ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar 2026
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Ап. Иродион
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Old Style
April 8
Tuesday
New Style
April 21
2nd Week after Pascha. Commemoration of the Dead (Radonitsa). Tone 1.
No fast.

Cовершается служба, не отмеченная в Типиконе никаким знакомHoly Apostles of the Seventy: Herodion, Agabus, Asyncritus, Rufus, Phlegon, Hermes, and those who suffered with them (1st c.).

Martyr Pausilipus of Thrace (ca. 117-138). St. Celestine, pope of Rome (432). St. Niphont, bishop of Novgorod (1156). St. Rufus the Recluse, of the Kiev Caves (14th c.).

New Hieromartyr Sergius Rodakovsky, archpriest, of Tal (Belorussia) (1933).

Spanish Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (792).

Monk-martyrs Josiah and Joseph, of Mt. Kharasam, Persia (ca. 341). St. Philaret of Seminara, Calabria (ca. 1070). New Martyr John (Koulikas) (1564). New Martyr John Naukliros (“the Navigator”), on Kos (1699).

Repose of Helen Voronova, disciple of Elder Barsanuphius of Optina (1916).

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

Tuesday. [Acts 4:1–10; John 3:16–21]

   He that believeth not in the Son of God is condemned already (John 3:18). For what? For the fact that when light is all around, he remains in darkness, due to his love for it. Love of darkness and hatred of the light make him entirely to blame, even without his determining where the truth lies; because he who has sincere love for the truth will be led by this love from the darkness of deception to the light of truth. One example is the holy apostle Paul. He was a sincere lover of the truth, devoted with all his soul to what he considered to be true, without any self-interest. Therefore, as soon as he was shown that the truth lay not in what he considered to be true, that very moment he cast aside the old—which proved to be untrue—and cleaved with all his heart to the new, which was tangibly proven to be the truth. The same occurs with every sincere lover of truth. The truth of Christ is clear as day: seek and ye shall find. Help from above is always ready for one who sincerely seeks. Therefore, if someone remains in the darkness of unbelief, it is only due to his love for that darkness, and for this he is already condemned.

Articles

Apostle Rodion of the Seventy

Saint Rodion, or Herodion (April 8), was a kinsman of the Apostle Paul (Romans 16:11), and left the bishop’s throne at Patras to go to Rome with the Apostle Peter.

Apostle Herodion of the Seventy, and those with Him

Saints Herodion (Rodion), Agabus, Asyncritus, Rufus, Phlegon and Hermes are among the Seventy Apostles, chosen by Christ and sent out by Him to preach.

Apostle Hermas of the Seventy

The Holy Apostle Hermas was a bishop in Philippopolis, Thrace.

Martyr Pausilippus of Heraclea in Thrace

The Holy Martyr Pausilippus suffered under the emperor Hadrian (117-138).

St. Celestine the Pope of Rome

Saint Celestine, Pope of Rome, a zealous champion of Orthodoxy, lived during the reign of the holy Emperor Theodosius the Younger.

St. Niphon the Bishop of Novgorod

Saint Niphon was a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastry, where he struggled in asceticism. In imitation of the Holy Fathers, he uprooted the passions through fasting, vigil, and prayer, and adorned himself with every virtue. He was chosen as Bishop of Novgorod when Bishop John retired to a monastery after twenty-five years of episcopal service.

St. Niphon of Novgorod. “This Man Is Worthy of Becoming a Bishop...”

Elena Detinina

He reconciled warring parties, united people of different classes into a single union, while firmly adhering to the Orthodox faith.

Venerable Rufus the Obedient of the Kiev Far Caves

Saint Rufus the Obedient, Hermit of the Caves, lived at the Kiev Caves monastery during the fourteenth century.
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