The Holy Prophet Malachi is one of the 12 Old Testament prophets. He descended from the Tribe of Levi at the time of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity.

According to the Book of Nehemiah, he lived around the 5th century BC and had been working in Jerusalem, such as Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi did. He was given the name “Malachi” – which in Greek means an angel – because an Angel of the Lord told the people that his prophecy would come true. The angel could only be seen by true believers and not by those who were challenging the words f the Prophet.

The Prophet was pious and rightful. He proved his righteousness when he challenged priests, who were disrespectful, and the people of Israel.

He also foretold the coming of John the Forerunner, who later baptized Christ. The Prophet Malachi reposed in the Lord peacefully, relatively young, and was buried in Jerusalem.

Source: Church of Cyprus

Before being ordained to Bishop, he had performed many miracles and, therefore, many people believed in the Savior Christ. For instance, one of those who were converted to Christianity was Constantine the Great. At the instigation of Saint Sylvester, Constantine the Great built seven churches in order to glorify the Savior Christ and the Holy Martyrs. Saint Sylvester fell asleep in the Lord in old age.

Source: Church of Cyprus

His mother Emily (commemorated July 19) and his grandmother Macrina (Jan. 14) are Saints of the Church, together with all his brothers and sisters: Macrina, his elder sister (July 19), Gregory of Nyssa (Jan. to), Peter of Sebastia (Jan. 9), and Naucratius.

Basil studied in Constantinople under the sophist Libanius, then in Athens, where also he formed a friendship with the young Gregory, a fellow Cappadocian, later called “the Theologian.” Through the good influence of his sister Macrina (see July 19), he chose to embrace the ascetical life, abandoning his worldly career. He visited the monks in Egypt, in Palestine, in Syria, and in Mesopotamia, and upon returning to Caesarea, he departed to a hermitage on the Iris River in Pontus, not far from Annesi, where his mother and his sister Macrina were already treading the path of the ascetical life; here he also wrote his ascetical homilies.

About the year 370, when the bishop of his country reposed, he was elected to succeed to his throne and was entrusted with the Church of Christ, which he tended for eight years, living in voluntary poverty and strict asceticism, having no other care than to defend holy Orthodoxy as a worthy successor of the Apostles. Emperor Valens, and Modestus, the Eparch of the East, who were of one mind with the Arians, tried with threats of exile and of torments to bend the Saint to their own confession because he was the bastion of Orthodoxy in all Cappadocia and preserved it from heresy when Arianism was at its strongest. But he set all their malice at nought, and in his willingness to give himself up to every suffering for the sake of the Faith, showed himself to be a martyr by volition.

Modestus, amazed at Basil’s fearlessness in his presence, said that no one had ever so spoken to him. “Perhaps,” answered the Saint, “you have never met a bishop before.” Emperor Valens himself was almost won over by Basil’s dignity and wisdom. When Valens’ son fell gravely sick, he asked Saint Basil to pray for him. The Saint promised that his son would be restated if Valens agreed to have him baptized by the Orthodox; Valens agreed, Basil prayed, and the son was restored. But afterwards, the Emperor had him baptized by Arians, and the child died soon after.

Later, Valens, persuaded by his counsellors, decided to send the Saint into exile because he would not accept the Arians into communion; but his pen broke when he was signing the edict of banishment. He tried a second time and a third, but the same thing happened, so that the Emperor was filled with dread, and tore up the document, and Basil was not banished. The truly great Basil spent with extreme ascetical practices and continual labours, at the helm of the church, departed to the Lord on the 1st of January, in 379. at the age of forty-nine.

His writings are replete with wisdom and erudition, and rich are these gifts he set forth the doctrines concerning the mysteries both of the creation (see his Hexaemeron) and of the Holy Trinity (see On the Holy Spirit). Because of the majesty and keenness of his eloquence, he is honoured as “the revealer of heavenly things” and “the Great.”

Saint Basil is also celebrated on January 30th with Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint John Chrysostom.

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Saint Melania was born around 380 AD in Rome and came from a noble family. Her parents got her married at the age of 14, despite the fact that she had expressed a desire to dedicate herself to Christ. After the deaths of her two children, as well as of her parents, she convinced her husband Apinianus to follow the path of exercise. They spent their immense fortune to relieve the poor, but also to build temples and monasteries. They visited the Holy Land and the renowned ascetic centers of Egypt and received blessings and exhortations from renowned ascetics.

After the death of her husband, Venerable Melania settled in Jerusalem, where she led a large monastic sisterhood. She lived an ascetic life and prayed incessantly in a dark cave, where she eventually fell asleep after a brief illness.

Source: Church of Cyprus

Following the untimely demise of her parents, Anysia faced life with self-reliance. The wealth she inherited did not allure her, and her orphanhood did not lead her astray. Demonstrating prudence and self-control, she consistently sought to discern “what is pleasing to the Lord.”

Her unwavering piety became known even among the pagans. While on her way to the church, she encountered a pagan soldier who, in a violent act, seized her and forcibly brought her to the altars of idols. He pressured her to make sacrifices to the Roman gods. However, Anysia fearlessly confessed her unwavering belief in the One and True God, Jesus Christ, emphasizing her daily commitment to pleasing Him.

The soldier, overwhelmed by fury, cursed God, prompting Anysia to defiantly spit in his face. In the face of this act, he was left embarrassed, drawing his sword in a fit of rage and ruthlessly piercing her ribs. In that moment, Anysia received the eternal crown of martyrdom, a testament to her steadfast devotion and unyielding commitment to her faith.

As soon as he realized that the Magi from Persia did not return to inform him, but left “by another way”, King Herod became so angry that he ordered the massacre of the infants from the region of Bethlehem, in his attempt to kill the newborn Christ, who was believed to be destined to be king of the Israelites.

Taking into consideration that these infants were slaughtered unjustly and at an innocent age and that God is a God of love and knows each of us even before our birth, the Church included them in the list of those who were martyred for the Church. Some, however, are blaming by ignorance God for the slaughter from which the Holy Infant was saved.

We must not forget that the slaughter was ordered by the infuriated Herod, and not by God. Moreover, the motive for this act was the wickedness, ambition, and selfishness of the king and not the desire for the salvation of the Godman Christ. After all, the loss of life is sad because the man was born for life and not for death.

Source: Church of Cyprus

Soon the fame of Simon spread throughout the Holy Mountain, and he was loved by all the elders, and considered an elder himself since he possessed such a sound mind and was an example of obedience, self-control, wisdom and discernment. Even his elder, observing that Simon was utterly obedient and guileless, changed from his former stern and harsh ways, and became gentle. Moreover, his elder considered him his equal and no longer subordinate, rather he took counsel from him and viewed him as a brother. However, this troubled Simon, being humble-minded, and the honor and esteem he now received from his elder caused him distress and sorrow. He therefore asked permission from his elder to leave and seek solitude, with much pain in his soul, and the elder gave his blessing, lamenting that he was now deprived of a co-struggler and disciple.

Seeking silence and obscurity, Simon discovered a cave in the wilderness. There he faced many temptations as he progressed in his spiritual life. For example, one night, as he was praying, a demon transformed himself into a fierce dragon, and with its tail it struck him on the back. After sustaining many wounds and beatings from this phantom dragon, Simon fell to the ground half dead. The dragon continued beating Simon with its tail, with the intention of killing him, or at least terrify him to abandon the cave in which he was increasing his spiritual progress. But Simon was able to rebuke the demon in the name of God and the Theotokos, seeking for their assistance. Suddenly the demon vanished, and the cave became filled with light and an inexpressible fragrance. He also heard the Mother of God say: “Play the man and be strong, obedient and faithful servant of my Son.” When it was dawn, Simon’s health was completely restored.

After many years of hardship in that cave, Simon was enriched with the grace of God, being distinguished for his discernment and excellent explanation of the sacred Scriptures. This drew many other monks of the Holy Mountain to him that they may profit thereby, but Simon did not want to be disturbed so he considered finding a more remote place to live. This was not God’s will however, for one night while he was praying his cave was filled with an abundance of light and an ineffable scent, and the Mother of God said to him: “Simon, Simon, O faithful friend and worshiper of my Son, depart not from this place. I have placed you as a great light, and I shall glorify both this place and your name.”

Simon, being humble-minded, did not give much weight to this experience, considering it perhaps a hallucination or an apparition of a demon. Cautious in this way, Simon continued to ponder where to find a new habitation. One night, he saw a star of such brightness stand over a high rock that he thought it must be the Star of Bethlehem. Seeing the star remain motionless for several nights, he thought at first that it was a demonic temptation. On the eve of the Lord’s Nativity as the star stood over the high rock, Saint Simon heard a voice say, “Here, O Simon, you must lay the foundations of your coenobium for the salvation of souls. Rightly were you careful, but do not disbelieve as before; for I desire to be your helper. Therefore, heed well and doubt not, lest you should suffer evil.” Thereupon, Simon trembled and became inspired by God, and felt as if he were in Bethlehem on the night Christ was born, in the company of the shepherds to whom angelic choirs sang praises to God for the birth of the Savior.

A few days later three wealthy brothers came to Mount Athos to visit Saint Simon, for his fame had now spread throughout Macedonia and Thessaly. After confessing their sins they fell at Simon’s feet and begged to live under obedience to him. Simon considered these men to be sent by God to help him build his coenobium, so he retained them as his disciples. After a period of time as novices, he clothed them with the angelic schema, and related to them everything concerning his vision to build the coenobium. He therefore requested that with their wealth they go and find builders to help in the construction of the monastery.

When the builders arrived and the Saint indicated to them the place where the monastery was to be constructed, they saw how perilous the task would be, and they would be risking their lives by building on such a cliff, so they hesitated. The Saint however tried to persuade them, and commanded his disciples to prepare a table that they might dine. As one disciple, whose name was Isaiah, was carrying a vessel with wine in one hand and a glass in another, he stumbled and fell off the cliff of the mountain into the torrent below. Witnessing such a piteous sight, the builders scolded the elder for putting everyone in such danger at risk of their lives, and accused him of murdering his disciple. Meanwhile the Saint prayed silently to the Mother of God invoking her help, and suddenly, after thirty minutes, by a divine miracle, the monk that had fallen began to ascend up the chasm and was found safe and sound before them, still holding the vessel full of wine and the glass. The builders saw by this that Simon was indeed a man of God, and they begged him to receive them also under obedience, and they assured him they would build the coenobium.

As the monastery was being built, the builders encountered many hindrances along the way, due to the difficulty of the task, but by the aid of the prayers of the elder, everything was miraculously accomplished. Saint Simon called this monastery New Bethlehem, though now it is known as Simonopetra.  Both the monastery and Elder Simon attracted men from all over to enter the monastery, but it also attracted Saracen pirates to come and plunder it. However, by divine aid the monastery was preserved after the Saracen’s were blinded by an invisible force and afterwards healed by Saint Simon, which caused them to repent and also become monks at the monastery.

When the Saint arrived at deep old age, he was counted worthy of knowing the time of his death, so he called his disciples to him and gave them his final testament and blessing. He reposed in the year 1287, and his holy relic exuded myrrh that night. Unfortunately, due to the repeated attacks against the monastery, we no longer have his grace-bearing relics. “O the loss!” writes one monk, “During our difficult times we not only are deprived of the holy relics of the myrrhgushing Saint, but his sacred tomb also was concealed from us by God, Who alone knows His judgements.”

A Miracle of Saint Simon the Myrrhgusher

After the repose of Saint Simon, the fathers of Simonopetra celebrated his memory on December 28th annually. One of the fathers did not want to honor his memory however. During the all-night church service, this monk left and returned to his cell to slumber. This was accompanied by blasphemous remarks and revolting words against the Saint.

As the fathers were keeping vigil, Saint Simon payed this blasphemous monk a visit. He appeared with a glorious countenance and brilliant as lightning, accompanied by two of his earliest disciples. Saint Simon, displeased with this monk, said to him: “Are you displeased, O defiled one? Glorify what has been glorified!” Then Saint Simon ordered his two disciples to strike down the monk, saying: “Strike down this blasphemer!” When the monk was down, it appeared to the brother that Saint Simon was thrashing his feet with the staff he was holding. The pain and fear caused him to awake, and with pain in his legs and fear he ran to church.

When he arrived he fell at the feet of the abbot and said: “Forgive me, fathers and brethren! Just now I beheld with the eyes of my soul, in truth, that God has glorified our venerable Father Simon! Moreover, I now believe and venerate him as one equal in worth and honor to the great saints of old – Anthony, Euthymios, Savvas and the rest. I thank you, O Saint of God, that you delivered me, the wretched one, from my demonic deception!”

Weeping in front of the brethren, he recounted to them in detail the glory of Saint Simon. Thereupon, all glorified God and His servant, the venerable Simon, through whose holy intercessions may we also be granted the kingdom of the heavens. Amen.

Source: John Sanidopoulos / vema.com.au

Saint Stephen was a Hellenist Jew and belonged to the group of the seven deacons, selected by the Apostles to carry out the charity work of the first Christian community of Jerusalem. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was a man filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

He preached with boldness and performed many great miracles. His action caused the animosity of the Judean priesthood, for they failed to understand and accept the ecumenical dimension and the liberating content of Christ’s preaching to every human being, especially to those who were wronged.

The First Martyr Stephen was considered a blasphemer and a denier of Judaism, for he declared, even before the Sanhedrin (great assembly), that Moses and the Mosaic Law, as well as all the Prophets and the Righteous of the Old Testament, were not carriers of salvation, but prepared the way for the coming of the true Savior, who is Christ.

Imitating His love, and dedicating himself to Him, he forgave his murderers, begging the Triune God not to impute to them the sin they had committed.

Source: Church of Cyprus

Saint Anastasia holds a prominent place in the testimony of our Church, as evidenced by the fact that poets John of Damascus, Theodore Studitis, and Joseph the Hymnwriter wrote hymns in her honor. She was named Pharmacologist because, according to her majesty, “Medicines that flow from the secrets of souls and bodies heal passions and sufferings, oh Anastasia, the divine energy; by your grace, we are all preached”.

She lived at the time of Diocletian’s persecution of Christians and she was a child of a prominent wealthy family from Rome. She converted to Christianity at a young age. When her parents gave Saint Anastasia in marriage to a pagan named Publius, she revealed her faith to the Lord.

Her husband tried many times to force her to reject Christ, but she remained steadfast in Him. She was devoted to preaching the word of God and taking care of the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned Christians.

Her missionary work, her steadfastness when she was in prison, and her martyrdom, which is being burned alive, converted many people to Christianity.

The relics of Saint Anastasia help many people who are hurt or traumatized to be cured and find salvation.

May everyone be healthy and courageous and may the intercession of St. Anastasia support every suffering person.

In addition, the late Archbishop Chrysostomos I of Cyprus fell asleep in the Lord on Saturday the 22nd of December 2007. On the day of the 13th anniversary of his death, we hold memorial services in the Church of Cyprus and pray to God for the rest of his soul. Commemorating our ancestors is the best gift of gratitude for our living benefactors.

As the years go by, his memory remains alive. He was undoubtedly a forerunner in the struggle for freedom and restoration of the rights of the Greek Cypriot people.”

Source: Church of Cyprus

The Holy Church today commemorates the memory of Saint Ignatius Theophorus, Bishop of Antioch.

The name of Saint Ignatius Theophorus is a sign of his great faith, having brought Christ into his heart and soul. According to tradition and given that the Saint lived in the 1st century, the name Theophorus was given to him by the Church because he was the young child Jesus raised in his arms, saying that we should all become good people like young children.

Saint Ignatius belongs to the group of the so-called Apostolic Fathers since he was a disciple of the Apostles. Around 70 AD he became bishop of Antioch and was distinguished as a fiery shepherd and writer.

During the persecution of Trajan, he was arrested and taken to Rome. In the efforts of the Christians to release him, he resisted, saying that he would benefit more from death than from his life. Eventually, after much suffering, he was beheaded and died on December 20, 107 AD.

The life, work, and martyrdom of Saint Ignatius left to the Church a great legacy, teaching the value of the bishop’s relationship with the faithful and the meaning of Christianity.

He is remembered as a brave and courageous bishop, who sacrificed for his flock and his faith.

He spread the tradition and the legacy of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, to which we attest in the Nicene Creed. For all this, his offering is great and important for the Church and the faithful.

Source: Church of Cyprus