Job, the righteous and wise man, was living in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumea and Arabia. He was the grandson of Esau and fifth from Abraham. In the Old Testament book of his name, we learn how he loses wealth, large family of ten children, and health. Saint Andrew of Crete (660-740) writes: "Once Job sat upon a throne, but now he sits upon a dunghill, naked and covered with sores (Job 2:7-8). Once he was blessed with many children and admired by all, but suddenly he is childless and homeless. Yet he counted the dunghill as a palace and his sores as pearls. The book records a number of debates, an extraterrestrial one between God and Satan, and an earthly one between Job and three of his acquaintances (Eliphaz the king of the Minaeans).

Saint Irene, the holy Great-Martyr, was born in the city of Magedon or Magedo. She lived during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great (306-337 A.D.). She was the sole offspring of her pagan parents, Licinius, who was a certain kinglet, and Licinia. Irene had been given the name of Penelope at birth. Since she was the fairest of maidens and surpassed in beauty all the other of the day, her father, who feared for his daughter, built a lofty tower to isolate Penelope. He also lodged thirteen other young maidens with her, amid whom she lived in luxury and wealth. She received such items as a throne, a table, and a lamp made of solid gold. She was six years of age when her father confined her to the tower. He also assigned a certain elderly Apellianos to supervise his sheltered little daughter's education.

At the Annunciation (Evanggelismos) of the Ever-Virgin Mary, we chant, "Today is the crown of our salvation and the manifestation of the mystery that is from all eternity. The Son of God becomes Son of the Virgin." The Holy Prophets foretold that He was to become a child, taking flesh from the Virgin, being joined to men and seen by those on earth, even as Baruch proclaimed: "This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him. He hath found out all the way of knowledge and hath given it unto Jacob His servant and to Israel His beloved. Afterward, did He show Himself upon the earth, and conversed with men" (Baruch 3:35-37). Jesus is the "expectation of nations" (Genesis 49:10).

On May 1st our Holy Orthodox Christian Church commemorates the Venerable Prophet Jeremiah but who are the Prophets and what is Prophecy? The Greek word προφήτης, derived from the Greek word πρόφημι (propheme), means foretell, that is, to tell beforehand. In Hebrew, the word "prophet" meant not necessarily one who foretold the future, but one commissioned by God to speak to man.

Theognis, the holy Martyr of Christ, and those with whom he suffered martyrdom in Kyzikos were Rufus, Antipater, Theostichos, Artemas, Magnus, Theodoulos, Thavmasios, and Philemon. These nine men, some country folk, and other city dwellers hailed from various places. They were not in the same group. They also held different positions and occupations: some were in the military or clerical ranks. They nevertheless possessed the same mind and sentiment in matters of the Faith. The Church at predominantly pagan Kyzikos was small. Many of the pagan citizens were drawn into the pit of lawlessness. Some of the Christians had fled before the persecution, while others kept their belief in Christ, secret. But today's nine Christians boldly declared their faith in Christ and prayed for the building up of the Church.