Saints and feasts are essential to the practice of our Orthodox faith. Open the church calendar, and you will find that each day – today, tomorrow, and the day after – commemorates a feast or a saint. Еach celebration is our opportunity to learn something new about our faith, ask ourselves essential questions about our lives, and grow spiritually. With every question answered and every lesson learned, we advance a step closer to purity and righteousness. That is true of every major or lesser feast of the Orthodox Church and every saint.
The way we understand the meaning and purpose of our lives revolved around the idea of holiness and sainthood. Saints inherit salvation. They are eternally alive in Christ. As Christians, we share the same goals in this life and the life to come. The saints give us an example and inspiration to live holy and righteous lives of service.
There are many ways of serving God and multiple types of saints. Numerous saints were martyrs who sacrificed their lives and endured great torments confessing their faith. The Apostles were the first to dedicate themselves to preaching Christ and were among the early martyrs. Church fathers gave us guidance on matters of faith and doctrine. Numerous saints were notable ascetics and models of righteous lives.
The Bible teaches us to pray for each other to find healing for our souls. It also reminds us of the great power of a prayer of a righteous person. As our brothers and sisters in Christ, we ask the saints to intercede for us before God. And through them, God sheds His multiple blessings on us. In the lives of the saints, we find numerous examples of enlightenment, healing, delivery from temptation and other gifts of God’s mercy received by their intercessory prayers.
Find out which Russian Orthodox feast or saints celebrate each day in 2022 and beyond. Learn how we do it at Saint Elisabeth Convent and what spiritual insights we draw from it. Learn about our most beloved saints, their great feats and achievements and their progress to purity from all things unholy and not Christ-like. We hope that you will find our pieces both relevant and enlightening. We do not write them as lessons in history, but as an inspiration in our search for holiness.
Her father had betrothed her to marry a Pagan husband, she refused and suffered torments. The devil visited her in captivity. He tried to convince her that she was renouncing a good thing in favour of an illusion. Her defeat of the devil led…
In the tumultuous pre-revolutionary years of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Lord bestowed upon us a marvellous shepherd and a miracle worker. The light of his love continues to guide faithful souls towards salvation even today.
In many known images of him, he is depicted tied to a tree with multiple arrows in his body, facing a brutal execution for being a Christian. To us, he remains the epitome of strength, perseverance, courage and justice.
He reminds us that God will never step away from His people who put their trust in Him and that the Lord will provide all of His men and women with the means to remain faithful to Him under all circumstances, even the most difficult ones.
