to Christ through her preaching, and by her example. The Church continues to honor her memory and to seek her heavenly intercession.

The holy, glorious Great Martyr Irene is invoked by those wishing to effect a swift and happy marriage. In Greece, she is also the patron saint of policemen. St Irene is also one of the twelve Virgin Martyrs who appeared to St Seraphim of Sarov (January 2) and the Diveyevo nun Eupraxia on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1831. By her holy prayers, may the Lord have mercy upon us and save us.

 Reference: G.O.A.A.

Orthodox icon of Saint Isaac the Syrian, of Nineveh.

Commemorated January 28.

Saint Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Ninevah, lived during the sixth century. He and his brother entered the monastery of Mar Matthew near Ninevah and received the monastic tonsure. His learning, virtue, and ascetic manner of life attracted the notice of the brethren, and they proposed that he head the monastery. St Issac did not want this burden, preferring a life of silence, so he left the monastery to live alone in the desert. His brother urged him more than once to return to the monastery, but he would not agree.

However, when the fame of St Isaac's holy life had spread, he was made Bishop of Ninevah. Seeing the crude manners and disobedience of the inhabitants of the city, the saint felt that it was beyond his ability to guide them, and moreover, he yearned for solitude. Once, two Christians came to him, asking him to settle a dispute. One man acknowledged that he owed money to the other, but asked for a short extension.

The lender threatened to bring his debtor to court to force him to pay. St Isaac, citing the Gospel, asked him to be merciful and give the debtor more time to pay. The man said, Leave your Gospel out of this!  St Isaac replied, If you will not submit to Lord's commandments in the Gospel, then what remains for me to do here?

After only five months as bishop, St Isaac resigned his office and went into the mountains to live with the hermits. Later, he went to the monastery of Rabban Shabur, where he lived until his death, attaining a high degree of spiritual perfection. From the early eighth century until the beginning of the eighteenth century, nothing was known about St Isaac of Syria in Europe except for his name and works.

Reference:O.C.A.

Orthodox icon of Saint Isidora, the Fool for Christ.

Commemorated May 1.

Saint Isidora, Fool-for-Christ, struggled in the Tabenna monastery in Egypt during the forth century. Taking upon herself the feat of folly, she acted like one insane, and did not eat food with the other sisters of the monastery. Many of them regarded her with contempt, but Isidora bore all this with great patience and meekness, blessing God for everything. She worked in the kitchen and fulfilled the dirtiest, most difficult tasks at the monastery, cleaning the monastery of every impurity. Isidora covered her head with a plain rag, and instead of cooked food she drank the dirty wash water from the pots and dishes.

She never became angry, never insulted anyone with a word, never grumbled against God or the sisters, and was given to silence. Once, a desert monk, St Pitirim, had a vision. An angel of God appeared to him and said, Go to the Tabenna monastery. There you will see a sister wearing a rag on her head. She serves them all with love, and endures their contempt without complaint. Her heart and her thoughts rest always with God. You, on the other hand, sit in solitude, but your thoughts flit about all over the world.

The Elder set out for the Tabenna monastery, but he did not see the one indicated to him in the vision among the sisters. Then they led Isidora to him, considering her a demoniac. Isidora fell down at the knees of the Elder, asking his blessing. St Pitirim bowed down to the ground to her and said, Bless me first, venerable Mother! To the astonished questions of the sisters the Elder replied, Before God, Isidora is higher than all of us!

Then the sisters began to repent, confessing their mistreatment of Isidora, and they asked her forgiveness. The saint, however, distressed over her fame, secretly hid herself away from the monastery, and her ultimate fate remained unknown. It is believed that she died around the year 365.

Reference: O.C.A.