1.  The Apostles, who were the first ones to spread the message of the  Incarnation of the Word of God and of salvation through Christ.

 

2.  The Prophets, because they predicted and prophesied the coming of the Messiah.

 

3.  The Martyrs, for sacificing their lives and fearlessly confessing Jesus Christ  as the Son of God and Savior of mankind.

 

4.  The Fathers and Hierarchs of the Church, who excelled in explaining and defending, by word and deed, the Christian Faith.

 

5.  The Monastics, who lived in the desert and dedicated themselves to spiritual exercise (askesis), reaching, as far as possible, perfection in Christ.

 

6.  The Just, those who lived in the world, leading exemplary lives as clergy or laity with their families, becoming examples for imitation in society.

 

Each and every one among these saints has his or her own calling and characteristics: they all fought the "good fight for the faith" (I Tim. 6:12 and II Tim. 4:7). All of them applied in their lives the scriptural virtues of "justice, piety, fidelity, love, fortitude and gentleness" (I Tim. 6:11).

 

 

Equal-to-the-Apostles: are saints who, like  the Apostles, labored to turn countries and peoples to Christ. Such are the baptizer of Rus Prince Vladimir and the Princess Olga; the Emperors Constantine and Elena.

 

Venerable: (coming to resemble the Lord): saints, attaining glory in monastic toil. Through fasting, prayer, labors they formed in their souls great virtues--humility, chastity, meekness. Probably every monastery is glorified before God with a holy saint. In Russia, St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. Seraphim of Sarov are particularly loved. Among the venerable women the most well-known is St. Mary of Egypt.

 

Confessors the Church calls those, who suffered much for Christ, but did not suffer a martyr's death.

 

Unmercenaries had the gifts of healing and used it without compensation. Such doctors were the Saints Cosmos and Damian.

 

Fools-for-Christ, taking on the appearance of madness and suffering defamation from those around them, exposed human vices, brought those in power to their senses, comforted the suffering. Some of these are Xenia of St. Petersburg, St. Basil the Moscow, Nicholas of Pskov and John of Rostov ("the Hairy").

 

Source: St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, "A Guide to Greek Traditions and Customs in America" and www.fatheralexander.org

Fools-for-Christ, taking on the appearance of madness and suffering defamation from those around them, exposed human vices, brought those in power to their senses, comforted the suffering. Some of these are St. Andrew the Fool for Christ, St.Xenia of St. Petersburg, St. Basil of Moscow, Nicholas of Pskov and John of Rostov ("the Hairy").

 

In Greek, the term for Holy Fool is salos. In Russian, yurodivy is a Holy Fool, one who acts intentionally foolish in the eyes of men. He or she often goes around half-naked, is homeless, speaks in riddles, is believed to be clairvoyant and a prophet, and may occasionally be disruptive and challenging to the point of seeming immoral (though always to make a point). **

One form of the ascetic Christian life is called foolishness for the sake of Christ. The fool-for-Christ set for himself the task of battling within himself the root of all sin, pride. In order to accomplish this he took on an unusual style of life, appearing as someone bereft of his mental faculties, thus bringing upon himself the ridicule of others. In addition he exposed the evil in the world through metaphorical and symbolic words and actions. He took this ascetic endeavor upon himself in order to humble himself and to also more effectively influence others, since most people respond to the usual ordinary sermon with indifference. The spiritual feat of foolishness for Christ was especially widespread in Russia. --(Excerpted from The Law of God, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY: 1993)

**source: OrthodoxWiki