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  1. The Appearance of the Head of St. Longinus, the Soldier. On this day was the appearance of the head of St. Longinus the Soldier who pierced the side of our Savior, when He was on the Cross. Emperor Tiberius Caesar sent a soldier to Cappadocia to cut off the head of this saint, as it is written in the 23rd day of the month of Abib. The soldier fulfilled the order and brought the head to Jerusalem, and handed it to Pontius Pilate. Pilate showed the head to the Jews, who rejoiced at his deed. Pilate commanded that the head be buried in some of the piles of dirt outside Jerusalem. There was a woman who had believed at the hands of St. Longinus when he preached in Cappadocia. During his execution, she stood, weeping, and witnessed his martyrdom. Later on she became blind. So, she took her son and departed to Jerusalem to be blessed by the holy places, and the holy sepulchre, hoping that she might regain her sight. When she arrived in Jerusalem, her son died. She became ve

  The Departure of St. Peter the Third 27th Pope of Alexandria On this day in the year 481 A.D., the Great Saint Abba Peter III, 27th Pope of Alexandria, departed. He was chosen patriarch after the departure of St. Timothy, 26th Pope. Shortly after his enthronement upon the apostolic throne, he received a letter from St. Acacius, Patriarch of Constantinople, confessing in it the one nature of Christ, according to the faith of St. Cyril and St. Dioscorus. He also stated clearly that it is not right to recognize two separate natures for Christ after the union, otherwise, the usefulness of the union would be futile. Abba Peter replied by a letter declaring his acceptance of Abba Acacius into the Orthodox Faith. He sent it with three learned bishops to Abba Acacius, who received them with respect and asked them to join him in the prayers of the Divine Liturgy. Abba Acacius read the letter to his particulars and to those who followed him. He then wrote another Catholic epistle

  Martyrdom of the Sts. Marcian (Marcianus) and Mercurius On this day of the year 351 A.D., the great saints Marcianus and Mercurius became martyrs. They were disciples of St. Paul the Martyr, Patriarch of Constantinople. When Emperor Constantine II, the son of Constantine the Great, adopted the belief of Arius, Abba Paul the Patriarch opposed him - so he exiled him to Armenia, where he was killed by strangulation. These two saints cried over St. Paul on the day he was exiled. They characterized the Emperor, saying that he was a follower of the belief of Arius the Infidel. A certain Arian man made an accusation against them to the Emperor when he was on one of the plantations. He had them brought to him and ordered them slain with the sword. They were killed and buried, and their bodies remained there until the time of St. John Chrysostom (of the Golden Mouth). When he heard their history, he sent and brought their honorable bodies to the city of Constantinople. He buil