March 15th (III - 28)

Icon of Men and Women Hermits

Icon of St. Agapios, St. Aristoboulou and St. Manuel the new Martyr of Crete

Martyr Agapios and with him the 7 Martyrs: Puplios, Timolaus, Romilos, Alexander, Alexander, Dionysios, Dionysios (+ 303). Holy Disciple Nicander. PriestMartyr Alexander, Presbyter in Sidon (+ c. 270-275). Martyrs: Nikander (+ c. 302); Manuel of Crete (+ 1792). Monk Nikandr of Gorodnoezersk (XVI). Saint Hebarestes the Steward.

The Holy Martyrs Agapios, Puplios, Timolaus, Romilos, Alexander, Alexander, Dionysios and Dionysios suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305) in the city of Palestinian Caesarea. At the time of one of the pagan feasts they began to torture and execute Christians who refused to offer sacrifice to idols. At this time the Martyr Timotheos (Comm. 19 August) was sentenced to burning, and the Martyrs Agapios and Thekla (Comm. 19 August) were sentenced to tearing apart by wild beasts. The group of young Christians -- Puplios, Timolaus, Alexander, another Alexander, Dionysios, and the subdeacon of the Diaspolis church Romilos -- decided publicly to confess their faith and suffer for Christ. As a sign of their voluntary deed they tied themselves together by the feet and appeared before the governor Urban. Seeing their youthfulness, the governor tried to persuade them to refrain from their decision, but in vain. He then threw them in prison, where there were already two Christians -- Agapios, undergoing tortures for faith in Christ, and his servant Dionysios. All these saints were subjected to terrible tortures and beheaded.

The PriestMartyr Alexander, Presbyter in Sidon, suffered for Christ during the time of persecution under the emperor Aurelian (270-275). The saint was interrogated by the governor Antoninus and given over to fierce tortures.

But miraculously preserved by the Lord, the saint with surprising endurance underwent all the tortures, and finally, he was beheaded. And just as the torturer Antoninus went to go from the judgement place, he became possessed of demons and perished in frenzied convulsions.

The Holy Martyr Nikander suffered in Egypt under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). He was a physician and during the time of the persecution he visited Christians locked up in prison, he rendered them help, brought them food, and buried the dead.

One time he came to the place where the bodies of killed martyrs were thrown for devouring by wild beasts. Fearing to bury them by day, he waited for night and under cover of darkness buried the bodies. They discovered Saint Nikander and subjected him to terrible tortures: they skinned him alive and then beheaded him (+ c. 302).

The Holy Martyr Manuel of Crete in his childhood was taken into captivity by the Turks, who converted him to Mahometanism. Having grown up, the saint returned to Christ, confessed his faith in Him, and was beheaded on the island of Chios in the year 1792.

Saint Hebarestes was steward of a church located in Jerusalem.

The Monk Nikandr of Gorodnoezersk at the beginning of the XVII Century founded a wilderness monastery at the shore of Lake Gorodna (47 versts from the city of Borovich, 4 versts from the country-church at Sherokhovich). Earlier at this place was the Resurrection monastery. When it was founded is unknown, but in the year 1581 it said in the monastery records, that in the 10 cells lived but 3 elders. The Monk Nikandr was buried in the monastery restored by him. In a church of the monastery vacated in 1764 was a chapel in the name of the Monk Nikandr of Gorodnoezersk.

© 1998 by translator Fr. S. Janos.