ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2025
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Мученики Мануил, Савел и Исмаил
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Old Style
June 17 		Monday
New Style
June 30
4th Week after Pentecost. Tone 2.
Fast of the Holy Apostles.
Monastic rule: xerophagy (bread, uncooked fruits and vegetables).

Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомMartyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ismael, of Persia, at Constantinople (362).

Uncovering of the relics of the Alfanov Brothers of Novgorod: Sts. Nicetas, Cyril, Nicephorus, Clement, and Isaac, founders of the Sokolnitzki Monastery in 1389 (1562). St. Ananias the Iconographer, of Novgorod (1581).

New Hiero-confessor Maximus (Popov), hieromonk, of Ryabash (Bashkiria) (1934). New Hieromartyr Nicander (Prusak), hieromonk, of Yaroslavl (1918).

Martyr Djan Darada, the Ethiopian eunuch of Queen Candace (1st c.). Hieromartyr Philoneides, bishop of Kurion on Cyprus (ca. 306). Sts. Joseph and Pior, of Scetis, disciples of St. Anthony the Great (4th c.). St. Hypatius, abbot, of the monastery of the Rufinianes (446). Saint Herveus of Plouvien (6th c.). Martyr Nectan of Hartland (Devon) (6th c.). St. Botolph, abbot and confessor, of Ikanhoe, England (680) and his brother, St. Adolph the Confessor, bishop of Maastricht (7th c.). Martyr Shalva of Akhaltsikhe, Georgia (1227). Hieromartyr Isaurus, deacon, and with him Martyrs Innocent, Felix, Hermias, Basil, Peregrinus, Rufus, and Rufinus, of Appolonia in Macedonia (284).

Repose of Elder Gervasius (Paraskevopoulos) of Patras (1964).

Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse

St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday. [Rom. 9:18-33; Matt. 11:2-15]

   The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. The kingdom suffereth violence—that is, it is attained with violence, with labour, force, and difficult spiritual struggles; therefore only those who lead a labor-filled ascetic life attain it. This is how comfort of every sort is renounced along the path to the kingdom. Pleasures of all types distance us from the kingdom; but these days we have concern only for pleasures, sometimes emotional, but more often fleshly: to eat, drink, have fun, make merry and luxuriate in everything. We have said to the kingdom, “I beg you to excuse me,” though there is a feast in the kingdom—a royal feast, one so sumptuous that we could not even conceive of it, because we do not have the taste for it. What there is considered sweet, to us is bitter; what there is pleasant, for us is repulsive, what there gladdens, for us is a burden—we have gone totally separate ways. And the kingdom, together with the violent who take it by force, withdraws from us. We are glad, even ready to drive them away more quickly, indeed we already have started talking about it; but the evil one does not manage to arrange this.

Articles

The Holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ismael

The Holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ismael, brothers by birth, were descended from an illustrious Persian family.

Saint Herveus of Plouvien

Dmitry Lapa

Although St. Herveus (Herve) who lived in the sixth century is still venerated all over Brittany, very little genuine information on him survives. The first detailed Life of this unique holy ascetic was written only in the late Middle Ages. However, besides these late sources, numerous Breton traditions and pieces of folklore testify to St. Herveus and his veneration in Brittany throughout many centuries.

Holy Martyr Nectan of Hartland

Dmitry Lapa

As a young man, Nectan decided to become a monk and serve God for the rest of his life, imitating the Holy Fathers of Egypt. So together with a group of his pious relatives, Nectan boarded a boat, promising to lead an ascetic life at the site where his boat would land.

Martyr Nectan of Hartland

St Nectan was born in Wales and lived in the sixth century, but we know few details about his life. He was the oldest of the twenty-four children of St Brychan of Brecknock (April 6).

Venerable Botolph of Iken, Patron-saint of travellers

Dmitry Lapa

St. Botolph has been venerated in many countries outside Britain—in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, where many churches are dedicated to him. In the 11th century, his veneration reached Kievan Rus’ and more recently it reached North America. In England and the whole of Western Europe St. Botolph is mainly venerated as patron-saint of travellers, as the saint travelled much himself.

Holy Martyr Shalva of Akhaltsikhe (†1227)

Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze

Saint Shalva of Akhaltsikhe was a brilliant military commander in the army of Queen Tamar and the prince of Akhaltsikhe. After his victory at Shamkori in the Ganja region, Shalva carried with him the flag of the caliph, as a sign of the invincibility of the Christian Faith, and conferred it, along with the wealth he had won, as an offering to the Khakhuli Icon of the Theotokos.
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