St. Illtud of Llantwit Major
Composed in Cemis, Pembrokeshire, in the 12th C. Found in the British Museum Cotton MS Vespasian A xiv. § 1. Of the union of his parents and the birth of the boy.Victorious Letavia (that is, Lesser Britannia, Brittany), a rich and successful province, powerful in arms, none great

The Life of the Virgin-Martyr and Confessor Winefride
excerpted from The Life of Saint Winefride Virgin and Martyr:CHAPTER V. In the western portion of the island of Great Britain, is the province called Wales, bounded on one side by the frontier of the kingdom of En

Returning to The Arena
So far, 2009 has been a year that has been noteworthy solely for the amount of disasters, misfortunes and other general unpleasantness that has visited both my family and myself. I am not proud of it, but I admit, I have fallen off the wagon, and hit pretty hard. It has not been easy,

The Martyrs Akindinos, Pegasias, Anempodist, and Those Suffering With Them
From The Synaxarion:The Martyrs Akindinos, Pegasias, Anempodist were courtiers of the Persian emperor Sapor II (310-381), and clandestinely they were Christians. When the emperor started his persecution against Christians, envious pagans denounced them before him. Summoned to the emperor for trial, the holy martyrs fearlessly confessed their faith in the Holy Trinity. The emperor gave orders to beat them with whips. Twice the exhausted executioners switched places, but the holy martyrs let out neither a cry nor a groan. Even the emperor could not endure the strain and he lost consciousness. Everyone thought him dead. But the saints appealed to God, and

Most Holy Theotokos, Save Us!
Beneath thy compassion We take refuge, O TheotokosDespise not our prayersIn our necessities, But deliver us from harm,O only pure,