Saint Photios the Great was one of the Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople in the middle of the 9th century, and his feast day is celebrated on February 6th. Together with other great spiritual leaders of the Church, he demonstrates through his writings and teachings that knowledge can be a powerful instrument for proclaiming and expressing the faith of the Church.

The Orthodox Church honors on February 6th the memory of Saint Photios, whose name comes from the Greek word “photos”, meaning “light”. He is a patron saint of all whose names contain “light” or its symbol.

Saint Photius was born in Constantinople around 820 AD into a prominent family. He received an excellent education and became the most learned man in Byzantium. He taught at the School of Magnaura (where he taught the Slavic Equal to the Apostles Saints Cyril and Methodius, and later, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon the Great) and held high governmental positions, but primarily engaged in scholarly pursuits.

In 858 AD, he was appointed as the Patriarch of Constantinople. He disputed with the Byzantine emperors and fought against the provision of Christianity. He died in 891 AD in exile, after being deposed and restored to the patriarchal throne several times.

The names celebrated on this day are: Photius, Plamen, Plamena, Ognyan, Ognyana, Svetlin, Svetlyo, Svetla, Svetoslav, and Svetoslava