Ecclesiastical Calendar: March 8, 2025 – Feast Day of Theodore and Theodora

Today, Saturday (March 8, 2025), according to the liturgical calendar, the Church commemorates Saint Hermas the Apostle, Saint Theophylact the Righteous, and celebrates the miracle of the ‘kollyva’ by Saint Theodore the Great Martyr of Tyre. This event occurred during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate, who sought to defile Christians fasting in the first week of Lent. Through divine intervention, Bishop Eudoxius of Constantinople was visited in a dream by Saint Theodore, who revealed the emperor’s plot. The faithful were instructed not to purchase food from the market but instead to boil wheat and eat ‘kollyva.’ Thus, the Christians remained pure, thwarting Julian’s plan. Today also marks International Women’s Day. Names celebrated today include Hermes, Theophylact, Theodoros, Theodora, and others. Additionally, two official Saturdays are dedicated annually to the departed, known as the Great Souls’ Saturdays.