Synaxis of saints
Synaxis Synaxis of Rostov Saints
Synaxis of Rostov Saints — veneration of hierarchs and ascetics connected to the ancient Rostov land; the core group is Sts. Leonty, Isaiah, Ignatius, Abraham of Rostov and St. Sergius of Radonezh.
The Synaxis of Rostov Saints venerates the company of saints connected to the ancient Rostov land, attested in icon tradition from the 15th–20th centuries. Its core figures are the wonder-working hierarchs of Rostov — Leonty (the first reliably documented Bishop of Rostov, a hieromartyr of the 11th century), Isaiah, Ignatius and Abraham of Rostov — together with St. Sergius of Radonezh, who was born in the Rostov principality (Varnitsy).
The feast is kept on May 23 (Old Style) / June 5 (New Style), the feast day of St. Leonty. In 1964, Patriarch Alexy I and the Holy Synod formally expanded this veneration into the church-wide Synaxis of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints (~190 names), incorporating ascetics tied to the Yaroslavl land as well. "Rostov Saints" represents the earlier, narrower, local devotion that preceded the official expanded synaxis, sharing the same feast date.