Baby Jesus taking His first steps, into the arms of His Mother Mary the Theotokos.
Jesus loves us all so much! We are always on His mind and in His heart.
Saint Seraphim of Sarov was praying in the forest one day, and some children found him there and they had lots of fun together talking about God and everything beautiful He created.
Saint Sophia loved her three daughters very much, their names are Saint Faith, Saint Hope and Saint Love. She taught them to love Christ and stay with Him, no matter what happens to them in this world.
Saint Evgeny was a 19 year old soldier and loved to wear a Cross around his neck, because it reminded Him of Jesus and this gave him strength through his struggles.
Do you know Jesus and Saint John the Baptist knew each other before they were born? When Our Lady the Theotokos went to visit her cousin Saint Elizabeth, Saint John the Baptist leaped for joy, and baby Jesus blessed His cousin.
Saint Irene of Mytilene was a twelve year old girl who loved Christ, regardless of what people did to try to make her change her mind.
Saint Iakovos Tsalikis, when he was a young boy, would visit the Church of Saint Paraskevi often, where he loved to chant and pray to God.
Saint Kyrikos was three years old when he and his mother Saint Julitta refused to deny God and have treasures of this world, and they both chose to stay with God.
Saint Porphyrios had a pet bird, and this bird prayed together with him, saying the Jesus Prayer and other prayers too! Saint Porphyrios told us that Christ is our friend 🙂
Saint Nicholas loved to help people and would anonymously leave money for them. We continue this tradition today, when we give each other gifts, especially at Christmas time.
Do you know Jesus’ Grandmother? Her name is Saint Maria. In this Icon we can see Jesus, His Mother Mary the Theotokos, her mother Saint Anna, and her mother Saint Maria.
Saint Kosmas and Saint Damian are brothers. They worked as doctors and helped people but never wanted to be paid for it, all they asked from the people was that they follow Christ.
Saint Moses the Ethiopian was for many years living a life of crime until he discovered Christ and completely changed his life. With great effort and God’s help he changed from being strong in sin, to be strong in virtues. Saint Moses is now a shining example of Christian repentance and persistence.
Saint Alban lived in Britain. One day he spoke with a Priest about Jesus Christ and from that moment on he came to know God and love Him. Saint Alban became a Christian and was Baptised, and despite encountering great difficulties, he always rejoiced and Glorified God.
Saint Joseph was the guardian of both Mary the Theotokos and Jesus, and he took great care of them both by praying for them and protecting them.
Saint Barbara the Great Martyr was a young girl who lived a virtuous life. She admired all of creation, and God enlightened her to know about Him. In her most difficult moments, Saint Barbara would raise her arms to God in prayer asking for His help, and He was always with her.
Saint John the Baptist spoke to people about Jesus Christ, and how important repentance is. He Baptised Jesus in the Jordan River, and saw the Holy Trinity! Saint John always spoke the truth, because he knew that God wants to bring everyone to the knowledge of truth and to be saved.
Saint Paisios was a humble Monk who helped a lot of people with his prayers and words of encouragement. He especially enjoyed spending time with children, laughing together and speaking about Jesus.
God created the stars and the moon, the trees and the ocean, the birds and all the animals, then He made His best creation of all – you, and every person in the world!
We all have a Guardian Angel protecting us and praying with us.
Saint Luke the Russian loved to paint Icons when he was a young boy. When he grew up he worked as a surgeon and was an Archbishop too!
Righteous Noah listened to God and built an ark to keep animals and his family safe. He took two of every kind of animal into the ark, and repopulated the Earth after the Great Flood.
Our loving Lady the Theotokos visited Saint Seraphim of Sarov many times throughout his life, and helped him to be strong both physically and spiritually.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anna are the Grandparents of Jesus! They prayed for many years asking God to bless them with a child, and He did! The little baby girl grew up to be our Mother Mary the Theotokos.
Saint Photini met Jesus at the well and spoke to Him about a lot of things. After realising Who He Is, Saint Photini became a Christian, and so did her two sons and five sisters.
In this Icon we can see our loving Mother Mary the Theotokos with Jesus and Saint John the Baptist when they were both little children.
Saint Nektarios lived his whole life full of love and humility towards everyone. He loved Jesus and Our Lady the Theotokos so much and he even wrote some prayers to them.
Saint Eustathios, his wife Saint Theopisti, and their two sons Saint Agapios and Saint Theopistos went through many difficulties and spent a lot of time apart, but they always remembered each other and God, and finally one day they were all reunited.
Do you know Saint Joseph had a few children? One of his son’s is Saint Iakovos, he is also called the Brother of our Lord and was the first Bishop of Jerusalem. Saint Iakovos spent time with Jesus when he was little, and continued to be close to Him throughout His life.
Saint George loves Christ very much, and so do his parents, their names are Saint Gerontios and Saint Polychronia. They gave each other strength and courage during difficult times, but most of all they gave their son an example of how to stay close to God and love Him above everything else.
Have you heard about Saint Katherine’s ring? Jesus saw her desire to know Him and He appeared to her in a dream and gave her a ring. When Saint Katherine woke up, she saw the ring on her finger! From that day on she loved Christ with all her heart, and kept the ring on her finger.
When Jesus was 40 days old, Our Lady the Theotokos and Saint Joseph took Him to the Church to pray to God. Saint Symeon and Prophetess Anna were so happy because they were waiting for many years to meet baby Jesus! We continue this tradition today, when a baby is 40 days old the parents take it to the Church and the Priest will read a prayer and ask God for His blessings.
Saint Silouan loved to talk to Jesus. He prayed all day, even when he was working. Can you see the Prayer Rope in his hand?
Saint Christopher was a strong man who would help people to cross a river. One day he carried little baby Jesus across the water. Saint Christopher noticed baby Jesus was very heavy, and he understood this was because baby Jesus is carrying all of the pain and sins of all humanity because He loves us so much.
Saint Luke, one of the 70 Apostles of Jesus Christ, is also known as an Evangelist because he wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Saint Luke worked as a doctor and he continues to help people today. He also painted the first Icon of our Mother Mary the Theotokos and Jesus.
Saint Adrian and Saint Natalia were married and loved each other dearly. Saint Natalia was a Christian, but Saint Adrian was not, until one day his heart was transformed when he saw the faith of other Christians. From that day on they both suffered much but encouraged each other to hold on to their love for Christ and for each other.
Saint Gerasimos had a pet lion! The lion had a thorn in his paw, so he went to Saint Gerasimos to help him, and the lion lived with him from that day on. He named the lion Jordan, because they lived near the Jordan river where Jesus was Baptised.
Saint Paraskevi was raised as a Christian by her parents, and she loved Jesus and dedicated her whole life to Him. She became a Nun and helped everyone she met and taught them about Jesus Christ.
A young boy once gave Jesus five small loaves and two small fish, and Jesus fed over five thousand people from this. Do you have something you can offer for your love of Jesus? A kind word to someone, a helping hand, a prayer to Jesus for your family? Offer it in prayer and action, and Jesus will make this small thing become great!
The Holy Icon of Panagia of Jerusalem was given to us by Our Lady the Theotokos herself. Saint Paisios saw her a few times throughout his life, and one day when he saw this Icon he was amazed and said this Icon looks exactly like her!
Saint Sophrony lived on Mount Athos for many years with his Spiritual Father Saint Silouan, and later he founded a Monastery in England. Something wonderful he explained is how we need to get away from sin, and we can do this by turning to Christ and talking to Him in prayer.
Saint John the Merciful is blessed to be called ‘the Merciful’ because he helped everyone in need. He assisted the poor, resolved disputes between people by encouraging them to forgive, he visited and cared for sick people, and always prayed for everyone and never refused to help anyone.
Saints Menodora, Metrodora and Nymphodora are sisters who spent their days together praying to God and encouraging each other to grow strong in their faith. They were so close to God that, through the prayers of these three sisters, some sick people became well.
Saint Euphrosynos was a Monk and the cook of the Monastery where he lived. Each day he spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing food, praying and cultivating the virtues. He patiently endured a lot of struggles and God gave him the blessing to spend some time in Paradise. Can you see the three apples Saint Euphrosynos is holding? They are from Paradise!
Saint Marina was a young girl who loved Jesus so much that she constantly turned to Him in every situation, and Jesus became her strength throughout her life. With God’s help Saint Marina became so strong spiritually and physically and she was able to fight off terrible temptations.
Have you ever made a Phanouropita? It’s a cake we bake to thank Saint Phanourios for his help finding things we have lost. His name “Phanourios” means the revealer, and we ask him to reveal to us the greatness of Christ’s love and help us find faith.
Life often becomes difficult, and sometimes we feel like we are sinking, but we should remember Saint Peter’s words to Jesus: “Lord, save me!” Jesus is always with us! Even if we forget Him for some time, the moment we call out to Him He reaches out His hand to help us.
Have you heard of Saint Basil the Great? How about Saint Macrina? Did you know they are from the same family? Their whole family lived a Holy life, and they encouraged each other to grow in their faith. They were full of virtues helping everyone in need, and especially teaching people about the love of Christ.
Following her Dormition, the Mother of God ascended bodily to the Heavens and gave her Holy Belt to Saint Thomas as a blessing for all of us. Her Holy Belt has healed many people both physically and spiritually.
Saint John the Russian was a young man who lived as a slave. He was extremely humble and respectful. Saint John always remembered God and this made him joyful despite his difficult life. He slept with the horses in the stable of his master’s house, and constantly had prayer on his lips and God in his heart.
The Great Martyrs Saint Raphael, Saint Irene and Saint Nicholas all loved Jesus Christ and dedicated their lives to Him. Saint Raphael lived as a Priest-Monk, Saint Nicholas was his Deacon and Saint Irene was a young girl from the village. They were friends and helped each other stay close to God during tough times in life, and they continue to help all of us in the same way.
Saint Paisios had a very dear friend named Olet, he was a little bird who often came to spend time with him. He also cared for other animals that came to visit him. How many animals can you see in this Icon with Saint Paisios?
As Jesus was growing up, He learnt to work as a Carpenter, because that was the job of His Guardian Saint Joseph. They worked together, prayed together, and made lots of things for people to use.
Saint Dimitrios was raised as a Christian during difficult times of persecution. His love for Christ overpowered any other desire of this world. The life of Saint Dimitrios teaches us that when we use the virtues and gifts given to us by God, and not abuse them for the glory of this world, then God glorifies us with Holiness.