By the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dated August 25, 2012, Schema-Nun Sofia (Grineva) was included among the locally venerated saints confessors of the Kiev diocese.
The secular leaders of the early days of the Church increasingly viewed the growing faith in Christ as a nuisance or even a danger. Among them was the formidable Roman Emperor Trajan.
When the barbarians attacked, Their Hegumen said, “If we are killed here, we shall be killed through love for Christ, for whose sake we have come here to live.'
He is also remembered as a model pastor to his flock who showed his disciples that the teachings of the faith were not abstract intellectual constructions, but had a direct bearing on our Christian life.
He eschewed worldly comforts and most of all he escaped worldly fame. For his humility and service to God, he received the name god-bearing.
Holy Righteous Sophia, Princess of Slutsk, came from an ancient family of Olelkovichs, who reigned in the city of Slutsk since 1395. During their reign, Slutsk was built and fortified.
He had to abandon his municipal service and go into hiding in a remote village when Emperor Diocletian of Rome unleashed the vicious persecution of Christians.
Our likes, preferences and mindsets may change, but God remains the same. We will be judged on how we knew Him – or failed to do so – in our present lives.
The Holy Martyr Agapius and seven other Christian martyrs suffered during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, a vicious persecutor of Christians.
The New Testament, unlike many ancient biographies, remains silent on the physical description of Jesus Christ. For the Gospel writers, it seems, His teachings and actions held far greater weight than His outward appearance.
On 26 March, the Russian Orthodox Church remembers the translation of his relics. His main commemoration is on 15 June.
Many sick were healed by his prayers, and he acquired the gift of wonderworking. To this day, believers have invoked his name in prayers for patients with mental diseases.
He defended the true faith against the heresies of his time, and wrote key liturgical texts that we hear at the worship services during the Great Lent, including the Life of Saint Mary of Egypt and three Lenten canons.
The Triumph of Orthodoxy reaffirms the true humanity of Jesus Christ and our calling to participate in His holiness.