Monday, July 29, today the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Saint Kallinikos the Martyr, Saint Theodote and his three Martyr sons, and Saint Constantine III, Patriarch of Constantinople.
She was martyred with her three children
O Agia Theodoti he came from Nicaea in Bithynia. Lord Lefkadios asked her to marry him, but she refused.
Several years later, to avenge her, Lefkadios denounced her for her Christian faith and handed her over to Nikitios, along with her three children.
A modern saint
O Agios Kallinikos was a Greek theologian and bishop of the Church of Greece. He was Metropolitan of Edessa, Pelli and Almopia from 1967 to 1984. He was declared a saint of the Orthodox Church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2020.
Dimitrios Poulos was born in Sitaralona, Aetoloakarnania, in 1919. He studied theology at the Theological School of Athens. He was ordained a deacon and elder in 1957 by the brother of Metropolitan Didymoteichos Konstantinos. He served as Secretary of the Metropolis of Aetolia and Acarnania, its lay preacher and proto-secretary. On 25 June 1967 he was ordained Metropolitan of Edessa, Pelli and Almopia.
Metropolitan Kallinikos took care of the formation of the clergy of the Metropolis, organizing theological conferences and priestly meetings. He constantly visited all the parishes and cultivated preaching and confession. He highlighted the local saints, the new martyr Chrysis and the martyr Vassa of Edessaia. On his initiative, a boarding school for young students and a nursing home for the elderly were established. He also re-established the Monastery of the Archangel Michael of Aridaia.
He fell asleep in Athens on August 7, 1984 and was buried in the Municipal Cemetery of Edessa according to his wishes, as he wanted to be close to his people.
Who do we say “Happy Birthday” to?
- Theodotus, Theodotus, Theodotus
- Kallinikos, Kalliniki