December 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) explained

December 3 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - December 5

All fixed commemorations below celebrated on December 17 by Eastern Orthodox Churches on the Old Calendar.

For December 4th, Orthodox Churches on the Old Calendar commemorate the Saints listed on November 21.

Saints

• Commemoration of the Twelve Prophets (Twelve Minor Prophets).^[1]
• Apostle Crispus of the Seventy Apostles, Bishop of Chalcedon (1st century)^[2]
• Great-martyr Barbara, at Heliopolis in Syria (306)^{[3] [4] [5]}
• Martyr Juliana, at Heliopolis in Syria (306)^{[4] [6] [7]}
• Martyrs Christodoulos and Christodoula, by the sword.^[8]
• Saint John the Wonderworker, Bishop of Polybotum, in Phrygia Salutaris (716)^{[4] [9]}
• Saint John of Damascus (John Damascene), monk of St. Sabbas Monastery (749)^{[4] [10]}

Pre-Schism Western saints

• Saint Felix of Bologna, a Deacon of the Church of Milan with St Ambrose, and later the fifth Bishop of Bologna (429)^[11]
• Saint Bertoara, Abbess of Notre-Dame-de-Sales in Bourges (614)^[11]
• Saint Ada, niece of Engebert, Bishop of Le Mans, she became a nun at Soissons, and Abbess in Le Mans (7th century)^[11]

Post-Schism Orthodox saints

• Venerable Cassian the Martyr (Kassianos), one of the "300 Allemagne Saints" in Cyprus (late 12th century)^[12] (see also October 6)
• Saint Gennadius of Novgorod, Archbishop of Novgorod (1504)^{[4] [13]}
• New Hieromartyr Seraphim of Phanarion, Archbishop of Phanarion and Neochorion (1601)^{[4] [14]}

New martyrs and confessors

• Hieromartyr Nicholas (Tsedrik), Priest (1917)^{[15] [16]}
• New Martyrs of Perm (1918):^{[15] [16] [17]}
  • Hieromartyrs Alexis Saburov, John Pyankov, Protopresbyters.
  • Alexander Posokhin and Nicholas Yakhontov, Priests.
  • Basil Kashin, Deacon, and with him 10 Martyrs.
• Hieromartyr Damascene (Tsedrik), Bishop of Glukhov, (son of priest Nicholas (Tsedrik)) (1935)^{[15] [16]}
• Hieromartyr Demetrius Nevedomsky, Priest (1937)^{[15] [17]}
• Virgin-martyrs Catherine Arskoy and Kyra Obolensky (1937)^{[15] [17]}
• Hieromartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Hieromartyr of the Bolshevik yoke, Missionary of America (1937)^{[16] [18]}

Other commemorations

• Icon of the Mother of God of Damascus (Panayia Tricherousa, "Three-handed Theotokos") (c. 717)^{[16] [19]}

Sources

• December 4/17. Orthodox Calendar (PRAVOSLAVIE.RU).
• December 17 / December 4. HOLY TRINITY RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (A parish of the Patriarchate of Moscow).
• December 4. OCA - The Lives of the Saints.
• December 4. 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. 373–374.
• Rev. Richard Stanton. A Menology of England and Wales, or, Brief Memorials of the Ancient British and English Saints Arranged According to the Calendar, Together with the Martyrs of the 16th and 17th Centuries. London: Burns & Oates, 1892. p. 583-585.

Greek Sources

• Great Synaxaristes: 4 ΔΕΚΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
• Συναξαριστής. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ECCLESIA.GR. (H ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ).

Russian Sources

• 17 декабря (4 декабря). Православная Энциклопедия под редакцией Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла (электронная версия). (Orthodox Encyclopedia - Pravenc.ru).
• 4 декабря (ст.ст.) 17 декабря 2013 (нов. ст.). Русская Православная Церковь Отдел внешних церковных связей. (DECR).

Notes and References

1. Great Synaxaristes: Μνήμη τῶν Δώδεκα Προφητῶν. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
2. Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ἅγιος Κρύσπος ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἐκ τῶν 70. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
3. Great Synaxaristes: Ἡ Ἁγία Βαρβάρα ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
4. http://orthochristian.com/calendar/20171204.html December 4/17
5. Greatmartyr Barbara at Heliopolis, in Syria. OCA - Feasts and Saints.
6. Great Synaxaristes: Ἡ Ἁγία Ἰουλιανὴ ἡ Μάρτυς. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
7. Martyr Juliana at Heliopolis, in Syria. OCA - Feasts and Saints.
8. Great Synaxaristes: Οἱ Ἅγιοι Χριστόδουλος καὶ Χριστοδούλη οἱ Μάρτυρες. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
9. Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Θαυματουργός Ἐπίσκοπος Πολυβότου. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
10. Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνὸς. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
11. http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/stddec.htm December 4
12. Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ὅσιος Κασσιανὸς ὁ Μάρτυρας. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
13. St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod. OCA - Feasts and Saints.
14. Great Synaxaristes: Ὁ Ἅγιος Σεραφεὶμ ὁ Νέος Ἱερομάρτυρας. 4 Δεκεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
15. http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/index.php?year=2011&today=17&month=12&trp=0&tzo=-4 December 17 / December 4
16. 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.91.
17. 4 декабря (ст.ст.) 17 декабря 2013 (нов. ст.). Русская Православная Церковь Отдел внешних церковных связей. (DECR).
18. Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky. OCA - Feasts and Saints.
19. Icon of the Mother of God of Damascus. OCA - Feasts and Saints.