Hierarch

Saint Eustathius, Archbishop of Antioch

February 21 Old CalendarMarch 6 New Calendar

Life

Eustathius was a great zealot and defender of Orthodoxy. As such he distinguished himself especially at the First Ecumenical Council, where he learnedly and methodically refuted the teaching of Arius. Together with the other Holy Fathers, Eustathius confessed rightly that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit in divine essence. After the death of Emperor Constantine, the Arians once again gained the upper hand and began to persecute Orthodoxy fiercely. Saint Eustathius was deposed from his throne and exiled, first to Thrace and then to Macedonia. He suffered greatly and for a long time, until at last he delivered his holy soul to God in the year 345.

From the Prologue from Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirovich, February 21. Translated by Marcian Sakarya, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Also commemorated on February 21

Saint Zacharias, Patriarch of Jerusalem Hierarch Venerable Timothy Venerable Saint John III the Scholastic, Patriarch of Constantinople Hierarch

The full reading for February 21 includes the hymn of praise, a reflection, a contemplation and a homily.

Open February 21 in the reader