The Martyrdom of the Three Children Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, as depicted in the manuscript Vatican, BAV gr. 1613 (10th/11th c.), f. 251 (detail), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ananias,_Azarius_and_Misael_(Menologion_of_Basil_II).jpg . In ancient times, losing one’s head was not an exceptional occurrence. Wars, conflicts of all kinds, and punishments could easily result in death by decapitation. Among those condemned to this type of death, hagiographic texts pr

Image of Thecla on a Coptic eulogy ampulla (6th/7th c.), Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts de Byzance et des Chrétientés en Orient, MNC 1926, https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010280955 According to ancient writings that refer to her end, Saint Thecla (September 24) did not die but miraculously disappeared into the rock or underground. The event would have taken place near Seleucia (present-day Silifke, Turkey) in the ancient province of Isauria. In realit

The synaxarion of Pope Gregory I in the manuscript Sinai Gr. 548 (10th c.), f. 142r, https://www.loc.gov/resource/amedmonastery.00279380745-ms/?sp=145&st=single (Washington, Library of Congress) Pope Gregory I of Rome (590–604) is known in the Christian East primarily for associating his name with the Liturgy of the presanctified gifts. During Lent, this particular liturgy is celebrated on weekdays, from Monday to Friday. Improperly called a liturgy, it actually takes place

Emperor Theophilos and his court, as depicted in the manuscript Madrid, Gr. Vitr. 26-2, 12th c. (Chronicle of Skylitzes), f. 42v, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emperor_Theophilos_and_his_court,_Skylitzes_Chronicle.jpg# In the Byzantine tradition, the first Sunday of Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It evokes a historical moment known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy, i.e., the definitive recognition of the cult of images in the Byzantine Empire. The event occurred