April 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St ...

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 rule ...

April 4 Events Pre-1600 * 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines. * 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground. * 611 &nd ...

All fixed commemorations below are observed on ''April 16'' by

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

es on the

Old Calendar Calendar reform or calendrical reform is any significant revision of a calendar system. The term sometimes is used instead for a proposal to switch to a different calendar design. Principles The prime objective of a calendar is to unambiguo ...

. For April 3rd, Orthodox Churches on the Old Calendar commemorate the Saints listed on ''

March 21 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the '' Vivarium'', by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas ...

''.

Saints

* Martyr Elpidephorus (3rd century)April 3 / April 16
Orthodox Calendar (Pravoslavie.ru). * Martyrs Dius, Bithonius, and Galycus (3rd century) * Martyrs Cassius, Philip, and Eutychius, of Thessaloniki (304) * Virgin-martyrs Irene, Agapia and Chionia of Aquileia, in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

(304) ''(see also:

April 16 Events Pre-1600 * 1457 BC – Battle of Megido – the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail. * 69 – Defeated by Vitellius' troops at Bedriacum, Roman emperor Otho commits suicide. * ...

)'' * Martyr Ulphianus of Tyre (306) * Virgin-martyr

Theodosia of Tyre Saint Theodosia of Tyre, according to the historian of the early Christian church Eusebius, was a seventeen-year-old girl who deliberately sought to be executed as a martyr to Christianity in the city of Caesarea in 307 AD. She was tortured, urge ...

(308) (''see also:

'') * Martyrs Evagrius, Benignus, Chrestus, Arestus, Kinnudius, Rufus, Patricius, and Zosima, at Tomis in

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

(c. 310) * Venerable Illyrius, monk of Mount Myrsinon in the Peloponnese. Συναξαριστής.
3 Απριλίου
'' Ecclesia.gr. (H Εκκλησια Τησ Ελλαδοσ). * ''Venerable Nicetas of Medikion (Nicetas the Confessor), Abbot of Medikion'' (824) * ''Venerable

Joseph the Hymnographer Joseph the Hymnographer () was a Greek monk of the ninth century. He is regarded as one of the greatest liturgical poets and hymnographers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is also known for his confession of the Orthodox Faith in opposition to I ...

, of Sicily'' (883) (''see also: April 4 - Russian'')

Pre-Schism Western saints

* Saint

Pancras of Taormina Pancras or Pancratius (Greek language, Greek: , ''Pankratios''; ) is an Italian saint associated with Taormina and venerated as a Christian martyr. His surviving hagiography is purely legendary. He is, however, recorded in some early martyrologies ...

(''Pancratius''), born in Antioch, consecrated by the Apostle Peter and sent to

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian Sea, incl ...

in Sicily where he was stoned to death (c. 40)April 3
Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome. * Saint Sixtus I (''Xystus''), Pope of Rome from 117 to c 125, sometimes referred to as a martyr (c. 125) * Saint Fara (''Burgundofara'') of Eboriac, now

Faremoutiers Faremoutiers () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. History Originally named ''Evoriacum'', Faremoutiers was renamed in honour of Saint Fara, who founded the double Abbey of Fare ...

(657) * Saint Attala (''Attalus''), a monk and abbot of a monastery in

in Sicily (ca. 800)

Post-Schism Orthodox saints

* Saint

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) ( ...

Metropolitan of Moscow This article lists the metropolitans and patriarchs of Moscow, spiritual heads of the Russian Orthodox Church. Since 1308, there have been 59. History The Russian Orthodox Church traces its beginnings to the Christianization of Kievan Rus' ...

(1473) (''see also:

April 5 Events Pre-1600 * 823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I. * 919 – The Fatimid invasion of Egypt (919–921), second Fatimid invasion of Medieval Egypt, Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, Al-Qa'im (Fa ...

'') * Saint Nectarius, founder of Bezhetsk Monastery, Tver (1492)April 16 / April 3
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church (A parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow). * New Martyr Paul the Russian at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(1683) (''see also:

April 6 Events Pre–1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus. * 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. * ...

'') * Venerable Amphilochios (Makris), Elder, of Patmos (1970) (''see also:

- ns'')

Other commemorations

* ''Synaxis of the Icon of the Most Holy

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

"The Unfading Rose" (Unfading Blossom, Flower of Incorruption)''.
Icon of the Mother of God “the Unfading Bloom”
'' OCA - Lives of the Saints.

Icon gallery

File:Ancient Byzantine icon of St Theodosia.jpg, Virgin-martyr

. File:Nicetas the Confessor (Menologion of Basil II).jpg, Venerable Nicetas the Confessor, Abbot of Medikion. File:Joseph the Hymnographer.jpg, Venerable

, of Sicily. File:Unfading Flower.jpg,

"The Unfading Rose" (''The Unfading Blossom, The Flower of Incorruption'') File:Mary with George and Dimitry (Greece, 1754).jpg,

"The Unfading Rose", with Sts. George and Demetrios.

Notes

References

Sources

April 3 / April 16
Orthodox Calendar (Pravoslavie.ru).
April 16 / April 3
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church (A parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow).
April 3
OCA - The Lives of the Saints. * The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of Western Europe and the Americas. ''St. Hilarion Calendar of Saints for the year of our Lord 2004.'' St. Hilarion Press (Austin, TX). p. 26.

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. p. 95. * 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. pp. 141–143. Greek Sources * Great Synaxaristes:
3 Απριλιου
Μεγασ Συναξαριστησ. * Συναξαριστής.
3 Απριλίου
'' Ecclesia.gr. (H Εκκλησια Τησ ΕΛΛαδοσ). Russian Sources *

Православная Энциклопедия под редакцией Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла (электронная версия). (Orthodox Encyclopedia - Pravenc.ru). *
3 апреля (ст.ст.) 16 апреля 2013 (нов. ст.)
. Русская Православная Церковь Отдел внешних церковных связей. {{DEFAULTSORT:April 3 (Eastern Orthodox Liturgics) April in the Eastern Orthodox calendar