On December 20, the Holy Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch. According to the Tradition of the Church, Our Lord Jesus Christ placed Ignatius – then a young boy – on his lap when he said: “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest[…]

  December 17, 2024, In the years following 600 B.C. Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians, the Temple built by Solomon was destroyed, and many of the Israelite people were led away into the Babylonian Captivity. Among the captives were also the illustrious youths Daniel, Ananias, Azarias and Misael. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ordered that[…]

  December 23, 2025, The Holy Martyrs of Crete – Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Gelasius, Eunician, Zoticus, Pompius, Agathopus, Basilides and Evaristus – were from different towns and villages scattered across the Greek island. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Decius, a fierce persecutor of Christians, they suffered brutal torture and died as martyrs for[…]

  December 18, 2024, The Holy Martyr Sebastian was born in the city of Narbonum in Gaul (modern France), and he received his education at Mediolanum (now Milan). Under the co-reigning emperors Diocletian and Maximian (284-305) he occupied the position of head of the imperial guards. Saint Sebastian was respected for his authority, and was[…]

  Usually, when we experience something unpleasant, we want to get out of that situation and cry out to God to save us. But God didn’t come to earth to save us from trials. We should say this: “Lord, this trial is a place of meeting with You. When You said: ‘In this world, you[…]