Holy Martyrs Sarbelus and Bebaia of Edessa
Sarbelus and Bebaia were brother and sister from the city of Edessa in Mesopotamia. Sarbelus was in his youth a pagan priest serving in the pagan temples, and he had been raised in the traditions of paganism. During the reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117), the Christian faith was spreading, and Sarbelus came into contact with Barsimaeus, the holy Bishop of Edessa, who was known for his devoted ministry to the people of the city and his testimony to Christ.
Through the witness and preaching of Bishop Barsimaeus, Sarbelus's heart was awakened to the truth of Christ and to the emptiness of pagan idolatry. Recognising his past error and false priesthood, Sarbelus was converted to the Christian faith. The next day, he went to the bishop and asked to be baptised into the Church, along with his sister Bebaia, who had also been moved by the grace of God to embrace Christianity. Both siblings received baptism and became devoted followers of Christ.
When their conversion and Christian faith became known to the pagan authorities, they were arrested. Sarbelus was condemned to death by terrible torture; he was sawn asunder and then beheaded. His sister Bebaia, filled with love for her brother and with courage born of faith, spread a cloth over his dismembered body to collect his precious blood, honouring him as a witness to Christ. She too was arrested and executed by beheading. Both gave their lives as martyrs rather than renounce their newly-found Christian faith.
The Holy Martyrs Sarbelus and Bebaia are commemorated on 29 January (as well as 15 October) in the Orthodox Church calendar as examples of courage, family devotion, and steadfast faith in Christ unto death. Their witness continues to inspire the faithful to confess Christ boldly and to endure all trials rather than deny Him.
Martyr Chryse
Chryse was a Christian virgin and martyr who lived during the first century of the Christian era, during the time of the Apostles. She boldly confessed her faith in Christ and refused to deny the Lord or to make offerings to pagan idols, standing firm in her Christian conviction despite the dangers of persecution. She lived approximately from the year 41 to 54, a period of intense hostility toward Christians in the pagan Roman world.
Because of her courageous and unwavering confession of the Christian faith, Chryse was arrested by the pagan authorities. Unwilling to renounce Jesus Christ or to compromise her faith, she endured her martyrdom with great courage and steadfastness. Through her suffering and death, she became a witness to Christ and a martyr of the early Church.
Saint Chryse is commemorated on 29 January in the Orthodox Church calendar as a model of Christian courage and fidelity unto death. Her memory is honoured by the Church as a testament to the faith of those early Christians who preferred death to the denial of Christ. She represents the countless unnamed and named martyrs of the first century who gave their lives so that the faith in Christ might be preserved and passed on to future generations.
Saint Aphraates of Persia
Aphraates was a Persian sage and theologian of the early Church, also known as "the Sage" or "the Persian Sage". Living in the fourth century in Persia, he developed into one of the most significant theological voices of his era and region. Aphraates composed numerous homilies and theological treatises addressing various doctrinal and pastoral concerns of the Christian community under Persian rule. His writings reveal deep knowledge of Scripture, theological acumen, and pastoral concern for the spiritual welfare of the faithful facing persecution and difficulty. Aphraates combined scholarly rigour with spiritual depth, and his works became influential in the development of Syriac Christian theology. Though he lived in the context of occasional persecution and social pressure, he remained steadfast in his commitment to Orthodox faith and pastoral ministry. Aphraates is commemorated on 29 January as a great theologian, spiritual teacher, and defender of the faith in the Persian lands.
Saint Lawrence the Recluse of the Kiev Caves
Lawrence was a Russian Orthodox monk of the Kiev Pechersky Monastery (the Monastery of the Caves), renowned for his ascetic discipline and spiritual wisdom. He devoted himself to the monastic life with great fervour, pursuing spiritual perfection through prayer, fasting, and obedience to the monastic rule. Lawrence became known as a recluse, withdrawing further from worldly contact to dedicate himself entirely to contemplative prayer and union with God. The Kiev Caves Monastery was a major centre of Orthodox monasticism in Russia, and its monks became renowned for their holiness and their contributions to Russian spiritual and cultural development. Lawrence exemplified the virtues of humility, perseverance in asceticism, and pastoral concern for those who sought his spiritual guidance. He reposed in the Lord and is venerated in the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint and elder of the Kiev Caves. Saint Lawrence is commemorated on 29 January as a monk and guide in the ascetic life.
Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch
This feast commemorates the translation of the holy relics of Saint Ignatius, the great hieromartyr and Bishop of Antioch, who lived in the apostolic age and was a disciple of the Apostle John. Ignatius was known as "the God-bearer" because of his profound union with God and his burning love for Christ. He was martyred in Rome under the Emperor Trajan in the early second century, his martyrdom described in historical accounts and his own epistles, which remain among the most precious documents of early Christian literature. Following his martyrdom, his relics were venerated by the faithful and eventually translated to a place of honour, an event commemorated annually in the Orthodox liturgical calendar. The translation of his relics exemplifies the Church's veneration of the saints and the communion of saints, whereby the faithful unite in prayer with those who have reposed in the Lord and seek their intercession before the throne of God. Ignatius is commemorated on 29 January as a great apostolic figure, fearless witness to the faith, and powerful intercessor for the Church.
St Andrei Rublev, iconographer
1430
Many consider him the greatest iconographer of all time, and his “Holy Trinity” the finest icon. Very little is known of his life. He was born around 1360, and probably studied with the Byzantine iconographer Theophanes the Greek. He is known to have created icons for the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow and the Cathedral of the Dormition at Vladimir. He created a highly spiritual and distinctively Russian iconographic style that set the standard for Russian iconography for centuries thereafter. It is said that he knew St Sergius of Radonezh (July 5). In his later years he became a monk.
Our Holy Father Aphrahat the Persian
4th c.
He was from the pagan Persian aristocracy, but came to faith in Christ and left his home for the Christian city of Edessa, where he was baptized. He later moved to Antioch, where he lived in prayer and asceticism a short distance from the city. He ate nothing but a small amount of bread until he was extremely old, when he added some greens to his diet. Though he knew very little Greek, he was empowered by the Holy Spirit to win many converts to Christ and to confound the learned Arian heretics who were disturbing the Church in Antioch.
When Aphrahat learned that the Arian Emperor Valens was persecuting Christ’s Church, he moved to the city to support the true Faith. One day the Emperor himself met Aphrahat in the city square and asked him why he had left his solitude and come to Antioch. The Saint answered ‘Tell me this: if I were a maiden at home in my secluded apartment and saw someone setting fire to my father’s house, would you not advise me to put out the blaze as soon as possible? That is what I am doing now, because the Church, the heavenly Father’s house, is burning down inthe fire that you have set!’ One of the Emperor’s attendants threatened Aphrahat with death for this impertinence; but the attendant himself later perished, drowned as he was heating water for the Emperor’s bath. This made the Emperor afraid to persecute the holy one, who continued to preach the true Faith and to perform many miracles. He reposed in peace.
Repose of Blessed Father Dimitrios Gagastathis
1975
Though not yet officially a Saint of the Church, Papa Dimitrios is widely revered in Greece and abroad. His life is an inspiring example of the possibility of great holiness for those living in the world: a simple married parish priest, he spent forty-two years serving his childhood parish, and had nine daughters. He was a spiritual child of Elder Amphilochios of Patmos, and in turn became a spiritual father to many. His biography describes his last years thus: “On October 1, 1973, he resigned for reasons of health. Since then, he remained confined at home, living as a saint with incessant prayer, glorifying and thanking God for the trial of his illness. He delivered his holy soul to the hands of the living God on January 29, 1975, in peace.”
For more on Papa-dimitri, read this biographical sketch.