Orthodox saints and name days on August 1

Name days on August 1

Elesa, Elessa, Eleazar, Solomoni, Solomone

Saints and feasts of August 1

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  Beginning of the Dormition Fast

  Saint, Αρχή Νηστείας

  On the first of August the Church enters the Dormition Fast, two weeks of fasting and prayer in preparation for the great feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15. During these days the faithful gather in the evenings for the Paraklesis, the supplicatory canon to the Mother of God, seeking her intercession.

• Elesa of Kythira

  Martyr, Ελέσα

  St. Elesa was a virgin martyr honored by tradition as the patroness of the island of Kythira. Her very birth was an answer to prayer: her mother, a pious Christian who had long struggled to bear a child, prayed fervently and received the divine assurance that God had shown her mercy — in Greek, ho Theos elesese — and so the daughter granted to her was named Elesa. Raised by her mother in the faith despite her pagan father, she embraced Christ and consecrated her life to Him. When her father raged against her faith she fled across the water to Kythira; pursuing her there, he put her to death, and she received the crown of martyrdom in her youth.

  Name days: Elesa, Elessa

• Procession of the Precious Cross

  Saint, Πρόοδος Τιμίου Σταυρού

  On the first of August the Church commemorates the bringing forth of the Precious Cross from the imperial treasury in Constantinople. Tradition relates that the relic was carried through the city during the hot summer weeks to sanctify the streets and to ward off sickness.

• Seven Maccabees, Solomone and Eleazar

  Martyr, Επτά Μακκαβαίοι, Σολομονή και Ελεάζαρ

  The Holy Maccabees are the seven brothers who, with their mother Solomone and the aged scribe Eleazar, refused to break the Law of God under the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. Their story is told in the Second Book of Maccabees.

  Name days: Eleazar, Solomoni, Solomone

• Nine Martyrs of Perge

  Saint, Εννέα Μάρτυρες Πέργης

  The Nine Martyrs of Perge were simple working men of Pamphylia who confessed Christ during the persecution of Diocletian. Tradition relates that they destroyed a pagan altar and were put to death after refusing to sacrifice.

• Timothy of Proconnesus

  Hierarch, Τιμόθεος Προκοννήσου

  Saint Timothy was archbishop of Proconnesus, an island in the Sea of Marmara. He is remembered as a shepherd of great compassion whose prayers brought healing to the sick.

• Anthony the New of Constantinople

  Venerable, Αντώνιος ο Νέος

  Venerable Anthony the New was a monk who embraced the ascetic life in the Byzantine period and became known for his humility and gifts of prayer.