Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of Saint Hilarion the Great (21 October) celebrates the 3rd and 4th century Christian anchorite hermit who spent most of his life in the desert and in the coastal area near Gaza, and is now considered to be the founder of Palestinian monasticism. Living as a hermit, he was sought out for healing, exorcisms, prophetic words, and spiritual training. This led him to establish a monastery. Hilarion is the patron saint of Caulonia, a southern Italian town in Calabria, under the name Sant’Ilario.

On icons, Hilarion is depicted as an old man with a brown, rush-like beard divided into three points and he holds sometimes a scroll which reads: “The tools of a monk are steadfastness, humility, and love according to God.”

+ Includes a feast day recipe for Tisana Barley Porridge

Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of St. Edward the Confessor (13 October) celebrates the pious and childless Anglo-Saxon king of England whose death led to the Norman Conquest. He was known for performing many miracles in his life, and is said to have cured scrofula by the laying-on of hands — the origin of the ‘King’s Evil’ tradition continued by every English sovereign until Queen Anne.

He was a patron saint of England until 1350, when Edward III named St. George as England’s patron saint. Every monarch of England has been crowned next to his shrine at Westminster Abbey since the time of his death in 1066 AD.

+ Includes a feast day recipe for the Anglo-Saxon treat, Honey Oat Cakes.

Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of St. John of Rila (19 October), who was also known as Saint Ivan of Rila and as Ivan Rilski, celebrates the 9th and 10th century Bulgarian Hermit , revered as a saint even while he was still alive. He was famous for performing miracles and was known as a “wonderworker” in his lifetime. Those miracles include healing the sick, casting out demons, and providing food miraculously to those in need. Many of the legends of him involve wild animals and birds approaching him.

He is a patron saint of Bulgaria.

Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of St. Denis of Paris (9 October) celebrates a 3rd century bishop and martyr who is remembered in legend for picking his head up after his decapitation and then preaching a sermon.

+ Includes a feast day recipe for St. Denis Tartlets

Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of St. Gregory the Illuminator celebrates the the founder and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He converted Armenia from Zoroastrianism to Christianity in the early fourth century (traditionally dated to 301), making Armenia the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Gregory suffered torture and imprisonment in a pit before being called upon to heal the King from a sickness. After he succeeded, the nation converted.

+ includes a feast day recipe for Harissa (Armenian Wheat and Chicken Porridge)

Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of St. Quadratus of Athens (21 September) celebrates a 2nd century Christian apologist traditionally regarded as a disciple of the original 12 Apostles and one of the Seventy Disciples of Jesus Christ. He is best known for presenting the Gospel to Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century, for providing the earliest written defense of Christianity, and as an early Bishop of Athens, succeeding Saint Publius.

He is a patron saint of apologists.

Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of St. Cloud (7 September) celebrates the 6th century Frankish prince who renounced his position of power for a monastic life, marked by quiet and holiness.

+ Included herein is a feast day recipe for Kalbscoteletten à la Saint Cloud (Veal Cutlets St. Cloud)

Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of Saint Pope Gregory I (3 September) celebrates the late 6th and early 7th century pope who is usually given the epithet “Gregory the Great.”

His papacy saw a great expansion of Church authority in the midst of Western Rome’s collapse, Gothic tribal invasions, and plague. He countered the Arian and Donatist heresies, was a prolific and influential writer, and is considered to be one of the four Latin Church Fathers.

+ Includes a traditional Armenian feast day recipe: The Gregorian Cocktail. It consists of a mixture of vegetables and sauces.

Dusty Feasts

The Feast Day of St. Joseph of Arimathea (31 August) celebrates the 1st century Jewish Biblical figure who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. He is identified in the Gospel accounts as a wealthy disciple of Jesus and as a member of the Sanhedrin.

He is the subject of numerous stories and legends, which developed in particular during the Middle Ages. He is also the patron saint of undertakers and funeral directors.

Dusty Feasts

Dusty Feasts: Saint Augustine of Hippo (28 August) was a 4th and 5th century theologian and philosopher. He is generally regarded as one of the most influential philosophers in the history of the Western world, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period.

He is the namesake and patron of numerous locations. He is also a patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, philosophers, and sore eyes.