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  1. The Departure of St. Eumenius, the Seventh Pope of the See of St. Mark. On this day of the year 146 A.D., Saint Eumenius the seventh Pope of the See of St. Mark, departed. Pope Abremius, the fifth Pope, ordained him a deacon and he served 10 years in this position. When St. Yustus, the sixth Pope, was appointed, he saw how Eumenius excelled in knowledge and faith, so he ordained him a priest. He entrusted to him the teaching of the believers of the church of Alexandria, and asked him to look after them and to instruct them in the principles of the Orthodox faith. When Pope Yustus departed, this father was chosen Patriarch. He handed down the care of the churches and the teaching of the believers to Father Marcianus who later became his successor. He continually restored the strayed sinners, explaining to the pagans plainly the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and His being one in His divine essence. He stayed on the chair for 13 years and departed in peace. His praye

  1. The Martyrdom of St. Matra. On this day, St. Matra the elder, was martyred. He was a native of Alexandria, a believing Christian. When Decius reigned, he established the worship of idols. He afflicted the Christian people in every place. When his edict reached Alexandria, its people began also to be persecuted. Some brought accusations against this saint. The Governor brought St. Matra to question him about his faith. St. Matra confessed that the Lord Christ is a true God of true God. The Governor commanded him to worship the idols and promised him much money. When he refused, he threatened to punish him, but he did not give up his faith. He shouted at the governor, "I do not worship but the Lord Christ, the creator of heaven and earth." The Governor became angry with him, and ordered him beaten. He was severely beaten and then hanged up by his arms. They then imprisoned him and slit his face and his temples with a red hot rod. Finally, because he insist

  The Martyrdom of Saint Anastasia On this day, St. Anastasia was martyred. This fighter was a native of Rome, and the daughter of Christian parents. They raised her well and taught her the Christian manners. When she grew up, her parents wanted her to get married, but she did not agree with them for she had forsaken the vanities of the world and its lusts. She instead chose to lead a spiritual life and longed for the heavenly glories since her young age. She entered one of the convents of the virgins in Rome and put on the monastic garb. She subdued her body with devoutness and asceticism. She did not eat except once every two days. During the holy Lent she ate only on Saturdays and Sundays after the prayer of the sixth hour of the day. Her food during all the days of her monastic life was dry bread and salt. It came to pass that some of the convents of virgins, nearby the convent where this saint was staying, were celebrating a feast. The abbess took St. Anastasia, with

  The Commemoration of the Miracle that God Performed for St. Athanasius the Apostolic On this day the Lord Christ performed a great miracle for the honorable Saint Abba Athanasius, 20th Pope of Alexandria. When Emperor Constantius, the son of the righteous Emperor Constantine, adopted the teachings of Arius who said that the Son was, after not being, and therefore not equal to the Father, he sent a man, whose name was Gawargios, to Alexandria. He also sent along with him 500 horsemen and letters appointing Gawargios patriarch of Alexandria instead of Abba Athanasius the Apostolic. He ordered Gawargios to support the faith of Arius and slay all who would not be obedient to him. When this man arrived to the city, he preached the teachings of Arius but only a few people of the city accepted his teachings. Therefore, he killed a large number of people, and St. Athanasius hid himself for a period of six years. After which he went to the city of Constantinople, and asked Emper