Celebrating
some of the Saints from the South’s Christian inheritance of various lands:
Universal
Church Feasts:
The
Sunday falling between July 13-19 – The Holy Fathers of the First Seven
Ecumenical Councils. The Church venerates the Holy Fathers of the
Ecumenical Councils because Christ has established them as “lights upon the
earth,” guiding us to the true Faith. “Adorned with the robe of truth,” the
doctrine of the Fathers, based upon the preaching of the Apostles, has
established one faith for the Church. The Ecumenical Councils, are the highest
authority in the Church. Such Councils, guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit,
and accepted by the Church, are infallible. The Orthodox Church’s conciliar
definitions of dogma have the highest authority, and such definitions always
begin with the Apostolic formula: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to
us...” (Acts 15: 28). . . . The rest is at
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/19/50-fathers-of-the-first-six-councils
20th
– Holy Prophet Elijah, one of the two Forerunners of Christ’s Second
Coming.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/20/102060-holy-glorious-prophet-elijah
21st
– Holy Prophet Ezekiel.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/21/102064-prophet-ezekiel
25th
– The Holy Fathers of the Fifth Ecumenical Council (+553). This council
was held in Constantinople during the reign of Justinian the Great. The council
condemned the various forms of monophysitism, the heretical writings of
Theodore of Mopsuestia and Theodoret, and the writings of Origen (particularly
on universal salvation).
http://www.abbamoses.com/months/july.html
More
on this Council:
28th
– Holy Apostles of the Seventy and Deacons: Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and
Parmenas. Saints Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon and Parmenas, Apostles of the
Seventy were among the first deacons in the Church of Christ. An account of
their lives is here:
30th
– Holy Apostles of the Seventy Silas, Silvanus, Crescens, Epenetus, and
Andronicus.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/30/102131-apostle-silas-of-the-seventy
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/30/102132-apostle-silvanus-of-the-seventy
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/30/102133-apostle-crescens-of-the-seventy
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/30/102134-apostle-epenetus-of-the-seventy
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/30/102135-apostle-andronicus-of-the-seventy
Africa:
4th
– St Namphamon and his companions. + c 180. Of Carthaginian descent, he was
martyred with several compatriots at Madaura in Numidia in North Africa and
called 'the Archmartyr'.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
4th
– St Theodore of Cyrene, Libya, and those martyred with him. The Hieromartyr
Theodore, Bishop of Cyrene, lived during the reign of the emperor Diocletian
(284-305). Skilled at writing, and having attained great skill in calligraphy,
he transcribed many books for the churches. His son Leo denounced him to the
district governor, Dignianus, saying that his father possessed Christian books
and was turning people away from idol worship, and bringing them instead to
faith in Christ the Savior. Saint Theodore was brought to trial. Many
Christians followed after him, including the women Cyprilla, Lucia and Aroa.
The holy bishop was ordered to surrender his books and renounce Christ, but he
refused this demand. They beat him with rods, but Saint Theodore was not
intimidated. With a fiery zeal for the truth he destroyed the pagan sacrificial
offerings. They tortured him for a long while, cut out his tongue, and then
threw him in prison where he died. Also put to death were the women Cyprilla, Lucia
and Aroa, and all who had accepted holy Baptism from the holy bishop.
6th
– St Sisoes the Great, one of the greatest of the Desert Fathers. Saint
Sisoes the Great (+ 429) was a solitary monk, pursuing asceticism in the
Egyptian desert in a cave sanctified by the prayerful labors of his
predecessor, Saint Anthony the Great (January 17). For his sixty years of labor
in the desert, Saint Sisoes attained to sublime spiritual purity and he was
granted the gift of wonderworking, so that by his prayers he once restored a
dead child back to life. The account of
his blessed life is here:
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/06/101918-venerable-sisoes-the-great
9th
– Sts Patermuthius, Coprius, and Alexander the Soldier, martyrs of Egypt. The
Hosiomartyrs Patermuthius and Coprius, and the Martyr Alexander suffered under
the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Patermuthius at first was a pagan
and also the head of a band of robbers, but then he repented, was baptized and
withdrew into the desert. The monk devoted all the rest of his life to
attending the sick and burying the dead. For his love of toil and efforts,
Patermuthius received from God the gift of wonderworking. . . . The rest is at
10th
– 10,000 martyrs of Scete in Egypt.
12th
– St Serapion. Saint Serapion (Σεραπίων) lived in Alexandria during the reign
of Emperor Severus (222-235). He was a devout man who did whatever was
beneficial. He was arrested by the archon Aquila, and when he was asked what
religion he followed, he confessed courageously that he believed in Christ and
honored Him. The archon was furious when he heard the Saint's reply, and so he
was thrown into a fire and was burnt alive, thereby receiving the incorruptible
crown of martyrdom from the Lord.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/12/100179-saint-serapion-the-new
14th
– St Hellius. Saint Hellius lived and died in the fourth century. He was sent
to a monastery when he was still a child. There he was raised in piety,
temperance and chastity. When he grew up, he went into the Egyptian desert,
where through his ascetical struggles he attained great proficiency in the
spiritual life. He was endowed with the gift of clairvoyance, and he knew all
the thoughts and disposition of the monks conversing with him. Great faith,
simplicity of soul and deep humility allowed Saint Hellius to command wild
animals. . . . The rest is at
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/14/102026-venerable-hellius-of-egypt
17th
– Scillitan Martyrs (+180). Twelve martyrs, seven men and five women, who
suffered at Scillium in North Africa under Septimius Severus. Their names are:
Speratus, Narzales, Cythinus, Veturius, Felix, Acyllinus, Laetantius, Januaria,
Generosa, Vestina, Donata and Secunda. The official Acts of these martyrs still
exist, part of which is recounted here:
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/172.html
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
18th
– St Pambo. Abba Pambo was a contemporary of St Anthony the Great and
one of the greatest of the Desert Fathers. He would only eat bread which he had
earned by his own labors, plaiting baskets and mats out of reeds. In his later
years, he became in appearance like and angel of God: his face shone so that
the monks could not look on it. Through long ascetic labor, he was enabled to
control his tongue so that no unnecessary word ever passed his lips. He never
gave an immediate answer to even the simplest question, but always prayed and
pondered on the question first. Once, when Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria,
was visiting the monks, they begged Abba Pambo to give the Patriarch a word. He
answered: 'If my silence is no help to him, neither will my words be.' He
reposed in peace, some say in 374, others in 386.
http://www.abbamoses.com/months/july.html
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/18/102051-venerable-pambo-the-hermit-of-egypt
31st
– St Fabius. +300. A soldier beheaded in Caesarea in Mauretania in North Africa
under Diocletian for refusing to carry a standard bearing idolatrous emblems.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
31st
– St Firmus. Bishop of Tagaste in North Africa, he was tortured and endured
terrible sufferings rather than betray the hiding-place of one of his flock.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
Africa/Italy:
13th
– Sts Eugene, Salutaris, Muritta and Companions (+505). Eugene became Bishop of
Carthage in North Africa in 481 but was soon afterwards expelled by the Arian
Vandals with many of his flock, some of them mere boys. They were exiled to the
desert of Tripoli, where they suffered greatly. In 488 they were allowed to
return to Carthage, but Eugene was exiled again eight years later and reposed
at Albi in Italy. All the above are considered to be martyrs because of their
sufferings.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/131.html
Africa/Spain:
25th
– St Cucuphas. +304. Born in North Africa, he went to Spain and was martyred
near Barcelona where the monastery of St Cugat del Valles was later founded. He
is one of the most famous Spanish martyrs.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/254.html
Alaska/North
America:
26th
– St Jacob Netsvetov, Enlightener of Alaska (+1864). One truly endowed
with the Apostolic spirit here in North America:
Asia
Minor:
19th
– St Macrina (+380). A great example for women living in the midst of
the cares of the world.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/19/102055-venerable-macrina-sister-of-saint-basil-the-great
27th
– St Pantaleimon the Greatmartyr and Healer. He was born in Nicomedia;
his father was a pagan, his mother a Christian. Through her he was taught the
Christian Faith and baptized by St Hermolaus (July 26). He became a physician,
and practiced his art with compassion and generosity, healing many more through
his prayers as by his medicines. His parents had named him Pantoleon ("in
all things a lion"), but because of his great compassion he was re-named
Panteleimon ("all- merciful"). He once healed a man of blindness by
calling on Christ, which led the once-blind man to embrace the Faith. When
asked how he came to be healed he named Panteleimon as his healer and
proclaimed his newfound faith in Christ. For this the pagans executed him, then
arrested Panteleimon, who after many tortures was beheaded in 305. He is
counted as the foremost of the Unmercenary Physicians.
http://www.abbamoses.com/months/july.html
A
longer account of his life and legacy is here:
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/27/102099-greatmartyr-and-healer-panteleimon
Athens:
24th
– St Athenogoras. Saint Athenogoras was a Christian philosopher and apologist
of the second century A.D. He probably came from Athens where he studied Middle
Platonism and Stoic philosophy. He flourished during the time of the Roman
emperors Marcus Aurelius (161-180) and Commodus (180 - 192). Saint Athenagoras
stands out among the apologists of his day because of his literary excellence
and his clear and eloquent style. In the field of theology he affirms Orthodox
teachings about the Holy Trinity, the divine inspiration of the Holy
Scriptures, and reveals a strict ascetical position concerning the moral life
of Christians. His work has an important place in the ecclesiastical writings
of the first two centuries. Abbreviated
from
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/24/206388-saint-athenagoras-of-athens
Constantinople-New
Rome:
29th
– St Theodosius the Younger, Emperor. A
godly king, he is the one who called the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus
(+431) to combat the heresy of Nestorius.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/29/100346-emperor-theodosios-the-younger
Constantinople-New
Rome/Egypt:
25th
– St Eupraxia. A noblewoman who renounced her comfortable life for an ascetic
life in an Egyptian monastery, where as an humble nun she became renowned for
her humility and other virtues and was granted the gift of wonderworking.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/25/102088-virginmartyr-eupraxia-of-tabenna
Cornwall:
8th
– St Morwenna. One of the most illustrious female saints of Cornwall is
especially venerated in Morwenstow—the northernmost parish of Cornwall just
beyond the Devon-Cornish border near the town of Bude. It stands on the rocky
Atlantic coast with its frequent storms, and its name means “holy place of
Morwenna”. An account of her life is here:
http://orthochristian.com/114524.html
England:
2nd
– St Swithun of Winchester. St. Swithin (the original
form: Swithun, meaning a strong bear-cup) is one of the greatest wonderworkers
of England and most beloved and popular saints, who has always been venerated
by pious English people on a par with St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. He is one of the meekest saints who ever trod
the English soil. He was so humble that before his death he asked to be buried
in a simple grave outside the Cathedral, under the feet of the passers-by and
the rain from the eaves. Even now the exact location of his relics at
Winchester Cathedral is unknown—though his holy body survived the Reformation,
since it lies hidden under the floor. Few facts of the life of this holy bishop
are known; no one bothered to write down his Life soon after his death, and it
was only 100 years later that the whole country rediscovered this saint, when
his numerous miracles began to occur. Since then St. Swithin has been known as
a great wonderworker and healing saint; and there are many more accounts
related to his posthumous miracles than to his life on earth. Let us recall his
story. . . .
http://orthochristian.com/122701.html
6th
– St Sexburga, queen and abbess. Daughter of Anna, King of East Anglia in
England, sister of Sts Etheldred, Ethelburgh and Withburgh and half-sister of
St Sethrid. She married Erconbert, King of Kent, and so became mother of Sts
Ermenhild and Ercongota. As Queen she founded the convent of Minster in
Sheppey. Widowed in 664, she became a nun there, later moving to Ely in 679,
where she became abbess.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/063.html
7th
– St Hedda. A monk and abbot in England who in 676 became Bishop of Wessex. He
lived in Dorchester-on-Thames and then in Winchester where his relics are
preserved. He was a great benefactor of the monastery of Malmesbury. He was
bishop for about forty years and was greatly esteemed for his wisdom.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/073.html
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0707h.html
8th
– St Edgar the Peaceful (+975). A King of England who repented of a depraved
youth and whose reign was marked by a strong religious revival in England.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
St
Edgar’s reign is covered here:
http://orthodoxchristianbooks.com/articles/461/-monastic-revival-tenth-century-england/
8th
– St Withburgh. + c 743. Youngest daughter of King Anna of East Anglia in
England. After her father had fallen in battle, she became a nun and lived as
an anchoress at East Dereham in Norfolk, founding a convent there.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
Much
more about this precious Saint is at
http://orthochristian.com/111800.html
11th
– St Thurketyl. The Abbey at Croyland had been destroyed by Danes in 870. In
this devastation the relics of Ss. Egbat, Tatwin, Bettelina & Ethedrith
were lost and possibly reduced to ashes. Then Turketill, the pious Chancellor
of King Edred rebuilt the Abbey in 946. He was cousin to Athelstan, Edmund
& Edred (all successive kings). He was the son of Ethelward. He was an
accomplished General and won many a battle against the Danes and extricated his
cousins out of many scrapes. He wearied of public life, gave 60 of his manors
to the King and 6 to Croyland, and paid off all his debts. He then went to
Croyland and took the habit. He was made Abbot in 948. He restored the house to
greatest splendour and having served God in that place for 27 years died of a
fever in 975 aged 68 (Lives of the Saints by Butler).
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0711b.html
13th
– St Mildred. +c 700 One of the three daughters of St Ermenburgh of
Minster-in-Thanet in England. She succeeded her mother as Abbess of Thanet. Her
relics were enshrined in Canterbury and part of them survive. Her life
describes her as 'ever merciful, of easy temper and tranquil'.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
Much
more about this greatly venerated English Saint is at
http://orthochristian.com/80901.html
14th
– St Deusdedit. Deusdedit was a South Saxon, who
became the first Anglo-Saxon primate when he succeeded Saint Honorius as
archbishop of Canterbury in 653. He helped to build the monastery of
Medehamstede (Petersborough) in 657, and founded the convent on Thanet Island.
He consecrated Damian bishop of Rochester. Nothing further is known of him
except that he died during the great pestilence, on the same day as King
Erconbert of Kent, and was buried in the monastery church of Saints Peter and
Paul (later Saint Augustine's) in Canterbury. His shrine remained there until
the destruction of the Reformation.
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0714b.html
15th
– St Edith of Polesworth. Early England can be proud of having around forty
holy abbesses, most of whom were of royal origin. One of them is St. Edith
(also Editha, Eadgyth) who became Abbess of Polesworth in central England. One
of the earliest testimonies for the veneration of this saint is the
eleventh-century “List of Resting Places of Anglo-Saxon Saints,”
commonly known as Secgan, which mentions that St. Edith’s relics rest at
Polesworth Convent. The rest is at
http://orthochristian.com/95686.html
17th
– St Kenelm (+821). Son of King Coenwulf of Mercia in England. By tradition he
was murdered in the forest of Clent and buried in Winchcombe.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
There
are many late medieval traditions associated with the saint. All of them
reflect the English people’s deep love for this holy prince and martyr, from whose
relics numerous miracles have occurred over the centuries. According to the
evidence of the historian William of Malmesbury, who lived in the twelfth
century, at that time the shrine of St. Kenelm in the town of Winchcombe in
Gloucestershire attracted more pilgrims from England and abroad than did any
other shrine in the country. Much more about this great Saint is here:
http://orthochristian.com/72451.html
20th
– St Elswith. +903. Wife of King Alfred the Great, after his death she became a
nun at the convent which she had founded in Winchester.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
30th
– St Tatwine. +734. A monk at Breedon in Mercia in England who was famed for
his piety and learning. He succeeded St Brithwald, becoming the tenth
Archbishop of Canterbury.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0730a.html
England/Cornwall:
31st
– St Neot. St. Neot lived in the ninth
century. He was of noble birth. It is believed by many researchers that the
saint was related to the royal family of either Wessex or East Anglia. Neot
began life as a soldier but after some time he resolved to give up a military
career and dedicate his life to the service of God and prayer. Thus he entered
the famous monastery in Glastonbury in Somerset in the Kingdom of Wessex and
served there as a sacristan. It is not known where and by whom he was ordained
a priest. After some time at Glastonbury, where he obtained a good education,
Neot felt a calling to live a more ascetic life in solitude. So he retired to
Cornwall where he spent the rest of his life as a hermit in a tiny cell. . . .
The rest of St Neot’s life, which influenced St Alfred’s in his battle with the
Danish invaders, is recounted here:
http://orthochristian.com/81326.html
England/Flanders:
24th
– St Lewina. +5th century. The first extant record of
Saint Lewina dates from 1058, when her relics were translated from Seaford
(near Lewes) or Alfriston in Sussex, England, with those of Saint Idaberga (not
sure which one) and portions of Saint Oswald, to Saint Winnoc's Abbey Church in
Bergues, Flanders, where she had been venerated and her relics honoured by
numerous miracles, especially at the time of the translation. A history of
these miracles was written by Drogo, an eyewitness to several of them. Lewina
is reputed to have been a British maiden martyred by the invading Saxons.
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0724c.html
http://orthochristian.com/103642.html
England/France:
7th
– St Ethelburga. The daughter of Anna, King of East Anglia in England. She
became a nun at Faremoutiers-en-Brie in France, where she became abbess after
St Fara.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0707g.html
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/074.html
England/Germany:
7th
– St Willibald. Born in Wessex in England, he was a brother of Sts Winebald and
Walburgh and a cousin of St Boniface. At the age of five he was given as a monk
at Waltham in Hampshire. In 722 he accompanied his father St Richard and his
brother St Winebald on a pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. Here he visited
all the holy places and many monasteries, staying in Constantinople for two
years. On his return to Italy he lived at Montecassino for ten years. Then he
was sent to Germany to help St Boniface and in 742 was consecrated Bishop of
Eichstätt. With his brother St Winebald he founded the monastery of Heidenheim
where their sister Walburgh became abbess. His relics are still in the
Cathedral in Eichstätt.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/072.html
France:
1st
– St Eparchius (Cybar). EPARCUS, commonly called Cybar, quitted the world in
spite of his parents, who would hinder him to follow his vocation; and retiring
to the monastery of Sedaciac, in Perigord, he there served God some time under
Abbot Martin, and soon became known and admired for his extraordinary virtues
and miracles. Wherefore, in dread of the seduction of vain-glory, he left his
monastery to hide himself in absolute solitude. It was near Angouleme, with the
bishop of Perigeux’s and his abbot’s leave, he shut himself up in a cell. But
his virtues were too striking for concealment, and the bishop of Angouleme
obliged him to accept the priesthood. Cybar was extremely austere in his food
and apparel, especially during Lent. Although a recluse, he did not refuse to
admit disciples; but he would not allow them manual labour, as, after his own
example, he willed they should be constantly occupied in prayer. When any of
them would complain for want of necessaries, he would tell them, with St.
Jerom, that “Faith never feared hunger.” Nor was he deceived in his trust on
Providence, as he always found abundance for himself and his disciples in the
beneficence of the faithful; insomuch that he was even enabled to redeem a
great number of captives. He died on the 1st of July, 581, having lived about
forty years in his cell. His relics were kept in the abbey church of his name
until 1568, when they were burnt by the Huguenots.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/019.html
1st
– St Gall. From an eminent family in
Gaul, he renounced the world to pursue Christ to the uttermost, first as a
monk, then in the clergy.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/014.html
1st
– St Theodoric (Thierry). HE was born in the district of Rheims. His father,
Marquard, was abandoned to every infamous disorder. An education formed on the
best Christian principles in the house of such a person would more than
probable be blasted by his bad example; but our saint was happily removed, and
educated in learning and piety, under the edifying example of the holy Bishop
Remigius. He married in complaisance to his relations; but easily persuaded his
wife to embrace the virgin state; and becoming himself a monk, he was made
superior of an abbey founded by St. Remigius on Mont-d’Hor, near Rheims. Some
time after he received holy orders, and became famous by the many extraordinary
conversions he wrought through the zeal and unction wherewith he exhorted sinners
to repentance; among these was his own father, who persevered to his death
under the direction of his son. He succeeded also, in conjunction with St.
Remigius, in converting an infamous house into a nunnery of pious virgin.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/018.html
2nd
– St Monegundis. A woman in Chartres in France who became an anchoress after
the death of her two daughters. She spent most of her life near Tours.
Resolving to bid adieu to this transitory treacherous world, she, with her
husband’s consent, built herself a cell at Chartres, in which she shut herself
up, serving God in great austerity and assiduous prayer. She had no other
furniture than a mat strewed on the floor on which she took her short repose,
and she allowed herself no other sustenance than coarse oat bread with water
which was brought her by a servant. She afterwards removed to Tours, where she
continued the same manner of life in a cell which she built near St. Martin’s.
Many fervent women joining her, this cell grew into a famous nunnery, which has
been since changed into a collegiate church of secular canons. St. Monegondes
lived many years a model of perfect sanctity, and died in 570.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/024.html
7th
– St Felix. A great Bishop of Nantes in France for some thirty-three years.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/075.html
7th
– St Prosper of Aquitaine (+436). Born in Aquitaine in France, he was a married
layman who devoted himself to theology. St Photios the Great calls him ‘The
Eradicator of Heresies’.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/07/100182-saint-prosper-of-aquitaine
13th
– St Julian, First Bishop of Le Mans (+1st c.). He was made bishop by the
Apostle Peter and sent to Gaul as a missionary. Some believe that he was Simon
the Leper, whom the Lord healed, later named Julian in Baptism. In Gaul,
despite great difficulty and privation, he converted many to faith in Christ
and worked many miracles — healing the sick, driving out demons, and even
raising the dead. In time the local prince, Defenson, was baptised along with
many of his subjects. He reposed in peace.
http://www.abbamoses.com/months/july.html
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/13/102019-saint-julian-bishop-of-cenomanis-le-mans-gaul
21st
– Holy Martyrs Victor, Alexander, Felician, and Longinus. + c 290. Victor, an
army officer in Marseilles in France, suffered martyrdom there with three
prison-guards whom he had converted. In the fourth century St John Cassian
built a monastery over their tomb which afterwards became the monastery of St
Victor.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/214.html
22nd
– St Wandrille (Vandrille), +668. Born near Verdun, he served in the king's
palace and married. After a pilgrimage to Rome his wife became a nun and he
became a monk at Roumain-Moutier. Some ten years later he founded the monastery
of Fontenelle in the north of France which came to have over three hundred
monks.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/222.html
France/Britain:
29th
– St Lupus of Troyes. Born in Toul in France, he married the sister of St
Hilary. After seven years, husband and wife separated by mutual consent, Lupus
becoming a monk at Lérins. In 426 he became Bishop of Troyes. He accompanied St
Germanus of Auxerre to Britain to oppose Pelagianism. In 453 he succeeded in
saving Troyes from Attila. He reposed at the age of ninety-four.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/241.html
31st
– St Germanus of Auxerre (+448).
This wonderful Father of the Church labored tirelessly to establish the
Orthodox Faith throughout parts of France, England, and Wales, building
churches, schools, and monasteries; bravely facing heathen armies; and putting
a stop to heresies. The Lord honored his purity of soul and body by working
mighty wonders through him.
Short
version:
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/31/102156-saint-germanus-bishop-of-auxerre
Long
version (recommended):
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/262.html
His
relics may still be venerated at the church he founded in Auxerre:
http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/auxerre/en/index.htm
France/England:
8th
– St Grimbald. A monk at Saint Bertin in the north of France. In 885 King
Alfred invited him to England. He became Abbot of Winchester and he helped
restore learning in England.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0708f.html
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/086.html
France/Germany:
6th
– St Goar. AQUITAIN gave this saint his birth and education; but out of a
desire of serving God entirely unknown to the world, in 519 he travelled into
Germany, and settling in the territory of Triers, he shut himself in his cell,
and arrived at such an eminent degree of sanctity as to be esteemed the oracle
and miracle of the whole country. He resolutely refused the archbishopric of
Triers, and died in 575. Bound his cell arose the town of St. Guver, on the
left bank of the Rhine between Wesel and Boppard.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/064.html
18th
– St Arnulf. A courtier of high standing in the palace of the Austrasian
kings, he decided to become a monk at Lérins. His wife became a nun and Arnulf
was on the point of going to Lérins when he was made Bishop of Metz (c 616). A
few years before his death he finally managed to go and live as a hermit.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
AMONG
the illustrious saints who adorned the court of King Clotaire the Great, none
is more famous than St. Arnoul. He was a Frenchman, born of rich and noble
parents; and, having been educated in learning and piety, was called to the
court of King Theodebert, in which he held the second place among the great
officers of state, being next to Gondulph, mayor of the palace. Though young,
he was equally admired for prudence in the council and for valour in the field.
By assiduous prayer, fasting, and excessive almsdeeds, he joined the virtues of
a perfect Christian with the duties of a courtier. . . . The rest is at
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/183.html
21st
– St Abrogast. + c 678. Born in Aquitaine in France, he was a hermit in Alsace
when King Dagobert II forced him to become Bishop of Strasbourg, where he
showed great humility and wisdom. At his own request he was buried in the place
set apart for the burial of criminals. A church was soon built over his tomb.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0721a.html
23rd
– St Liborius. HE was descended of a noble Gaulish family, and by his innocence
and sanctity of life was recommended to the priesthood in the church of Mans.
He loved retirement and prayer, never conversed with seculars but on spiritual
accounts, and linked himself only with those among the clergy whose actions and
words were such as might inspire him more and more with the spirit of his
state. His distinguished learning and virtue fixed all eyes upon him, and in
348 he was chosen fourth bishop of Mans. Indefatigable in all the functions of
his charge, he prayed and fasted much, and was most attentive in succouring the
necessities of the poor, by that means to draw down the blessing of God upon
himself and his flock. He built and endowed many new churches in his diocess,
and having governed it forty-nine years, died about the year 397. His remains
were translated to Paderborn in 836, and he is honoured as patron of that city.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/232.html
Gaza/Egypt:
25th
– Sts Thea, Valentina, Paul, martyrs. Christians who endured extremely cruel
torment for Christ’s sake, but stayed faithful to Him to the end. For example: ‘When fourscore and seventeen
confessors, men, women, and children, out of an innumerable multitude of
Christians who were banished a long while before to the porphyry quarries in
Thebais, were brought before him, he commanded the sinews of the joint of their
left feet to be burnt with a hot iron; and their right eyes to be put out, and
the eye-holes burnt with a hot iron to the very bottom of the orb. In this
condition he sent them to work at the mines in Palestine about mount Libanus.’
The
rest of the account is at
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/253.html
Germany/France:
11th
– St Hidulph. Born in Regensburg in Germany, he became a monk at the monastery
of Maximinus in Trier. Later he was consecrated bishop, but about the year 676
he founded the monastery of Moyenmoutier in the east of France and lived there.
When he reposed he was Abbot both of Moyenmoutier and Bonmoutier (Galilaea,
afterwards called Saint-Dié).
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/112.html
Hungary/Italy/Spain/France:
4th
– St Laurianus. + c 544. Born in Pannonia, now Hungary, he was ordained deacon
in Milan in Italy and later became Archbishop of Seville in Spain. He was
martyred in Bourges in France.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
Ireland:
7th
– St Maelruain (+792). Founder of the monastery of Tallaght in Ireland and
compiler of the martyrology of that name.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0707a.html
24th
– St Declan of Ardmore. Declan, an Irish monk, was
baptized by and a disciple of Saint Colman. He appears to have been an Irish
evangelist before the arrival of Saint Patrick. He may have made two
pilgrimages to Rome and later became the first bishop of Ardmore, a see
confirmed by Patrick during the synod of Cashel in 448. Many miracles are
attributed to Declan, who is much honoured in Dessee (formerly Nandesi). . . .
More is at
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0724a.html
Ireland/England:
5th
– St Modwenna. HAVING led a religious life several years in her own
country, she came into England in the reign of King Ethelwolf, about the year
840. That pious and great king being acquainted with her sanctity, committed to
her care the education of his daughter Editha, and founded for her the
monastery of Pollesworth, near the forest of Arden, in Warwickshire, which
flourished till the dissolution, bearing usually the name of St. Editha, its
patroness and second abbess. St. Modwena had before established two famous
nunneries in Scotland, one at Stirling, the other in Edinburgh. She made some
other pious foundations in England; but to apply herself more perfectly to the
sanctification of her own soul, she led during seven years an anchoretical life
in an isle in the Trent, which was called Andresey from the apostle St. Andrew,
in whose honour she procured her oratory to be dedicated. When the great abbey
of Burton-upon-Trent was founded in the year 1004, it was dedicated under the
patronage of the Blessed Virgin and St. Modwena, and was enriched with the
relics of this saint, which were translated thither from Andresey; whence
Leland calls the monastery of Burton Modwenestow.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/052.html
Ireland/Germany:
8th
– Sts Kilian (Chilianus), Colman and Totnan. + c 689. Monks from Ireland who
enlightened Franconia and East Thuringia, where they were martyred. Kilian was
Bishop of Wurzburg in Germany where he is still honoured.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0708a.html
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/083.html
Ireland/Norway:
8th
– St Sunniva and those martyred with her. By tradition, Sunniva was a princess
who fled from Ireland with her brother and others. They were shipwrecked off
the coast of Norway but landed on Selje Island. Here they were slain by people
from the mainland and their relics were enshrined in Bergen.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0708c.html
Ireland/Scotland:
7th
– St Palladius. A deacon from Rome or Auxerre in France who was sent in c 430
to preach the Gospel in Ireland. He landed near Wicklow and after some success
left for Scotland, where he reposed.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
North
America:
2nd
– St John of Shanghai and San Francisco, one of the greatest Saints of the
20th hundredyear. Our Father among the Saints John
(Maximovitch), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco (1896-1966), was a
diocesan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) who
served widely from China to France to the United States. Saint John departed
this life on June 19 (O.S.) / July 2 (N.S.), 1966, and was officially glorified
by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad on July 2, 1994. His glorification was
later recognized for universal veneration by the Patriarchate of Moscow on July
2, 2008.
A
fuller account of his life and miracles is here:
https://orthochristian.com/54575.html
Short
hymns to the Saint:
2nd
– St Juvenaly. "St Juvenal was (together with St Herman, see Dec. 12) a member
of the first mission sent from Russia to proclaim the Gospel in the New World.
He was a priest-monk, and a zealous follower of the Apostles, and baptized
hundreds of the natives of Alaska. He was martyred by enraged pagans in
1796." (Great Horologion)
http://www.abbamoses.com/months/july.html
Norway:
29th
– St-King Olav. Son of King Harald of Norway. His early youth was spent as a
pirate but in 1010 he was baptised in Rouen in France and in 1013 he helped
Ethelred of England against the Danes. In 1015 he succeeded to the throne of
Norway and at once called missionaries, mainly from England, to enlighten his
homeland. He succeeded in part but was driven from his kingdom. In an attempt
to recover it, he fell in battle at Stiklestad. In Norway he is regarded as the
champion of national independence.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
He
is honored in England and Scotland as well:
http://orthochristian.com/81284.html
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/294.html
Old
Rome:
1st
- Holy and Wonderworking Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, martyrs at Rome
(+284). There are three pairs of Unmercenary Physicians named Cosmas and Damian. The two
commemorated today were brothers from Rome. Though they inherited great wealth,
they gave most of it to the poor and needy, only setting aside enough for
themselves to devote their lives to the service of Christ. As Christian
physicians, they freely performed their healing services for men and for
beasts, asking the healed only to believe in Christ in thanks for their
healing. They ended their lives in martyrdom. According to the Prologue,
they were summoned before the Emperor Galerius, who interrogated them and
commanded them to worship the gods. The brothers refused to do so, but to show
the truth of the Christian faith, they healed the Emperor of a grave infirmity.
At this he proclaimed the truth of Christianity and released them. But a doctor
and a former teacher who envied their reputation lured them into the
countryside on the pretext of collecting herbs, then killed them.
http://www.abbamoses.com/months/july.html
2nd
– St Acestes and his two martyr companions. According to tradition, he was one
of the three soldiers who led St Paul to execution in Rome. Converted by him,
they were beheaded.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
2nd
– Sts Processus and Martinian. Martyrs who were greatly venerated in Rome:
their tomb and basilica were on the Aurelian Way. Their relics are in St
Peter's in Rome.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/022.html
10th
– Sts Rufina and Secunda. THEY were sisters, and the daughters of one Asterius,
a man of a senatorian family in Rome. Their father promised them in marriage,
the first to Armentarius, and the second to Verinus, who were then both
Christians, but afterwards apostatized from the faith when the storm raised by
Valerian and Gallien in 257, fell upon the church. The two virgins resisted
their solicitations to imitate their impiety, and fled out of Rome; but were
overtaken, brought back, and after other torments condemned by Junius Donatus,
prefect of Rome, to lose their heads. They were conducted twelve miles out of
Rome, executed in a forest on the Aurelian Way, and buried in the same place.
It was then called the Black Forest, Sylva Nigra, but from these martyrs this
name was changed into that of Sylva Candida or the White Forest.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/102.html
21st
– St Praxedes. 2nd cent. The daughter of the Roman senator Pudens and sister of
St Pudentiana. One of the ancient churches in Rome is dedicated to her.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/211.html
26th
– St Parasceva the Greatmartyr and Virgin (+140). A bold preacher for Christ, despite being
viciously tortured on more than one occasion.
After living in this manner for some years, she was finally beheaded.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/26/102096-martyr-parasceva-of-rome
26th
– Sts Symphronius, Olympius, Theodulus and Exuperia. +257. Symphronius was a
Roman slave who brought about the conversion of the tribune Olympius, the
latter's wife Exuperia and their son Theodulus. They were all burnt to death
under Valerian.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
Old
Rome/Italy:
17th
– St Marcellina. Born in Rome, she was the elder sister of St Ambrose of Milan
and St Satyrus. She became a nun in 353. Her remains are enshrined in Milan.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
The
life of this wonderful woman is recounted more fully here:
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/173.html
28th
– Martyrs Nazarius and Celsus (+68). ST. NAZARIUS’S father was a
heathen, and enjoyed a considerable post in the Roman army. His mother Perpetua
was a zealous Christian, and was instructed by St. Peter, or his disciples, in
the most perfect maxims of our holy faith. Nazarius embraced it with so much
ardour that he copied in his life all the great virtues he saw in his teachers;
and out of zeal for the salvation of others left Rome, his native city, and
preached the faith in many places with a fervour and disinterestedness becoming
a disciple of the apostles. Arriving at Milan he was there beheaded for the
faith, together with Celsus, a youth whom he carried with him to assist him in
his travels. These martyrs suffered soon after Nero had raised the first
persecution. Their bodies were buried separately in a garden without the city,
where they were discovered and taken up by St. Ambrose in 395.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/281.html
Palestine:
8th – St Procopius the Great
Martyr. The Holy Great Martyr Procopius, in the world Neanius, a native of
Jerusalem, lived and suffered during the reign of the emperor Diocletian
(284-305). His father, an eminent Roman by the name of Christopher, was a
Christian, but the mother of the saint, Theodosia, remained a pagan. He was
early deprived of his father, and the young child was raised by his mother.
Having received an excellent secular education, he was introduced to Diocletian
in the very first year of the emperor’s accession to the throne, and he quickly
advanced in government service. Towards the year 303, when open persecution
against Christians began, Neanius was sent as a proconsul to Alexandria with
orders to mercilessly persecute the Church of God. On the way to Egypt, near
the Syrian city of Apamea, Neanius had a vision of the Lord Jesus, similar to
the vision of Saul on the road to Damascus. A divine voice exclaimed, “Neanius,
why do you persecute Me?” The rest is at
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/08/101966-greatmartyr-procopius-of-caesarea-in-palestine
22nd
– St Joseph (+356). A Jewish convert to the
Orthodox Faith, who suffered persecution from his fellow Jews as he tried to
spread Christianity in Palestine.
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/223.html
Palestine/England:
31st
– St Joseph of Arimathea. The noble Joseph was a secret follower of
Christ and a wealthy member of the Jewish Sanhedrin (ruling council); it was he
who provided Christ's tomb. When his faith became known he was driven from the
Sanhedrin, from the synagogues, and from the Holy Land, and traveled through
many lands, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. According to some accounts he
eventually reached England, where he reposed in peace.
http://www.abbamoses.com/months/july.html
Much
more about St Joseph and his relation to Glastonbury in England is here:
http://orthochristian.com/130555.html
A
short account of St Joseph is here:
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/31/109009-righteous-joseph-of-arimathea
Palestine/Europe/Asia:
14th
– Apostle Aquilla of the 70 and his wife St Priscilla.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/14/101950-apostle-aquila-of-the-seventy
Palestine/Italy/Old
Rome:
22nd
– St Mary Magdalene, Equal to the Apostles.
Russia:
4th
– St Nicholas II, the last Christian Roman Emperor, his wife and five children,
and their four servants, martyred by the Bolsheviks (+1918).
Short
version:
Long
version:
https://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/nicholas_ii_e.htm
10th
– St Anthony, founder of monasticism in Russia.
11th
– St Olga, Equal-to-the-Apostles and Enlightener of Russia (+969).
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/07/11/102003-blessed-olga-in-baptism-helen-princess-of-russia
15th
– Holy Prince Vladimir, Baptizer of Russia, Equal to the Apostles (+1015).
Scotland:
11th
– St Drostan of Deer. + c 610. Born in Ireland, he became a monk with St
Columba and the first Abbot of Deer in Aberdeenshire. He is venerated as one of
the Apostles of Scotland. His holy well is near Aberdour.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
A
fuller account of his life and legacy is here:
http://orthochristian.com/99531.html
15th
– St Donald of Ogilvy and his nine daughters. St. Donald lived in in Olgivy, in
Forfarshire, Scotland, in the early part of the 8th century. Upon the death of
his wife, he and his nine daughters began to live a monastic lifestyle at home
under his direction, cultivating the land by hand, and eating barely bread and
water once a day. After St. Donald's repose, his daughters all entered a monastery in Abernethy, founded by Ss. Darlugdach and Brigid, where they became known as the Nine Maidens, or the Nine Holy Virgins.
https://orthodoxwiki.org/Donald_of_Ogilvy
18th
– St Theneva (7th cent.). The mother of St Kentigern and
patron-saint of Glasgow in Scotland together with him.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0718a.html
http://orthochristian.com/67850.html
Sicily/Africa:
7th
– St Pantaenus. THIS learned father and apostolic man flourished in the
second age. He was by birth a Sicilian, and by profession a stoic philosopher.
For his eloquence he is styled by St. Clement of Alexandria the Sicilian Bee.
His esteem for virtue led him into an acquaintance with the Christians, and
being charmed with the innocence and sanctity of their conversation he opened
his eyes to the truth. He studied the holy scriptures under the disciples of
the apostles, and his thirst after sacred learning brought him to Alexandria in
Egypt, where the disciples of St. Mark had instituted a celebrated school of
the Christian doctrine. Pantænus sought not to display his talents in that
great mart of literature and commerce; but his great progress in sacred
learning was after some time discovered, and he was drawn out of that obscurity
in which his humility sought to live buried. Being placed at the head of the
Christian school some time before the year 179, which was the first of
Commodus, by his learning and excellent manner of teaching he raised its
reputation above all the schools of the philosophers. . . . The rest of the
account is at
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/071.html
Spain:
11th
– St Abundius. + 854. A parish priest in Ananelos, a village near Cordoba in
Spain. He had no thought of martyrdom, but when he had to, he bravely confessed
Christ before the tribunal of the Moorish Caliph of Cordoba. He was beheaded
and his body was thrown to the dogs.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
18th
– St Aurea (Aura). +856. Born in Cordoba in Spain and a daughter of Muslim
parents, in her widowhood she became a Christian and a nun at Cuteclara, where
she remained for more than twenty years. She was then denounced as a Christian
by her own family and beheaded.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
18th
– Sts Justa and Rufina. Two sisters in Seville in Spain, potters by trade, who
suffered under Diocletian. They are venerated as the main patron-saints of
Seville.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/203.html
20th
– St Paul. +851. A deacon in Cordoba in Spain who belonged to the monastery of
St Zoilus and who was very zealous in ministering to Christians imprisoned by
the Muslims. He was beheaded for the Orthodox Faith and his relics were
enshrined in the church of St Zoilus.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
27th
– Sts George, Aurelius and Natalia, Felix and Liliosa. +852. Martyrs in Cordoba
in Spain under the Caliph Abderrahman II. Aurelius and Felix, with their wives,
Natalia and Liliosa, were Spaniards; but the deacon George was a monk from
Palestine, who, though offered pardon as a foreigner, chose martyrdom for
Christ with the others.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
Sweden:
30th
– St Olav. + c 950. King of Sweden, martyred by the heathen for refusing to
sacrifice to idols at the spot where Stockholm now stands.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/295.html
Wales:
1st
– Sts Julius and Aaron, and the other martyrs with them. According to tradition
they are the Protomartyrs of Wales and suffered in Caerleon-on-Usk under
Diocletian.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://www.bartleby.com/210/7/012.html
http://orthochristian.com/104923.html
Wales/England:
8th
– St Urith. + 6th cent? She was probably a nun martyred by pagan English
invaders at Chittlehampton in Devon. Her shrine was in the village church there,
where her relics may still be buried under the floor.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
https://celticsaints.org/2020/0708d.html
Wales/Ireland/Cornwall/Brittany:
28th
– St Samson of Dol. c 490-c 565. Born in Wales, he became a disciple of St
Illtyd at Llantwit Major and then for a time was monk and abbot of the
monastery on Caldey Island. He left Caldey and visited Ireland. Then he went to
Cornwall and was consecrated bishop by St Dubricius. Finally he crossed to
Brittany and spent the rest of his life enlightening that country, basing
himself at Dol. He was one of the greatest missionaries of his century.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdjul.htm
A
much fuller account of the life of this wonderful Saint is here:
http://orthochristian.com/105687.html
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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