Author Description

A sweeping treasury of holiness across the centuries, The Lives of the Saints for Orthodox Christians presents over six hundred carefully selected saintly lives, from the Old Testament patriarchs to 20th-century martyrs and confessors. This unique collection spans the breadth of the Orthodox world—and beyond—gathering saints from every major era of Christian history and every corner of the historic Church. Rather than following a liturgical calendar, this volume is thoughtfully arranged by epoch and geography: beginning with the angelic hosts and biblical figures, progressing through the early Church Fathers, and then unfolding across the great civilizations of the Christian world—from the Eastern Roman Empire to Western Europe, from the deserts of Egypt to the forests of Russia, and from the mountains of Georgia to the shores of Alaska. Included are revered names like Saint Anthony the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, and Saint Basil the Great, alongside lesser-known pre-schism Western saints such as Saint Bede the Venerable, Saint Patrick of Ireland, and Saint Alfred the Great, and modern elders like Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis, Saint Paisios of Mount Athos, and Saint John Maximovitch of San Francisco. Compiled in the spirit of reverence and spiritual curiosity, this book is offered as a devotional companion and tribute to the countless lives transformed by grace. It bears witness to the Church’s universal call to holiness—across all lands, centuries, and cultures. Some of the Western and recent Saints included in this book amongst many others. Saints of America Venerable Herman of Alaska Metropolitan Innocent of Alaska Saint Jacob Netsvetov Archbishop John (Maximovitch) the Wonderworker Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, Apostle to America Hieromartyr Juvenaly of Alaska Matushka Olga Michael of Alaska (local commemoration) Anglo-Saxon & British Saints Saint Alfred the Great, King of Wessex Saint Bede the Theologian of Jarrow Saint Cuth