March 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

An Eastern Orthodox cross

March 16 – Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - March 18

All fixed commemorations below are observed on March 30 by Orthodox Churches on the Old Calendar (until March 30, 2099).[note 1]

For March 17, Orthodox Churches on the Old Calendar commemorate the Saints listed on March 4.

Saints

• Saint Lazarus the Righteous (Lazarus the Just), the friend of Christ (1st century)[1][note 2]
• Martyr Marinus of Caesarea, soldier, at Caesarea in Palestine (262)[3][4][5] (see also: August 7)
• Saint Ambrose, Deacon, disciple of St. Didymus the Blind of Alexandria (400)[3][6]
• Venerable Alexios the Man of God, in Rome (411)[3][7][8] (see also July 17 - West)
• Monk-martyr Paul of Cyprus, burned alive by iconoclasts (c. 760)[3][9][10]
• Monk-martyr Paul of Crete, defender of icons, burned alive under Constantine V Copronymus (767)[3][11][12]
• Venerable Theosterictus the Confessor, Abbot of Pelekete monastery near Prusa (826)[3][13]

Pre-Schism Western saints

• Martyrs Alexander and Theodore, early martyrs in Rome.[12][14]
• Saint Ambrose of Alexandria (c. 250)[15]
• Venerable Patrick, Bishop of Armagh and the Enlightener of Ireland (461)[3][14][16][17][18][19][20][note 3]
• Saint Llinio of Llandinam, Abbot and Founder of Llandinam, Powys, Wales (520)[6][22]
• Saint Agricola (Agrele, Aregle), ascetic and Bishop of Châlon-sur-Saône in France (580)[14][23]
• Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, Abbess of Nivelles, patroness of travellers (659)[3][6][14][24]
• Saint Beccan of Rhum (677)[3][6][25][note 4]
• Saint Withburga, Princess of East Anglia, hermitess whose holy well is at East Dereham (c. 743)[3][6][27] (see also July 8)

Post-Schism Orthodox saints

• Venerable Macarius, Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin (1483)[3][28][29][note 5]
• Venerable Hieromartyr Gabriel the Lesser, of Gareji, Georgia (1802)[3][30][31]
• Hieromartyr Theodoulos the Sinaite (1822)[32]
• Saint Parthenius of the Kiev Caves (1855)[3]
• Saint Gurias, Archbishop of Tauria and Simferopol (1882)[3][note 6]

New martyrs and confessors

• New Hieromartyr Alexander Polivanov of Krasnoyarsk, Priest (1919)[6][33][34]
• New Hieromartyr Victor Kiranov of Berdyansk, Protopresbyter of Simferopol-Crimea (1942)[3][6][33][34]

Other commemorations

• Commemoration of the Great Earthquake of 790 AD, under Emperor Constantine VI.[35][note 7]
• Repose of Lulach, last Orthodox King of Scotland (1058)
• Repose of Archbishop Tikhon (Troitsky) of San Francisco (1963)[3][note 8]

Icon gallery

• 
  The Raising of Lazarus. Byzantine icon, 14th or 15th century
• 
  Venerable Alexis the Man of God, 17th century
• 
  Venerable Patrick, Bishop of Armagh and the Enlightener of Ireland.
• 
  Mosaic of St Patrick casting out the snakes from Ireland.
  (Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick in El Paso)
• 
  Saint Gertrude of Nivelles
  (Fresco in Knivsta kyrka, Knivsta, Sweden)
• 
  St. Withburga, depicted in a rood screen in Dereham.
• 
  Venerable Macarius, Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, 18th century
• 
  Saint Gurij Karpov, Archbishop of Tauria and Simferopol.

Notes

1. The notation Old Style or (OS) is sometimes used to indicate a date in the Julian Calendar (which is used by churches on the "Old Calendar").
   The notation New Style or (NS), indicates a date in the Revised Julian calendar (which is used by churches on the "New Calendar").
2. In the Synaxarion of Constantinople and in the Lavreotic Codex, reference is made to the "Raising of Lazarus" – the Holy and Just Lazarus, the friend of Christ. He is also commemorated on Lazarus Saturday, and on October 17 (uncovering and translation of his relics).[1]
   The entry for October 17 in the Prologue from Ohrid confirms that:

   • "Lazarus's principle feasts are on March 17 and Lazarus Saturday during Great Lent."[2]

3. "St. Patrick, the great enlightener of Ireland, will be officially celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church for the first time this year on March 17/30. At its March 9 [2017] session, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox, under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, officially adopted St. Patrick and more than fifteen other pre-schism Western saints into its calendar, according to the report published on the patriarchate’s official site."[21]
4. "3. Surnamed Ruim (or Ruiminn); commemorated March 17, was the son of Ernan, and a near relative of St. Columba, and of the early abbots of Hy. Leaving Ireland, he went first to Iona, and then into a solitary place. There he lived for several years, while his uncle, Segenius, was abbot of the island. He died March 17, 677."[26]
5. See also: (in Russian): Макарий Калязинский. Russian Wikipedia.
6. See also: (in Russian): Гурий (Карпов). Russian Wikipedia.
7. As recorded in the Lavreotic Codex, the whole earth was quaking for several days. Then a great section of the Walls of Constantinople fell, churches were broken, and houses fell. The Emperor together with the Patriarch and the people made litanies before the Holy Cross and the Holy Relics and the Icons of the Saints, and prayed with tears and fasting for the mercy of God to turn away his wrath. The Lord became the hope of all, and the great earthquake ceased.
8. See also: (in Russian): Тихон (Троицкий). Russian Wikipedia.

References

1. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Λάζαρος ὁ Δίκαιος, ὁ φίλος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
2. Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović. October 17 - The Prologue from Ohrid Archived 2013-06-19 at the Wayback Machine. (Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of Western America). Retrieved 2013-03-08.
3. March 17/March 30. Orthodox Calendar (PRAVOSLAVIE.RU).
4. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Μαρίνος. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
5. Martyr Marinus. OCA - Lives of the Saints.
6. The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of Western Europe and the Americas (ROCOR). St. Hilarion Calendar of Saints for the year of our Lord 2004. St. Hilarion Press (Austin, TX). p.22.
7. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἀλέξιος ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Θεοῦ. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
8. Venerable Alexis the Man of God. OCA - Lives of the Saints.
9. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Παῦλος ὁ Ὁσιομάρτυρας ὁ ἐν Κύπρῳ ἀθλήσας. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
10. Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould (M.A.). "S. PAUL, M. (ABOUT A.D. 760.)." In: The Lives of the Saints. Volume the Third: March. London: John C. Nimmo, 1897. p. 311.
11. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Παῦλος ὁ Ὁσιομάρτυρας. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
12. 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. pp.15–16.
13. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ὅσιος Θεοστήρικτος ὁ Ὁμολογητής. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
14. March 17. Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome.
15. "АМВРОСИЙ АЛЕКСАНДРИЙСКИЙ - Древо". drevo-info.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-06-05.
16. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Πατρίκιος Ἀπόστολος τῆς Ἰρλανδίας. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
17. St Patrick the Bishop of Armagh and Enlightener of Ireland. OCA - Lives of the Saints.
18. (in Russian) ЖУРНАЛЫ заседания Священного Синода от 9 марта 2017 года. Русская Православная Церковь - Официальный сайт Московского Патриархата (Patriarchia.ru). 9 марта 2017 г. 20:08. Retrieved: 14 March 2017.
19. Very Rev. John O'Hanlon. "ARTICLE I.—THE LIFE OF ST. PATRICK, APOSTLE AND CHIEF PATRON OF IRELAND. [FOURTH AND FIFTH CENTURIES]." In: Lives of the Irish Saints: With Special Festivals, and the Commemorations of Holy Persons. VOL. III. Dublin, 1875. pp. 399-831.
20. Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould (M.A.). "S. PATRICK, AP. OF IRELAND. (ABOUT A.D. 465.)." In: The Lives of the Saints. Volume the Third: March. London: John C. Nimmo, 1897. pp. 285-306.
21. ST. PATRICK OF IRELAND AND OTHER WESTERN SAINTS OFFICIALLY ADDED TO RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CALENDAR. Pravoslavie.ru. Moscow, March 10, 2017. Retrieved: 13 March 2017.
22. St. Llinio of Llandinam. Celtic and Old English Saints. Retrieved: 2013-03-08.
23. Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould (M.A.). "S. AGRICOLA, B. OF CHALONS-SUR-SAONE. (A.D. 580.)." In: The Lives of the Saints. Volume the Third: March. London: John C. Nimmo, 1897. p. 285.
24. Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould (M.A.). "S. GERTRUDE, V. ABSS. OF NIVELLES. (A.D. 664.)." In: The Lives of the Saints. Volume the Third: March. London: John C. Nimmo, 1897. pp. 306-309.
25. Very Rev. John O'Hanlon. "Article II.—St. Began, Eremite. [Seventh Century]." In: Lives of the Irish Saints: With Special Festivals, and the Commemorations of Holy Persons. VOL. III. Dublin, 1875. pp. 831-832.
26. John McClintock. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. Volume 11. Harper & Brothers, 1889. p. 398.
27. Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould (M.A.). "S. WITHBURGA, V. (A.D. 743.)." In: The Lives of the Saints. Volume the Third: March. London: John C. Nimmo, 1897. pp. 309-310.
28. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ὅσιος Μακάριος ἡγούμενος τῆς μονῆς Κολγιαζὶν τῆς Ρωσίας. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
29. Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin. OCA - Lives of the Saints.
30. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Γαβριὴλ ὁ Ὁσιομάρτυρας ὁ Μικρός. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
31. Hieromartyr Gabriel the Lesser. OCA - Lives of the Saints.
32. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Θεόδουλος ὁ Ἱερομάρτυρας ὁ Σιναΐτης. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
33. March 30 / March 17. HOLY TRINITY RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (A parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow).
34. Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church (DECR): (in Russian) 17 марта (ст.ст.) 30 марта (нов. ст.). March 17 / 30.
35. Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Μνήμη Μεγάλου Σεισμοῦ. 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.

Sources

• March 17/March 30. Orthodox Calendar (PRAVOSLAVIE.RU).
• March 30 / March 17. HOLY TRINITY RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (A parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow).
• March 17. OCA - The Lives of the Saints.
• The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia of Western Europe and the Americas (ROCOR). St. Hilarion Calendar of Saints for the year of our Lord 2004. St. Hilarion Press (Austin, TX). p. 22.
• March 17. 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. pp. 15–16.

Greek Sources

• Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) 17 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
• (in Greek) Συναξαριστής. 17 Μαρτίου. ECCLESIA.GR. (H ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ).

Russian Sources

• (in Russian) 30 марта (17 марта). Православная Энциклопедия под редакцией Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла (электронная версия). (Orthodox Encyclopedia - Pravenc.ru).
• (in Russian) 17 марта (ст.ст.) 30 марта 2013 (нов. ст.). Русская Православная Церковь Отдел внешних церковных связей. (DECR).