Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints
- Philogonius, bishop
- Ammon and Companions, martyrs
- Ursicinus, abbot
- Dominic of Silos, abbot
St. Philogonius (died ca. 324 A.D.) was a layman and lawyer at Antioch who got married and had a daughter. In 319 A.D., he was named bishop of Antioch. As bishop of Antioch, he was one of the first to denounce the Arian heresy. During the persecution of Christians under Emperors Maximinus and Licinius, he was imprisoned for a time. He was eulogized by St. John Chrysostom in a still extant panegyric.
Learn more at Wikipedia.org on St. Philogonius
December 20 Saints in the Byzantine Calendar
- St. Ignatius "Theophorus", Priest-Martyr Bishop at Antioch
The Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches commemorate St. Ignatius of Antioch on this day.
St. Ignatius is the Apostolic Father whose letters to the various churches in the ancient Christian world serve as a major source of information regarding the life, faith, and structure of the early Church in Asia Minor and Rome. He also used the name Theophorus (Gk., "bearer of God").
St. Ignatius of Antioch was martyred for his faith in Christ. He was taken to the Colosseum and thrown to the lions, dying almost immediately. In his letter to the Romans, he had described himself as "the wheat of God [to] be ground by the teeth of wild beasts to become pure bread."
The Church at Antioch kept his feast on October 17. The Roman Calendar had observed it on February 1 until in 1969 A.D., when it transferred it to October 17 in order to bring the date into line with the Church at Antioch. The Eastern Churches continue to celebrate his feast this day, December 20.
Related blog post
- St. Stephen, St. Ignatius of Antioch, and the Martyrs of the Early Christian Eras, Learn more
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