The month of June is not host to any of the Great Feasts this year, but it does provide us with the opportunity
to honor many venerable saints, among whom are:
    Bishop Tychon the Wonderworker of Cyprus (June 16) — As a child on Cyprus in the 5th
century, Tychon once gave away all the bread in his father’s bakery to the poor. His father chastised him for
this, so Tychon prayed and the storehouse of grain miraculously overflowed. Together he and his father
gave away the bread made from this grain, and again the bin was replenished. Because of this, Tychon was
seen as a man of God. He was ordained deacon of the church, and eventually came to be Bishop of
Amathos. He succeeded in converting many of the remaining idol-worshippers on Cyprus. During his time
as bishop, he planted some dried grapevine clippings at this residence. They blossomed that season a month
ahead of all the others on the island, and continued to do so. Tychon and his miracles have been immortalized
for us in the church music of St. Joseph the Hymnographer.
    Pior, Disciple of St. Anthony the Great (June 17) — Pior was an ascetic of the Egyptian desert
and a disciple of St. Anthony the Great. When he was called to judge another of a sin, he arrived carrying a
large pack of sand on his back and a small bag of it in his hand. When they asked him why, he said that the
sand on his back represented his own unseen sins, and that in the small bag represented those of his brother
that he was asked to judge. Pior would only eat standing up, as he said that sitting down would make eating
an occasion as opposed to an afterthought.
    Martyr Zosimas the Soldier at Antioch (June 19) — Zosimas was a pagan soldier in the city of
Thrace at the beginning of the second century. He was filled with the desire to become a Christian, and
when he heard of the pending persecutions of Christianity by Emperor Trajan, he quit the military, was
baptized, and gave his life over to good deeds and prayer. When the pagan governor of Antioch heard this,
he brought Zosimas to trial, where he confessed his faith with the courage of a soldier, refusing to back
down and offer sacrifices to the pagan gods. He was tortured, but by the grace of God he felt no pain. Then
Zosimas was made to lie on a red-hot metal bed, but it did him no harm. When the governor left the city, he
had iron sandals nailed onto Zosimas’ feet, and made him walk behind the governor’s horses, which
Zosimas did easily. Then Zosimas was locked in prison and left to starve, but an angel of God strengthened
him with water and bread. Zosimas remained resolute through continued tortures until he was finally
beheaded.
    Fevronia the Righteous Martyr (June 25) — Fevronia was a Roman senator’s daughter who was
sought in marriage by Lysimachus, a nobleman’s son. Wanting to become a Christian nun, however, she
escaped to a monastery in Assyria, where her aunt was the abbess. The Christian-hating emperor,
Diocletian, suspecting that Lysimachus was a Christian sympathizer, sent him with his uncle, Silenus, a
wild man who slaughtered Christians. Lysimachus would hide Christians from his uncle. Silenus went to
the convent in Assyria and ordered that Fevronia, who at twenty years of age had become a model of
meekness and wisdom, be brought to him. When she would not accept marriage to Lysimachus, she was
flogged and burned. Her teeth were removed and her hands and feet were cut off, but she would not sacrifice
to the pagan gods. Finally she was beheaded. Silenus then went mad, striking his head against a column
until he died. St. Fevronia’s relics and even the soil with her blood were taken to the convent. Lysimachus
and many others were baptized, having witnessed her martyrdom. By her relics the blind, lame and the
possessed were cured.