Saints of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Crimean Choir of Saints

Pope Saint Martin I was also banished to Crimea and is also venerated highly in the Orthodox Church as an Orthodox Bishop of Rome and Hieromartyr. St. Flavia Domitilla, a Roman noblewoman was also banished to Crimea.

Saint Clement the Pope belongs to the Crimean Saints, as do his two assistants martyred with him, Saint Cornelius and Saint Titus.

There were even some who were banished to Crimea who were of the Coptic Church such as Timothy Aelurus (the "Cat" because of his tall, thin appearance) a Monophysite Patriarch of Alexandria who is venerated as a saint by the Oriental churches. This could explain some Coptic influence in the life of the Kyivan Church.

St. George of Mitilene, a Confessor (+ 820, April 7) was banished to Khersones in Tauria in 815 where he reposed. The Venerable Joseph the Hymnographer (+883, April 4) was likewise banished to Khersones where he died.

Among the Scythian saints who are included in the calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is St. John Cassian, a Scythian from Constantinople who visited the Thebaid in Egypt. He wrote the "Conferences" which are excellent treatises on the spiritual life and also recollections of the life of the Desert Fathers. He also wrote a refutation of Nestorianism. Cassian then settled in Marsilius in Gallia, (Marseilles, France) and helped establish some monastic communities based on the Egyptian model. Defending the Eastern Church’s teaching on Original Sin and Grace, Cassian opposed Blessed Augustine as did the bishops of Orthodox Gaul. For this, he is not honoured as a Saint in the Roman Catholic West (except locally in Marseilles itself). His monastic observations influenced the Kyivan Caves Lavra and there is one Kyivan Saint who took his monastic name from Cassian.

Two other notable Scythian Bishops are St Betranes and St Theotimos of the Danube who defended Orthodoxy against the Arians. Two other Scythian Martyrs are St Epictetus, Presbyter, and Astion (AD290).

There are a number of Martyrs of Crimea listed in the Orthodox calendar who should be in the calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church since they were of the earliest Church communities on what was to become eventually Ukrainian territory:

St Bathusius, St Bercus, St Arpilus, St Abibas, St Agnus, St Reasus, St Igathrax, St Iscoeus, St Silas, St Signicus, St Snoriulus, St Suimbalus, St Thermus, St Phillus, St Anna, St Alla, St Larissa, St Manca, St Mamica, St Virko, St Animais, St Gaatha, Queen of the Goths and St Duklida the Gothic Princess and St Hermenigild the Gothic Prince, the soldier Isaiah. These and others number more than 300 Martyrs of Crimea.

An argument could be made also for the inclusion of the Tatar Orthodox Saints, like St. Peter of the Horde, for the same reason.

There was also a Gothic Christian community in Crimea and St. John, Bishop of the Goths in Crimea took part in Church Councils on behalf of his flock. The Ukrainian Church has always had devotion to two Gothic Saints, Nikita and Sava, especially in the Bukovina and Bessarabia regions.

St. Sava Stratelates or the General is honoured along with his group of 70 soldiers, Gothic Martyrs (April 24).

An early archbishop of Surozh or Sudak in Crimea, St Stephen, participated in the First Ecumenical Council on behalf of the Church there. Another is Saint Sava, Archbishop of Surozh, who lived in the 12^th century. The Greek Menologion states that the Church in which Saint Sava reposed was 5 versts from Surozh at the foot of a mountain called "ai-Sava." In 1872, an ancient Icon of St Sava was discovered there and his feast is April 2 (April 15). A third Archbishop of Surozh is Saint Basil, honoured with St John the bishop of the Goths.

Among the early Saints of the Ukrainian Church, there are seven Holy Hieromartyrs venerated from posterity: Sts. Basil, Ephraim, Eugene, Elpidius, Agathodorus, Eutherius and Capito, Bishops of Cherson.

A Venerable Father and Martyr of the Kyivan Caves is numbered among the Crimean Choir, Saint Eustratius, who was martyred at Korsun.

Saint Constantine, Prince of Mangoup is venerated and he reposed as a monk with the name of "Cassian."

Archaeologists in Crimea are studying the remains of Christian settlements there and are not only uncovering old objects, but also the shrines of Saints that have been forgotten long ago!

Two such recent finds include a "Saint whose name we do not know," but who is now included among the Saints of Crimea and a Holy Hieromartyr, a nameless priest who was martyred by the Turks.

This is also occurring at the Kyivan Caves Lavra where scholars are finding the shrines of new Venerable Fathers that had been covered over during earthquakes. Their names are now being brought to light and are being restored to the calendar.

Future archaeological work will doubtless uncover other saints' shrines in that area that witness to the great Christian Church of Tauria/Crimea and its several Eparchies that, at one time, were so prominent that its bishops were invited to Ecumenical Councils!

And, of course, Saint Volodymyr himself is numbered among the Crimean Choir of Saints since this is where he was baptized.

A Ukrainian physician and surgeon who lived in Crimea and reposed in 1961, St Luke, was recently glorified. The Feast of All Saints of Crimea is December 15.

The Saints of the Caucasus are also highly honoured in Ukraine and these include St Nina the Equal to the Apostles, Enlightener of Georgia, the Holy King David the Builder and the Queen Tamara, along with St Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia.