Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
The New Martyr of Russia Alexander Hotovitzky was born on February 11, 1872 in the city of Kremenetz, Ukraine, into the pious family of Archpriest Alexander, who was Rector of the Volhynia Theological Seminary and would later be long remembered in the hearts of the Orthodox inhabitants of Volhynia as a good shepherd. Young Alexander received a good Christian upbringing from his parents, who instilled in him love for the Orthodox Church and for the people of God. We celebrate his memory on December 4. Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
St Raphael was born in Syria in 1860 to pious Orthodox parents, Michael Hawaweeny and his second wife Mariam, the daughter of a priest of Damascus. The exact date of Raphael’s birth is not known, but he estimated it to be on or near his Name Day, the Synaxis of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel and all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven (November 21). We celebrate his memory of February 27. Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Apostle to America was born as Vasily Ivanovich Belavin on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese. His childhood and adolescence were spent in the village in direct contact with peasants and their labor. From his early years he displayed a particular religious disposition, love for the Church as well as rare meekness and humility. We celebrate his memory on April 7 and October 9. Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
St Alexis Toth was a Catholic, who converted to Orthodoxy. His zeal for the Faith, and the respect he had among the people helped to bring thousands back to the True Faith. We celebrate his memory on May 7. Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
St Innocent followed in the footsteps of St Herman by selflessly serving the Aleuts, building churches, educating them and translating the Bible and other books into their native language. We celebrate his memory twice - on April 13, which is the day of his repose, and on October 6, when he was canonized. Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
Today we will look at two men who suffered for Christ and were killed for their faith. In the Orthodox tradition we call them "martyrs," which from Greek means "witness." Sts Juvenaly and Peter witnessed their faith to the end and now they rejoice with the Lord in His Kingdom. We celebrate their memory on September 24. Leading up to the Feast of All Saints of North America, which this year falls on Sunday, June 18, each day of the week we will post a life of one of these saints.
The first saint in our series is St Herman of Alaska. We celebrate his memory on December 25, when he died; and August 6, when he glorified. On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates all the saints, known and unknown, who have lived and labored in its territory. Accordingly, in America we remember the saints of North America on this day. Leading up to this feast day, we will post, each day of the week, the lives eight of these saints.
Saints of all times, and in every country are seen as the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem fallen humanity. Their example encourages us to “lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,” and to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The saints of North America also teach us how we should live, and what we must expect to endure as Christians. |