Synaxis Синайские свв.

The Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers Slain at Sinai and Raithu (commemorated 14/27 January) honors the hermit-monks of Mount Sinai and the neighboring Raithu community on the Red Sea coast, killed by raiders in two separate massacres of the 4th–5th centuries. The first occurred around 312, when about 40 fathers of Sinai and 39 of Raithu were slaughtered; the monk Ammonius, an eyewitness, left an account. A century later, around 412, the communities were attacked again — barbarians (identified variously as Blemmyes, Saracens, or Moors) descended seeking winter provisions and killed nearly all the monks, an event recorded by St. Nilus of Sinai. Liturgical texts preserve only a few names: Isaiah, Sabbas, Moses and his disciple Moses, Jeremiah, Paul, Adam, Sergius, Domnus, Proclus, Hypatius, Isaac, Macarius, Mark, Benjamin, Eusebius, Elijah, and others — most remain unnamed. The feast is ancient, attested in synaxaria from the 11th century. Distinct from this date, the Church also keeps a broader Synaxis of All Venerable Fathers of Sinai on the Wednesday of Bright Week, honoring ascetics of every era.