March 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

March 16 – Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - March 18

An Eastern Orthodox cross

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.