CHRISTIAN FIGURES & SAINTS

“It is good to hide the secret of a king, but it is glorious to reveal and preach the works of God.” (Tobit 12:7) So said the Archangel Raphael to Tobit when he performed the wonderful healing of his blindness. Actually, not to keep the secret of a king is perilous and a terrible risk, but to be silent about …

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By St. Dimitri of Rostov The great wonder-worker, swift helper of those in need, and fervent intercessor before God, Christ’s holy hierarch Nicholas, was born in Patara, a city in the province of Lycia. His parents were honourable, well-born, wealthy folk and were Orthodox. Nicholas’ father was named Theophanes and his mother Nonna. Dwelling together in lawful wedlock, they were adorned with every virtue. …

ORTHODOX MINISTER PUT AN ECCENTRIC SPIN ON LIFE Fr John Maitland Moir, 1924 – 2013 At Edinburgh University, the flag flew at half-mast in honour of Father John  Maitland Moir, the Orthodox Chaplain to the university. His life had elements of  the popularised, practical and unconventional Christianity of C.S. Lewis, to  which he added layers of spirituality and asceticism. He …

Foreword A few words should be noted with regards to the life and sufferings of our Holy Mother amongst the Saints, Fevronia of Nisibis (Assyria – Northern Iraq, North-Eastern Syria and South-Eastern Turkey). The most detailed account of her biography and struggles come from an eyewitness that is said to be Mother Thomais, who was a fellow nun in the same …

  Introduction One of the lamentable legacies of the Great Schism of 1054 for the Orthodox Church, was the loss of its link to the West and knowledge of its ecclesial history and traditions, subsequently many of its great luminaries and saints were lost within the memory of the wider body of the Orthodox Church. However, over time with the …

(Commemorated on 2nd of June) What we know of Saint Constantine’s early life are only a few brief facts, since fellow family members and Ottoman Christians at the time of his martyrdom, hesitated to speak about his very public confession which stirred much ill-will amongst Ottoman Hagarenes (Muslims) and Ottoman civil authorities. His own family from what research seems to …

On the 28th April, we commemorate the memories of Thaumasius, Theognes, Rufus, Antipater, Theostichus, Artemas, Magnus, Theodotus, and Philemon. The city of Cyzicus which presently lies in ruins next to the modern town of Panormos (Bandirma) is located on the southern shore of the Marmara Sea in Asia Minor (Turkey). In its heyday it was a major centre of agriculture, …

By Guy Freeland* Pilgrimage to Skellig Michael From my perch along the gunwale of a fishing boat I look out across a gently heaving Atlantic Ocean towards the soaring needle-sharp pinnacles of two rocks on the very Western limits of Europe: Skellig Michael and Small Skellig. Two red sandstone and slate islets 12km off a small island (Valentia), off a …

FOREWORD FROM MODE OF LIFE Quite some time ago, at Mode of Life weblog we received a particular request made by one of our readers, who wanted some information or articles on St Spyridon the wonder-working Bishop and Confessor of Tremithoundas. We regret we were not able to respond to the request sooner, and given that we are inundated with …