“The wealth of the Orthodox Calendar, with its inspiring commemorations, is so great that on any day one can begin the holy task which St. Herman gave to us as a testament to Orthodoxy on this continent—‘From this day, from this hour, from this minute let us strive to love God above all.’ May every day be for us such a beginning!”
—Hieromonk Seraphim Rose
The Orthodox Faith, which St. Herman brought from Holy Russia to the American continent, is one that cannot simply be taken for granted. It must be lived and kept ever fresh by drawing continually from the living sources of Orthodoxy. The Church’s Calendar, as the record of these sources, indicates the daily commemorations and Scripture readings which nourish the genuine Christian life.
Every day there are commemorations of the God-pleasers who have preceded us—prophets, apostles, martyrs—so that their name and example will give us courage and fervency in our Orthodox confession and life. Readings are appointed from Holy Scripture to prepare one daily with instruction from God’s word. Likewise, the regular cycles of feast and fast are presented so that the individual Christian can integrate his life with the whole plan which the Church sets before us.
Each annual issue of THE ST. HERMAN CALENDAR features a unique theme of sanctity offered as an inspiration to Christians struggling in the modern world. Themes in the past have included: Saints of America—Bicentennial of Orthodoxy in America, Newly Canonized Romanian Saints, Orthodox Women Writers, and The Acquisition of the Holy Spirit. Each feature includes brief biographies, rare photographs and inspiring iconography.
THE ST. HERMAN CALENDAR features dates according to the Orthodox (Julian or "Old") Calendar, with corresponding civil dates. It is a complete Calendar of Orthodox saints, Scripture readings, and fasting guidelines for every day of the year, together with a listing of uncanonized righteous ones of recent centuries.
The Orthodox (Julian, or “Old”) Calendar, with corresponding civil dates. A complete Calendar of Orthodox saints, Scripture readings, and fasting guidelines for every day of the year, together with a listing of uncanonized righteous ones of recent centuries.
The 2023 St. Herman Calendar is dedicated to the history of Orthodoxy in the Russian region of Vologda.
The lead article relates the rich history of Orthodox Christianity in
Vologda, a region of Russia about the size of the American state of
Iowa, located in the northern part of European Russia. This history
stretches from the middle of the twelfth century to the present time.
Vologda at one time contained so many monasteries that one
nineteenth-century writer referred to it as the “Northern Thebaid.” Also
included in the 2023 Calendar are brief biographies of some of the
saints who shone forth in this region.
120 pages, illustrated, full-color cover, $12, plus postage.