Lining with the Saints

September 5, 2014

Living With The Heroes Of The Faith

Many saints are known and loved at St Nicholas. Every day of the year has not just one but many saints associated with it. We are as a community particularly devoted to the saints of both the Old and New Testaments and many of us bear Biblical names. Some of us are also named after the saints of Orthodox England, Ireland, and Scotland reflecting our earthly families’ ethnic origins. We have many parishioners who are especially devoted to the saints of North America and the icons of American saints can be seen prominently displayed on the walls of our temple. Other parishioners bear the names of saints best known in Romania, or Bulgaria, or Greece, or Russia and Ukraine, or Egypt and Ethiopia, or Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon. An excellent article by Fr. John Oliver explains not only why we model our lives on the saints but also why we love them and cherish our relationships with them. It is available here: Everything Is Like an Ocean: On the Essential Role of the Saints.

We can never know about every faithful Christian who now rests in the glory of God but there are some saints that are mentioned every Sunday either during the Service of Preparation or during the intercessions of Orthros. These heroes of the Faith are not just pretty and exotic names but real people who lived and died in Christ. The fact that our Archdiocese remembers these saints so frequently shows us their importance. These are our special saints that unite us not only as Americans in our Archdiocese but also as members of the family of our Patriarchate. They also unite us in time with the Prophets and Kings of Israel, with the first Christian communities, and with every contemporary Orthodox community throughout the world. Every time a Divine Liturgy is served we remember these saints not only by asking for their prayers but also by setting aside a piece of bread for them when Fr. John prepares the Eucharist.

The following links will lead you to stories about these heroes of the Faith.

Mary, the Theotokos

Mary the Source of our Rejoicing by Bishop Basil of Wichita
http://www.antiochian.org/node/16812
Life of the Theotokos video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6cfu2AR_MM
The Life of Mary the Theotokos audiobook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqLQRLQBy9E

Michael and Gabriel, Leaders of the Holy Angels

The Angels According to Orthodox Tradition by Nabil Semaan
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/11/angels-according-to-orthodox-tradition.html

the Forerunner and Baptist John

http://orthodoxwiki.org/John_the_Forerunner

Prophets Moses and Aaron

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/09/prophet-moses-precious-cross.html

Prophet Elijah

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/07/20/102060-holy-glorious-prophet-elijah

Prophet Elisha

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/06/14/101718-prophet-elisha

Jesse the Ancestor of Christ

http://iconreader.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/root-of-jesse-icon-christs-family-tree/

David the King and Psalmist

http://orthodoxwiki.org/David

Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Children

https://oca.org/saints/all-lives/2011/12/17

The Twelve Apostles

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7065

St Peter, Apostle to the Circumcision
St Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles

The Seventy Apostles

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Seventy_Apostles

St Basil the Great

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2013/01/01/100003-st-basil-the-great-archbishop-of-caeligsarea-in-cappadocia

St Gregory the Theologian

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/01/25/100298-st-gregory-the-theologian-the-archbishop-of-constantinople

St John Chrysostom

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/11/st-john-chrysostom-patriarch-of.html
Speech by SOYO leader, Alexis Younes, on St John
http://www.antiochian.org/saint_john_chrysostom

St Athanasius of Alexandria

Life of Athanasius By St Nikolai (Velimirovich)
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/01/profile-of-st-athanasios-of-alexandria.html

St Cyril of Alexandria

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/06/09/101595-st-cyril-the-archbishop-of-alexandria

St John the Merciful of Alexandria

Lives of St John by St Nikolai (Velimirovich) and Leontios of Neapolis in Cyprus
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/11/st-john-merciful-on-judgements-of-god.html

St Nicholas of Myra, the Wonderworker

Life of St Nicholas by St Dimitri of Rostov
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/12/life-of-saint-nicholas-wonderworker.html
On St Nicholas’ continued protection of the community of Beit Jala in Palestine
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2012/12/the-cave-of-saint-nicholas-in-beit-jala.html

St Spyridon of Trimythous, the Wonderworker

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2008/12/st-spyridon-wonderworker.html

St Nektarios of Pentopolis, the Wonderworker

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/11/st-nektarios-wonderworker-bishop-of.html
Animated iconographic life of St Nektarios in English from Holy Dormition Monastery, Hammatoura, Lebanon
http://www.hamatoura.com/GreetingCard/Greetings.php?subject=Saint%20Nektarios%20of%20Aegina&link=08Nektarios-En

St Raphael of Brooklyn

http://www.antiochian.org/node/25489

St Tikhon, the Confessor

http://oca.org/holy-synod/past-primates/tikhon-belavin

St Stephen the First Martyr

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2011/12/st-stephen-protomartyr-and-archdeacon.html
A homily on St Stephen by St Gregory of Nyssa
http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2010/12/homily-i-on-st-stephen-protomartyr-by.html

St George the Trophy Bearer

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/04/23/101184-greatmartyr-victory-bearer-and-wonderworker-george

St Demetrios the Myrrh Streaming

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/10/26/103059-holy-glorious-demetrius-the-myrrhgusher-of-thessalonica

St Theodore the Soldier

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/03/st-theodore-tyron-and-miracle-of.html
A Homily by St Gregory of Nyssa on St Theodore the Soldier
http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2010/02/in-praise-of-blessed-theodore-tyron.html

St Theodore the General

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/02/08/100462-greatmartyr-theodore-stratelates-ldquothe-generalrdquo

St Menas the Wonderworker

Life of St Menas by St Nicolai (Velimirovich) and The Miracles of St Menas by Patriarch Timothy of Alexandria
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/11/saint-menas-great-martyr-and-miracle.html
St Menas and the Battle of El Alamien by St George’s Antiochian Church, Boston, MA
http://stgeorgeofboston.org/news/saints/archive/863/holymartyrstmenas

St Ignatius the God Bearer

http://www.antiochian.org/node/18667

St Charalampos

http://www.goarch.org/special/haralambos/index_html

St Eleutherios

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2008/12/sts-eleutherios-hieromartyr-and-his.html

St Thekla, the Proto-Martyr

http://www.antiochian.org/life_of_thekla

St Barbara, the Great Martyr

http://www.antiochian.org/node/17085

St Anastasia, Deliverer from Poisons

http://www.antiochian.org/node/17101

St Katharine, the All-Wise

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2008/11/st-catherine-great-martyr.html

St Kyriaki, the Great Martyr

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/07/07/101963-martyr-kyriake-of-nicomedia

St Photeini, Equal to the Apostles

http://www.antiochian.org/node/

St Marina, Conqueror of Demons

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/07/saint-marina-great-martyr-role-model.html

St Paraskeva, the Great Martyr

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/07/st-paraskevi-great-martyr-of-rome.html

St Irene, the Great Martyr

http://www.antiochian.org/node/18346

St Anthony the Great

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2013/01/17/100216-venerable-and-god-bearing-father-anthony-the-great

St Euthymios the Great

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2012/01/st-euthymios-great.html

St Paisios the Great of Egypt

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2012/06/st-paisios-great.html

St Savvas the Sanctified, Father of the Monks of Palestine

The Life of St Savvas by St Nikolai (Velimorvich)
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/12/saint-savvas-sanctified.html

St Onuphrios the Great of Egypt

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/06/12/107799-venerable-onuphrius-the-great

St. Peter of Mount Athos

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2014/06/12/101697-venerable-peter-of-mt-athos

St Athanasios of Mt Athos

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/07/st-athanasios-athonite-and-megiste.html

SS Cosmos and Damien, the Unmercenaries

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2008/10/sts-kosmas-and-damian-unmercenaries-and.html

SS Cyrus and John, Martyrs and Unmercenaries

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/06/sts-cyrus-and-john-holy-unmercenaries.html

Great Martyr St Panteleimon and his teacher, the Martyr and Unmercenary St Hermolaos

SS Joachim and Anna, Parents of the Theotokos

Parentage of Mary by St George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Greenville, SC
http://www.stgeorgegreenville.org/OurFaith/Feasts%20for%20Theotokos/Parentage.html
Presentation of the Theotokos, an animated iconographic presentation by Holy Dormition Monastery, Hammatoura, Lebanon
http://www.hamatoura.com/GreetingCard/Greetings.php?subject=Presentation%20of%20the%20Theotokos&link=06TheotokosPresentation-En