February 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. * 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdina ...

Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Passages of Holy Scripture, saints and events for commemoration are associated with each date, as are many times special rul ...

February 24 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. * 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. * 13 ...

All fixed commemorations below are observed on ''March 8 (March 7 on leap years)'' by

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

es on the

Old Calendar Old Calendarists (Greek language, Greek: ''palaioimerologitai'' or ''palaioimerologites''), also known as Old Feasters (''palaioeortologitai''), Genuine Orthodox Christians or True Orthodox Christians (GOC; ), are traditionalist groups of Easte ...

. For February 23rd, Orthodox Churches on the Old Calendar commemorate the Saints listed on ''

February 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end. * 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, sparkin ...

''.

Saints

* ''Hieromartyr

Polycarp of Smyrna Polycarp (; el, Πολύκαρπος, ''Polýkarpos''; la, Polycarpus; AD 69 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed ...

, Bishop of Smyrna'' (167)February 23 / March 8
Orthodox Calendar (PRAVOSLAVIE.RU). Συναξαριστής.
23 Φεβρουαρίου
'' ECCLESIA.GR. (H ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ). * Holy 73 Martyrs of

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...

, under Diocletian (303) * Martyr Clement, by the sword. * Martyr Thea, by the sword. * ''Venerable

Gorgonia ''Gorgonia'' is a genus of soft corals, sea fans in the family Gorgoniidae. Species The World Register of Marine Species lists these species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, ...

the Righteous'' (370), ''sister of St.

Gregory the Theologian Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...

''. * Saint Alexander, founder of the Monastery of the Unsleeping Ones, Constantinople (430)March 8 / February 23
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church (A parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow).23 февраля (ст.ст.) 8 марта 2014 (нов. ст.)
Русская Православная Церковь Отдел внешних церковных связей. (DECR). (''see also:

January 15 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months. * 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...

July 3 Events Pre-1600 * 324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. * 987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revol ...

'') * Saints John, Antioch, Antoninus, Moses, Zebinas, Polychronius, Moses (another), and Damian, ascetics near

Cyrrhus Cyrrhus (; el, Κύρρος ''Kyrrhos'') is a city in ancient Syria founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Other names for the city include Coricium, Corice, Hagioupolis, Nebi Huri ( ar, نبي هوري), and Khoros ...

in the

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n desert (5th century) * Saint John Theristes ("the Harvester") of

Stylos Stylos or Stilos ( el, Στύλος) is a village and part of the Apokoronas municipal unit in the Chania regional unit of the Greek island of Crete. The Greek etymology of the name of the village is 'column' or 'pillar'. No existing topograp ...

in Calabria (9th or 11th century) (''see also:

'')

Pre-Schism Western saints

* Saint Martha, a virgin-martyr beheaded in Astorga in Spain under Decius (251)February 23
Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome. * Saint Polycarp, a priest in Rome noted for ministering to those in prison for their faith (c. 300) * Saint Romana, a virgin born in Rome who reposed at the age of eighteen while living as an anchoress in a cave on the banks of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

in Italy (324) * Saints Syncrotas, Antigonus, Rutilus, Libius, Senerotas and Rogatianus, martyrs at

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

(4th century) * Saint Florentius of Seville, Confessor, a saint much venerated in Seville in Spain (c. 485) * Saint Felix of Brescia, twentieth

Bishop of Brescia The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brescia ( la, Dioecesis Brixiensis) is a Latin rite suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan, in Lombardy (Northwestern Italy).Jurmin Jurmin also known as Hiurmine of Blythburgh, was an Anglo-Saxon prince who was the son and heir of Anna of East Anglia, a 7th-century king of East Anglia, a kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. As such, he w ...

, an East Anglian prince, son or nephew of King

Anna of East Anglia Anna (or Onna; killed 653 or 654) was king of East Anglia from the early 640s until his death. He was a member of the Wuffingas family, the ruling dynasty of the East Angles, and one of the three sons of Eni who ruled the kingdom of East Angli ...

(653)Rev. Richard Stanton.
A Menology of England and Wales, or, Brief Memorials of the Ancient British and English Saints Arranged According to the Calendar, Together with the Martyrs of the 16th and 17th Centuries
'' London: Burns & Oates, 1892. p. 81-82. * Saint Boswell (''Boisil''), Abbot of

Melrose Abbey St Mary's Abbey, Melrose is a partly ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks at the request of King David I of Scotland and was the chief house of ...

in Scotland (c. 661) (''see also:

'') * Saint Mildburga (''Milburgh''), Abbess of

Wenlock Priory Wenlock Priory, or St Milburga's Priory, is a ruined 12th-century monastery, located in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, at . Roger de Montgomery re-founded the Priory as a Cluniac house between 1079 and 1082, on the site of an earlier 7th-century mon ...

(715) * Saint Medrald (''Mérald, Méraut''), a monk at Saint-Evroult (''Ebrulfus'') of Ouche in France, who later became Abbot of

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the ...

(c. 850) * Saint

Willigis Willigis ( la, Willigisus; german: Willigis, Willegis; 940 – 23 February 1011 AD) was Archbishop of Mainz from 975 until his death as well as archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire. Life Willigus was born in the Duchy of Saxony, possibly at ...

Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

(1011)

Post-Schism Orthodox saints

* Venerable Damian of

Esphigmenou Monastery The Sacred Patriarchal and Stauropegic Monastery Esphigmenou ( el, Ιερά Πατριαρχική και Σταυροπηγιακή Μονή Εσφιγμένου ) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece, d ...

, on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

(1280) * Saint Cosmas of

Zograf Monastery The Saint George the Zograf Monastery or Zograf Monastery ( bg, Зографски манастир; el, Μονή Ζωγράφου, ''Moní Zográphou'') is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos (the "Holy Mountain") in ...

, Mount Athos (1281) * Saint Moses of White Lake Monastery,

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

(1480) * New Monk-martyr Damian of

Philotheou Philotheou or Filotheou Monastery ( el, Μονή Φιλοθέου) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. It stands on the north-eastern side of the peninsula. History It was founded by the Blessed Phil ...

and

Kissavos Mount Ossa ( el, Όσσα), alternatively Kissavos (Κίσσαβος), is a mountain in the Larissa regional unit, in Thessaly, Greece. It is high and is located between Pelion to the south and Olympus to the north, separated from the latter b ...

, at

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

(1586) * New Hieromartyr Lazarus of the Peloponnese (c. 1618) * Venerable Polycarp of

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

, monk of Bryansk (1620-1621) * Saint Nazarius, Abbot of

Valaam Monastery The Valaam Monastery (russian: Валаамский монастырь; Finnish version: ''Valamo Monastery'') is a stauropegic Orthodox monastery in Russian Karelia, located on Valaam, the largest island in Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Euro ...

(1809) * Saint Seraphim (Zenobius), Schema-Metropolitan of Tetritskaro, Georgia, monk of Glinsk Monastery (1985)

New martyrs and confessors

* New Hieromartyr Paul Kushnikov, Priest (1918)
ЖУРНАЛЫ заседания Священного Синода от 4 апреля 2019 года
'' Русская Православная Церковь, Официальный сайт Московского Патриархата (Патриархия.ru). 4 апреля 2019 г. 15:00. * New Hieromartyr Michael Edlinsky, Archpriest, of Kiev (1937) (''see also:

November 17 Events Pre-1600 * 887 – Emperor Charles the Fat is deposed by the Frankish magnates in an assembly at Frankfurt, leading his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia, to declare himself king of the East Frankish Kingdom in late November. *1183 &n ...

'') * New Hieromartyr Alexis Nikolsky, Priest (1938) * New Hieromartyr Nicholas Dimitrov, Priest (1938) * New Hieromartyr Michael Razhkin, Priest (1938) * Martyr Sergius Borodavkin (1938) * New Hieromartyr Sergius (Bukashkin), Hieromonk, of Novo-Alexandrovka, Moscow (1938) * New Hieromartyr Antipas (Kyrillov), hieromonk, of Tatarintsevo, Moscow (1938) * New Hieromartyr Philaret (Pryakhin), Abbot, of Trubino, Tver (1942)

Other commemorations

* Repose of

Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

Agapit (Belovidov) of

Optina Monastery The Optina Pustyn (russian: Óптина пýстынь, literally ''Opta's hermitage'') is an Eastern Orthodox monastery for men near Kozelsk in Russia. In the 19th century, the Optina was the most important spiritual centre of the Russian Ortho ...

(1922) * Repose of Elder Sabbas (Stavrobouniotes) of Cyprus (1985) * ''Uncovering of the

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s'' (1998) ''of Blessed

Matrona of Moscow Matrona Dmitrievna Nikonova (russian: Блаженная Матро́на Дими́триевна Ни́конова (Московская) lazhennaya Matrona Dimitrievna Nikonova (Moskovskaya)}; 1881/1885 – 2 May 1952) is a canonized saint of ...

'' (1952)

Icon gallery

File:Burghers michael saintpolycarp.jpg, Hieromartyr

. File:Saint Gorgoniya.jpg, St.

. File:Cuthbert and Boisil.jpg,

Boisil Saint Boisil (died 661) was a monk of Melrose Abbey, an offshoot of Lindisfarne, then in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, but now in Scotland, where he must have been one of the first generation of monks. He probably moved to the new foun ...

greets Cuthbert at

. File:St Milburga's Priory, Much Wenlock - geograph.org.uk - 1652411.jpg, St. Mildburga's Priory,

Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...

Notes

References

Sources

February 23 / March 8
Orthodox Calendar (PRAVOSLAVIE.RU).
March 8 / February 23
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church (A parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow).
February 23
OCA - The Lives of the Saints. * The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of Western Europe and the Americas (ROCOR). ''St. Hilarion Calendar of Saints for the year of our Lord 2004.'' St. Hilarion Press (Austin, TX). p. 17. *

'' Orthodoxy in China.

Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome. * '' The Roman Martyrology.'' Transl. by the Archbishop of Baltimore. Last Edition, According to the Copy Printed at Rome in 1914. Revised Edition, with the Imprimatur of His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons. Baltimore: John Murphy Company, 1916. pp. 56–57. * Rev. Richard Stanton.
A Menology of England and Wales, or, Brief Memorials of the Ancient British and English Saints Arranged According to the Calendar, Together with the Martyrs of the 16th and 17th Centuries
'' London: Burns & Oates, 1892. p. 81-82. Greek Sources * Great Synaxaristes:
23 ΦΕΒΡΟΥΑΡΙΟΥ
ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. * Συναξαριστής.
23 Φεβρουαρίου
'' ECCLESIA.GR. (H ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ). Russian Sources *

Православная Энциклопедия под редакцией Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла (электронная версия). (Orthodox Encyclopedia - Pravenc.ru). *
23 февраля (ст.ст.) 8 марта 2014 (нов. ст.)
Русская Православная Церковь Отдел внешних церковных связей. (DECR). {{DEFAULTSORT:February 23 (Eastern Orthodox Liturgics) February in the Eastern Orthodox calendar