Seven Saints I’ve recently Fallen in Love with
![[ Painting of the Archangel Michael ]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c5cc96f8dfc8cf5f7a1e1be/1576171400794-3AJJRTX8F1G9FNWFF8WR/IMG_6822.jpeg)
[ Painting of the Archangel Michael ]
Why Bother Reading about Saints?
The Saints, for Christians, are the heroes of the Bible. These are people who were born into a fallen world, just like us, but chose to follow and serve Jesus. Whether they performed miracles, saved others from falling into sin, were martyred for their profession of Christ, or have an amazing story of total repentance; the Saints are a major encouragement and inspiration to us. When we are feeling down and discouraged by the troubles of life, we can always read about the lives of the Saints. They made it to be with who we want to be with; Christ. Many people have told me that reading about the Saints is “unnecessary” and asking them to pray for me is “excessive”, and I agree. It is totally not necessary for someone to inquire about the lives of the Saints, but I personally choose to. I want to excessively and genuinely yearn after Christ the way that these Saints did. I want to make even the slightest fraction of an impact these Saints have made on the lives of thousands.
Since being introduced to Orthodoxy, I have taken my own initiative to read about the many, many Saints that have graced this earth. There are still many things that I am skeptical about within Orthodoxy, but the more I research and read, the more enlightened I become. Orthodoxy makes you think… a lot. Whether you like to or not, you will always be making connections and learning new things, especially for someone who is converting to Orthodoxy; like me! Orthodoxy is not something that could ever possibly be explain through mere words, it is something that you have to experience with an open-mind. Even with a closed-mind you will probably be amazed at what you discover.
I want to learn how to be as much like Christ as possible. I want to have the same power that Christ had when he arose from the dead. The Saints, obviously, are not the same as Christ. However, they are very close to Him because of the pure lives they chose to lead. Through Christ, these Saints had remarkable power to survive even the greatest of torment throughout time. Some of these stories were hard for me to believe, but then I thought about how much more powerful Christ is. Why can’t someone survive being burned alive? Is Christ not more powerful than any earthly trial? He is. With that kind of revelation, I too want to obtain even a small percentage of what these Saints were able to obtain to survive the torture that they did during their time on this side of life.
Archangel Michael
The story of Archangel Michael pulls at my heartstrings.
This amazingly wonderful Archangel was so obedient to God, that he had to do some pretty unimaginable things to carry on that obedience. Archangel Michael was the angel who defended Heaven against the Archangel Lucifer (now Satan). Because Lucifer had formed a mutiny of other angels that were against God, He called about Archangel Michael to form the Mighty Army of Angels who were on God's side. Lucifer was the Archangel in charge of the music and art within Heaven. Before this rebellion, it would make sense that the Archangels were quite fond of each other; probably best friends.
Archangel Michael was probably very upset and confused about Lucifer’s decision to rebel and draw others toward rebellion. God could have easily thrown the rebellion from Heaven, but He decided to give Lucifer the war that he wanted. Lucifer was then defeated along with his rebellion and cast out of Heaven, never to return again. Archangel Michael may or may not have been torn when all of this was going down. To defeat the one who was made like him, had similar responsibilities as him, and glorified God with him must’ve been heartbreaking. Archangel Michael also had his own opportunity to rebel had he wanted to, but he understood the power of God and how important the Lord was to him.
The loyalty that Archangel Michael showed toward God during the rebellion is what is most astounding to me. Choosing to trust God and serve Him forever is truly inspirational. The face of Archangel Michael’s icon is what brings me the most joy. He has such an innocent and child-like yet strong look in his face. He is a Saint that I continuously thank for choosing to defend God whenever he had the opportunity to not do so. It may seem unnecessary, but I want him to know that his loyalty is absolutely nothing short of amazing and much more than appreciated. His story inspires me greatly as he continues to serve the Lord faithfully.
Blessed Thaïs of Egypt
The story of Blessed Thaïs caught my eye when I was researching Saints from Africa
As someone of Africa’s descent, it was very important for me to research and discover Saints from that region. Coming to the realization that Orthodoxy is so much more prominent in Africa than perceived, it’s very comforting to read about the lives of these Saints as well. Saint Thaïs was the child of two wealthy parents. She became an orphan after the death of her parents and began living a pious life. She began distributing her wealth to the poor and once she became low on money, she wanted to acquire more by any means; even if it meant falling into sin. This part of the story resonates with me, because of my yearning to give to the poor, when at times I’m considered poor myself. I want to give to the poor so badly, it is hard to whenever you’re living within your means. I personally thought about trying to play the lottery, to possibly win and give the money away, but I realized I could never gamble away what God has blessed me with.
Blessed Thaïs began living a life of sin, and the Elders of Sketis near Alexandria heard of her fall. They asked Saint John the Dwarf to go to Thaïs and persuade her to repent. He was able to visit with her and she repented from the life of sin she was leading immediately. Repentance is such a powerful event in a person’s life. Repentance invokes many things along with humility and then freedom to continue living once more. Realizing that she was bringing more sin into the world, and that this hurt God deeply, was awesome. She didn’t have to repent; she could’ve continued living in sin, and assuming that what she gave to the poor was simply enough. She had such great self-awareness.
After abandoning everything, including her home and servants, she followed Saint John into the wilderness. She returned to God through penitence and prayer. Night arrived and the Elder prepared a place for Thaïs to sleep. He made a pillow for her of sand, and he went off to sleep after his evening prayers. During the night, the elder was wakened by a light coming down from Heaven to the where Thaïs had been sleeping. In a bright light, he saw angels taking her soul to Heaven. He hurried over to where Thaïs had laid and he found her dead. Elder John began praying immediately and asked God to reveal to him if Thaïs had been saved. An angel of the Lord then appeared and told him, “Abba John, her one hour of repentance was equal to many years, because she repented with all her soul, and a compunctionate heart.”
Greatmartyr and Healer Panteleimon
Saint Panteleimon was a true warrior for Christ.
This Saint survived several rounds of intense, painful torture through the power of Christ. Because of his faith in The Son, he had to endure many trials. Saint Panteleimon was born with the name Pantoleon. His name changed after he was baptized. Panteleimon is known to be the patron Saint for those in need of spiritual or physical healing. His entire incredible story will be available, along with all of the others, toward the end of this blog. Pantoleon found a boy in an alleyway deceased from the bite of a poisonous snake. He prayed that if God raised the boy from the dead and killed the snake, he would become a follower of Christ. To his surprise, the boy was brought back to full health while the snake perished at once. From that day forth, Pantoleon decided he would follow Christ for the rest of his days.
Pantoleon was baptized by Saint Hermolaus with the name Panteleimon after he witnessed the miracle with his own eyes. Saint Panteleimon professed his faith to the emperor, who was a pagan man. He was infuriated with Panteleimon‘s decision after he asked him to make a sacrifice to the idols. Saint Panteleimon faced off with several pagan doctors, when the emperor wanted to see which god would heal the man. The pagan doctors tried to heal the man with no avail. Saint Panteleimon healed the paralyzed man and this angered the emperor greatly. The emperor had the healed man executed (what a waste of time), and took Saint Panteleimon away to be tortured.
Saint Panteleimon survived every amount of torture that was brought to him and walked away unharmed, through the power of Christ. This Saint stayed faithful and trusted God to deliver him out any trouble the pagan emperor threw at him. This is truly encouraging because of the amount of persecution people have faced throughout history and chose to give in (i.e. Peter, Judas). The Saint chose to live and die for his faith. He converted many of those who witnessed him being healed and saved from his wounds and injuries brought onto him by the emperor. Because of this, the emperor had Saint Panteleimon executed. The people that were to execute him became distressed because they knew that Saint Panteleimon‘s Savior was the true Savior. Saint Panteleimon told them to continue on with the execution anyways, and his soul was given over to the Lord.
Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer, and Wonderworker Saint
George
His powerful titles say it all.
This is probably the Saint that most of you were waiting for me to get to; look no further. Saint George is one Saint who survived martyrdom. God delivered him from his enemies time and time again, and those who witnessed these miracles were soon converted to Christ. Saint George confessed his faith to the same pagans who persecuted Christ. His courage is what inspires me the most. God saved him from every treacherous amount of torture he was put through, to add to his lengthy testimony. During one of the times Saint George was being tortured, he told the Roman emperor, “You will grow tired of tormenting me sooner than I will tire of being tormented by you.”
This phrase resonated with me, because of his willingness to persevere through the torment he was enduring because of his belief in Jesus. To me this was hard to fathom, because I am not someone who enjoys being in pain. Because of his strong faith, the Lord was able to deliver him from his mortal injuries, strengthen him, and bring him back to full health. God had done this several times and it frustrated the emperor to his breaking point. He was sure that he could persuade Saint George to make a sacrifice to his idols, but he was once again wrong.
Saint George destroyed the pagan idols within the temple and this was the last straw for the pagan priests. They called for him to be immediately executed, but Saint George had spoken to God and the Lord told him that he would be with him soon. The brave sufferer received his crown of martyrdom on April 23, 303. His story continues to inspire me as I look out into the world and see all those who are suffering for Christ as well. His ability to trust God to deliver him from every torment brings subtle tears to my eyes, as I aspire to have half the amount of faith this Saint possessed.
Saint Herman of Alaska
Saint Herman is such a gentle soul.
Just look at his icon. I would love to have even a sixty-minute conversation with him. Just his icon alone depicts him as overflowing with wisdom and grace. Saint Herman has quite a long recorded history, which I will attach a link to toward the end. His unwavering faith and compassion for God is what inspires me to strive toward humility. There was a time where Saint Herman fell ill and asked the Theotokos to pray for him on his behalf. This man was praying so hard that he was soaked in tears and eventually fell asleep from exhaustion. When he woke up he was completely healed.
Doctors had a hard time believing that this was possible. I personally had a hard time believing this was possible. But why should I? Do I not believe in the same all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God as Saint Herman? I do. Some of these stories are so miraculous, I find them difficult to believe. I have to remind myself that I serve a miraculous God. Having not witnessed a spontaneous healing and only hearing stories about them, does not give me the excuse to not believe it’s possible. Through God all things are possible and this is something I remind myself of everyday.
Saint Herman served God faithfully throughout his life. He was a bit of a green-thumb, he grew and prepared vegetables in his own garden. He wore the same clothes during winter and summer. He was a minimalist, and only had what he needed to survive. Bishop Peter explains that Saint Herman’s most important moments were his exercises and spiritual endeavors in his isolated cell where no one saw him, but outside the cell they heard him singing and celebrating services to God according to the monastic rule. Saint Herman lived a very quiet and powerful life serving God and helping others. His story makes me aspire to live a quieter life of piety.
Saint Porphyrius
Bishop of Gaza
Saint Porphyrius was patient as he waited on the Lord.
Saint Porphyrius lived a life where his patience was tested by God. He had to wait and wait on God for several things. His patience makes me feel like my patience is a grain of sand, and it’s comparable to that. He fell with an illness that weakened his legs greatly. He traveling to the holy places of Jerusalem for healing. He fell at the foot of Golgotha and went into a trace where he saw Christ descending from the cross. Jesus told him to preserve the Wood and after this, Saint Porphyrius was healed.
The Saint went on living for Christ, but was ridiculed by the pagan priests. They burdened the Christian leaders with taxes, although their own idols did nothing for them. There was a drought that had fell upon the land, and the pagan priests had began making sacrifices to their idols to no avail. Saint Porphyrius instructed his flock to fast, pray, and cover the border of the city. In this from the clouds poured a heavy and thunderous rain, once again upsetting the pagan priests.
Saint Porphyrius upheld Christianity in Gaza to the very end of his life, and guarded his flock from the vexatious pagans. Through the prayers of the Saint numerous miracles and healings occurred. The holy archpastor guided his flock for twenty-five years, and reposed in 420 at an advanced age. In the face of adversity, he turned to others who followed Christ for assistance. If they didn’t know Christ, he asked God to make himself known to them, which He did. Saint Porphyrius is another Saint that inspires me to work harder for God and to endure suffering for Christ. His story is very astounding and rich; the link to his story will also be provided toward the end.
Virginmartyr Lucy of Syracuse
Saint Lucy had a heart of gold.
Saint Lucy was born into a wealthier family, which allowed her to be able to distribute her wealth unto the less fortunate. Aforementioned, this is something that my heart yearns to do daily but many things keep me from being able to do such things. I personally have always wanted to start my own non-profit for children who’ve lost one or more parents and who wish to continue into post-secondary education.
Saint Lucy made an oath of chastity to God and promised to remain pure throughout the rest of her days. This can be incredibly difficult, and this decision is more than inspiring, because I’ve personally complained about remaining a virgin my entire life. She was sent to be defiled in a brothel, but through the Lord’s help she was able to remain pure. Then the pagans attempted to burn her alive, but she was not harmed by the fire. Finally, she was killed by a sword thrust to the throat.
There is a story that references that Saint Lucy was blinded by her torturers, which is where the name Lucy (lux) derives from, as having an affliction within the eyes. Saint Lucy of Syracuse lived and died a virgin, which is ultimately the most difficult, powerful, and beautiful way to live and die for Christ. She denied anything that wasn’t of God, and did not mind suffering for His name. This Saint stood out to me, because of her ability to remain peaceful and pure throughout her suffering in life. I’m not exactly sure who she is the patron Saint of, but I will definitely begin asking her to pray for me on my behalf in the future.
