During a war between the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus (829-842) and the Saracens, the Saracens managed to besiege the city of Ammoria (in Galicia in Asia Minor). As a result of treason on the part of the military commander Baditses, Ammoria fell, and forty-two of its generals were taken captive and…
Prayer Before Reading Scripture:
O Lord Jesus Christ open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear
Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the
earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that
I may perceive the wonders of Thy law. Speak unto me the hidden
and secret things of Thy wisdom. On Thee do I set my hope, O my
God, that Thou shalt enlighten my mind and understanding with
the light of Thy knowledge, not only to cherish those things which
are written, but to do them; that in reading the lives and sayings of
the saints I may not sin, but that such may serve for my restoration,
enlightenment and sanctification, for the salvation of my soul, and
the inheritance of life everlasting. For Thou art the enlightenment
of those who lie in darkness, and from Thee cometh every good
deed and every gift. Amen.

The Holy Empress Helen uncovered the Precious Cross and Nails of the Lord at Jerusalem in 326. At the beginning of the reign of Saint Constantine the Great (306-337), the first Roman emperor to recognize Christianity, he and his pious mother Saint Helen decided to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.…
The Holy Hieromartyr Conon lived in Iconium (Asia Minor). After he became a widower, he went to a monastery with his son. Because of his devout life the saint was granted help from above. He cast out devils, he healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and preached Christ among the pagans,…
Saint Arcadius from his youth devoted himself to monastic efforts. The saint struggled on the island of Cyprus during the time of the emperor Constantine the Great (306-337). He was the teacher of the holy Martyrs Julian the Physician and Eubolos, executed under Julian the Apostate (361-363).…

The wonderworking "Blessed Heaven" Icon of the Mother of God, is on the iconostasis of Moscow's Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin, on the left side of the royal gates. The Most Holy Theotokos, holding the Pre-Eternal Child in her arms, is depicted in full stature and is surrounded by a bright red…

The wonderworking Czestochowa Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is to be found in a Roman Catholic monastery at Yasna Gora near the city of Czestochowa, Petrov Province. It is believed to be one of the seventy icons painted by the holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke (October 18). Tradition says that the…