102 Orthodox Saints

INTRODUCTION

Sweat poured down their foreheads as their muscles strained against the ropes. They were already tired from walking through the crowded streets and carrying their friend, who was stretched out on the mat. When the men had heard that the teacher Jesus was visiting, they longed to meet Him and see if the rumors of miracles were true. Could this man of Nazareth really heal their friend? Would he finally be able to walk?

The four men carried their paralyzed friend to meet this healer—only to find a crowd of people blocking the entrance to the house where the teacher sat. That was when they noticed the roof. Unwilling to give up, one of the friends pointed toward the top of the building. They all smiled and slowly climbed the steep stairwell at the back of the house to the rooftop. After removing several heavy tiles, inch by inch they used the ropes to lower their friend into the room, right next to Jesus.

The men on the roof could not hear over the shouts of the crowd below, but they could see the longing in their friend’s eyes as he looked into the face of the teacher. Then, there was quiet. A calm voice said, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, . . . I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” In the silence the once paralyzed friend sat up and slowly placed his feet on the floor. And then he walked!

This miracle only happened because the paralyzed man’s friends had said: We’re here. We can help. Together we can find salvation.

This miracle, in addition to proclaiming the authority and power of Christ, teaches another valuable truth: We are saved in community. We need each other.

The saints of the Church also relied upon others as they followed Christ in their various ways. St. Juvenaly, Protomartyr of America, traveled with a group of fellow missionaries on a long and dangerous journey to Alaska, where they shared the love of Christ with the Chugatchi people. St. Paula wrote to St. Jerome throughout most of her life because St. Jerome relied upon her wise advice to calm his fiery temper. Even the hermits—monks and nuns who lived alone in remote places—could not work out their salvation completely on their own. St. Daniel the Stylite lived on top of a tall pillar for 33 years; however, he needed his disciples to bring him food and care for him in cold weather.

They said: We’re here. We can help. Together we can become holy.

St. Paul wrote, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight . . . and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” In other words, we are surrounded by all the saints who have come before us, and they are here to help us keep our eyes on Christ as we try to follow Him.

They are saying: We’re here. We can help.

TOGETHER WE CAN BECOME SAINTS.

How Did We Choose These 102 Saints?

Diversity. We wanted to show the amazing breadth and diversity of the saints of the Orthodox Christian Church. This means that we tried to find saints from various parts of the world: from Saint Violet in Persia to Saint Kevin in Ireland, from Saint Nicholas in Japan to Saints Perpetua and Felicity in North Africa.

We also looked for saints from different time periods, ranging from the Righteous Job and Prophet Isaiah, whom we read about in the Old Testament, to Saint Paisios of Mount Athos and Saint Gabriel the Fool for Christ who lived only decades ago.

Finally, we wanted to explore the variety of vocations that the saints demonstrate. It is possible to become a saint whether you are a monastic (such as St. Paula of Rome) or a mother (such as St. Emilia), a bishop (such as St. Ambrose) or a soldier (such as St. Mercurius the Great Martyr), a queen (such as St. Bathilde of France) or a martyr (such as St. Abd al-Masih). God can use people from all walks of life!

Why Did You Use New Calendar Dates?

For each saint, we have created a “Fast Facts” section on the sidebar of each page to give a brief overview. This includes such information as the date, location, and feast day of that saint. To simplify this section, we have included only the New Calendar (Gregorian calendar) feast day. This is not intended as a slight to our Old Calendar (Julian calendar) brothers and sisters! Instead, it is to help make this section easier to read. In order to know the Old Calendar feast day, simply add 13 days to the New Calendar date.

How Does Someone Become a Saint?

First off, the word saint means “holy.” Only God is one hundred percent truly holy! But because God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can be like Him. We know that saints are people who weren’t perfect, but they were friends of God who tried to live holy lives. So, how does a person officially become a saint? Is there some kind of process? A committee that decides? A number of miracles that the saint has to perform?

The common saying is that the Church does not make saints, but instead the Church recognizes them. This may seem like a technicality, but it’s actually very important. When a person has shown visibly the image of God in the way that he or she has lived when that person was like a living icon of Christ then that person might be considered for canonization (also called “glorification”). Canonization is the official process of recognizing that somebody already was, during his or her lifetime, a saint. We understand that there have been thousands of saints who have lived before us. Some became well known very quickly, and others lived quiet, obscure lives and may be known only to God.

In the early Church, no special canonization process existed. Instead, Christians kept the bones and relics of early apostles, bishops, and martyrs and began to remember and celebrate the dates of their death (often called their “repose”) or martyrdom. Later this same practice occurred with famous ascetics— monks and nuns—who rejected a worldly life and sought to live a holy life, often away from other people.

What is required for people to become saints today? Saints today will have lived holy lives, and through their speech, teaching, or writing upheld the Orthodox Faith as given to the apostles. After a saint dies, the local community generally begins to hold him or her in high regard by visiting the grave, keeping relics, asking for prayers, and even painting icons of the person.

Then, someone makes a request for that holy person to be officially recognized as a saint. A committee may be formed to investigate the person’s life and to make a recommendation that the person should be acknowledged as a saint in the Church. Next, the Rite of Glorification begins, and the new saint’s feast day, hymns, and icons are created. Finally, other Orthodox churches of different jurisdictions are informed so that they can also add the new saint’s feast to their calendars to be commemorated.

Venerating the Saints

Scripture and Church Tradition are clear that we worship God alone. Worship is most fully expressed when we take the Eucharist at the Divine Liturgy, intermingling Christ’s very Body and Blood with our own. We never worship a saint. Instead, we give them honor and respect—we “venerate” them as holy people who lived a life pleasing to God.

We venerate the saints by:

bowing before and kissing their icons
singing specials hymns to them on their feast days
celebrating their feast days
kissing their relics (parts of their holy bodies or, sometimes, clothing)
asking for their prayers (also called “intercessions”)
following their examples of holy living

The Church has venerated the saints from its earliest days because it recognized the power of God at work in them. Respect and honor shown to saints is ultimately respect and honor shown to the God who made them holy.

Asking the Saints to Pray for Us

Why do we ask the saints to pray for us?

Aren’t they, well, dead?

Orthodox Christians believe that the saints are alive in Christ. They are part of our family in Christ—but we can’t see them on earth with us right now. And, just as we would ask our parents or friends to pray for us, we can ask the saints to pray for us.

If you are an Orthodox Christian, you were given a saint's name at your baptism. This is your patron saint. Sometimes this is the name that your parents gave you when you were born, the name that everyone calls you. Other times it is a different name that was chosen specifically for you by your parents, godparents, or priest.

If your name is George, for example, you may have a special relationship with Saint George the Trophy-Bearer. You can ask the saint to pray for you, to comfort you when you are afraid or sad, and to help you learn more about Jesus. Saint George can help you live in a way that pleases God as you follow his holy example.

Celebrating the Feast Days of the Saints

As you read this book, you will notice that each saint has a feast day.

What is a feast day? A feast day is a day when we celebrate and remember a certain saint. Each day of the year we celebrate (also called “commemorate”) different saints. Often we remember them on the day when the saint died (reposed) or on another special day associated with the saint.

How do we celebrate a feast day? On that day there may be a special liturgy, and the chanters or church choir may sing special hymns for that saint. The priest will ask that saint to pray for us and may talk about the saint during the homily. If your church has an icon of that saint, you will be able to venerate it when you come to church. And, if your church has a relic of the saint, you may bow before it and venerate the relic as well.

You can ask any saint to pray for you. However, you also have a very special relationship with one particular saint—the saint that you were named after.

If you are an Orthodox Christian, you were given a saint’s

What is a name day? The feast day of your patron saint is a very special day called your “name day.” On this day you celebrate the feast of the saint you were named after! Your family might celebrate by going to church, having a special meal, or inviting guests to your home. Do you know when your name day is?

We Are All Called to Be Saints

Did you know that you, as a Christian, are also a saint? Saint Paul, in his letters, calls the people he was writing to “saints.” These people were ordinary Christians who believed in God and tried to serve Him, though they often made mistakes. That means that you, too, are a saint! You are made in the image of God, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you. You are a “holy one” because the holy presence of God lives inside of you.

However, it is not enough just to sit back and say, “I’m a saint!” Instead, we need to follow Christ’s teachings. As He told His disciples, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” So, our love for Christ causes us to live in a way that will please Him: by loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and by loving our neighbors as ourselves.

How to Use This Book

Here are a few things to know about this book.

The saints are arranged alphabetically.
Some saints’ lives were recorded in history with remarkable detail. Some stories of saints were handed down orally from one generation to the next, and various versions of their lives abound. You may stumble across details of these saints that are different than what is in this book. That’s okay! We used all the resources at our disposal to write about these beloved saints as truthfully as possible, but only God knows the full and true story of their lives, just as He knows all about you down to the tiniest detail. These stories are meant to bring glory to God and to inspire you in your faith.
You will find a color-coded timeline on pages 12 and 13. The colors refer to different time periods in which the saints lived. Also, the sidebar on each saint’s page will reflect the corresponding color of the time period in which he or she lived.
We’ve also created a list of symbols. These symbols correspond with the saints’ vocations. (For example, a sword represents a soldier.) You can quickly search for all of the saints with that vocation by looking for these symbols on the page sidebars.
ICON VERSUS ILLUSTRATION : In the sidebar on each saint’s page, you will find a section of “Fast Facts” and a small icon of that saint. This will help you identify saints when you see them depicted iconographically in your church. The illustration in the center of the page is an artist’s interpretation of the saint based on information from his or her life.
SEE ALSO : On the sidebar section of many saints, you will notice a “SEE ALSO” line. This means that the saint is associated with another saint also included in this book or in the previous volume. For example, Saint Ruth’s page says, “SEE ALSO: David the King.” This is because David was a descentant of Ruth.
REFERENCE : This book is meant to be a reference. You don’t have to read it from cover to cover, although you certainly can! Instead, you are welcome to flip through it, to use it for research, and to learn more about a saint on their feast day.
MAPS : We have included a world map on each page as a reference. Since the names and borders of cities and countries change over time, we’ve done our best to show you, using a modern-day map, the lands where the saints once lived.

No matter how you use this book, we pray that the lives of the saints will inspire you to live your own life as a holy offering to God.