September 24 Orthodox Feast: St. Thecla and St. Theodosius of Manyava — What Saint Day Is Today

For September 24, 2026, the answer to what saint day is today begins with Holy Protomartyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles Thecla. Ukrainian readers will also find St. Theodosius, Abbot of Manyava Skete, among the commemorations. The day includes Venerable Coprius of Palestine, Serbian saints Stephen and Vladislav, and St. Silouan of Mount Athos. September 24, 2026 is a Thursday, so the ordinary Wednesday-and-Friday fasting rule does not make this date a fast day.

What saint day is today: What is today's church holiday, September 24, 2026 on the Orthodox calendar

The most prominent saint of September 24 is Thecla of Iconium, honored as Protomartyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles. In expanded Orthodox calendars, the date also includes St. Theodosius of Manyava, an important Ukrainian monastic figure, Venerable Coprius of Palestine, Serbian royal saints, and the twentieth-century Athonite elder Silouan.

The range of dates is striking. Thecla belongs to the apostolic age, Theodosius to seventeenth-century Ukraine, and Silouan to the modern era. Orthodox daily calendars routinely place such figures together because the organizing principle is the annual cycle of commemorations rather than historical sequence. Local jurisdictions may add further saints important to their own church history.

Who is the Protomartyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles Thecla

Thecla is one of the most famous women in early Christian tradition. Her story is preserved especially in the ancient Acts of Paul and Thecla, an apocryphal Christian text rather than a book of the New Testament. The narrative presents her as a disciple inspired by the preaching of the Apostle Paul who chooses a life of Christian dedication despite family and social pressure.

She is called Protomartyr because tradition gives her a foundational place among women martyrs, and Equal-to-the-Apostles because of her missionary witness. These titles do not mean she was one of the Twelve Apostles. They express the honor given to her preaching, endurance, and influence in early Christian devotion.

Who is St. Theodosius of Manyava

St. Theodosius was an abbot of the Manyava Skete in what is now western Ukraine and died in 1629. The monastery became an important Orthodox spiritual center in the Carpathian region during a period of religious and political tension. Theodosius is remembered for monastic leadership and for continuing the spiritual tradition established at Manyava.

His presence in the September 24 calendar is particularly important for a Ukrainian audience because it grounds the day's commemorations in local church history rather than only in Byzantium or the ancient Mediterranean. English spellings can vary between Theodosius, Feodosii, and related transliterations, but Theodosius of Manyava is a clear international form.

Who is Venerable Coprius

Coprius, also written Copres or Kopriy, is a Palestinian monastic saint. Traditional accounts place him in the early centuries of organized monasticism and remember him for ascetic discipline and long service in the religious life. His feast belongs to the broad desert and monastery tradition that shaped Eastern Christian spirituality.

Because the name is uncommon in English, transliteration can make him look like several different saints when comparing calendars. The feast date and title "of Palestine" help identify the same figure. His commemoration balances the apostolic and royal saints of the day with a quieter model of monastic perseverance.

Who is Saint Stephen of Serbia

The Serbian saint listed on September 24 is commonly identified as Stephen the First-Crowned, who later took the monastic name Simon. He was a medieval ruler important in the formation of the Serbian state and church. Orthodox tradition remembers him not only for political leadership but for his later religious life and support of monasteries.

Royal saints require careful framing because canonization is not simply an endorsement of every political action. The church's commemoration focuses on the aspects of life interpreted as Christian repentance, patronage, and service. He appears on the date with other members of the Serbian royal tradition, including Vladislav.

Who is St. Vladislav of Serbia?

Vladislav was a thirteenth-century Serbian king and member of the Nemanjić dynasty. He is remembered in the Orthodox calendar as a royal saint, and his reign is connected with the continuation of the dynasty's strong relationship with the church and monastic foundations.

His feast is often listed together with other Serbian saints from the same dynastic tradition. For readers unfamiliar with medieval Balkan history, the key distinction is that this is Vladislav of Serbia, not one of the many other European rulers with the same name. The saint's geographic title and feast date prevent confusion.

Who is Silouan of Mount Athos?

St. Silouan the Athonite was born in 1866 and became a monk at St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos. He died in 1938 and became widely known through the writings of his disciple, St. Sophrony of Essex. Silouan's spiritual teaching emphasizes humility, prayer for all people, repentance, and resistance to hatred.

His inclusion makes September 24 unusually accessible to modern readers because his life belongs to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries rather than distant antiquity. Many of his teachings survive through witnesses who knew him or through carefully preserved notes, giving his commemoration a different documentary character from ancient hagiography.

Is there a fast on September 24, 2026

September 24, 2026 falls on a Thursday. It is not an ordinary weekly fast day, because the regular weekly fast is normally observed on Wednesday and Friday. None of the principal commemorations on this date establishes a universal one-day strict fast simply by itself.

Local monastic or parish practice can be stricter, and personal fasting disciplines differ. General calendar information should therefore be treated as a guide to the ordinary rule, not as a personalized diet. Health and nutritional needs should always be respected.

What is important to know about the church holiday of September 24, 2026

September 24 connects the apostolic-age tradition of Thecla with Ukrainian monastic history through Theodosius of Manyava, medieval Serbian saints, Palestinian monasticism, and the modern Athonite witness of Silouan. The date therefore spans almost the full historical range of Orthodox sainthood.

There is no blanket church ban on ordinary work, school, cleaning, cooking, or travel. The more meaningful way to read the calendar is to look at the models represented by the saints: missionary courage, monastic discipline, repentance, leadership, and prayer for others. Calendar differences can shift the civil date for communities using the Julian calendar.

September 24 is a good example of how the Orthodox calendar connects local and universal memory. Thecla belongs to the earliest Christian centuries and is honored across many traditions. Theodosius of Manyava gives the date a specifically Ukrainian monastic connection, while Stephen and Vladislav represent medieval Serbian church history and Silouan brings the list into the twentieth century. These saints did not share one historical setting; they share a liturgical date.

The title Equal-to-the-Apostles used for Thecla is an honorific title, not a claim that she belonged to the Twelve. It is traditionally given to saints whose witness or missionary influence was understood as unusually broad. Likewise, "Protomartyr" in her title marks her special place in the tradition of women martyrs. Such titles are useful because they tell the reader how the church remembers a saint, but they should not be read as modern academic job descriptions.

For Ukrainian readers, Theodosius of Manyava is worth distinguishing from other saints named Theodosius. His association with the Manyava Skete in the Carpathian region is the key identifier. English transliterations vary, so geography and feast date are often more dependable than spelling alone.

The mix of saints also shows why short calendar widgets can be misleading if treated as complete lists. A compact app may show only Thecla, while a fuller Orthodox menologion adds Theodosius of Manyava, Silouan, and regional saints. That is usually a difference in editorial depth, not a contradiction. For name days or parish observance, the local church calendar remains the most practical reference.