Old Style Date: May 16. The Russian Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Theodore the Sanctified on this day. He was from Egypt and was the son of wealthy and noble Christian parents. He showed an early desire for monastic life, and at the age of 14, Theodore secretly left home and settled in one of the monasteries. Hearing about Saint Pachomius the Great, he ardently desired to see the ascetic. Saint Pachomius kindly received the young man and left him in his monastery, where Theodore quickly excelled in all monastic endeavors. After Pachomius’s death, Saint Theodore managed the Tabennisi monastery, and later became the head of all the Thebaid monasteries. He became famous for his holy life and the gift of working miracles. Saint Theodore passed away in deep old age in the year 368. In popular tradition, Theodore (Fedor) was called Zhitnik because his feast was considered the last suitable day for sowing spring crops. People said: “At Zhitnik, the concern is to harrow the barley field.” In honor of Fedor’s day, porridge was served on the table - semolina, barley, buckwheat, or millet. On Fedor’s day, the rowan tree necessarily bloomed. According to this sign, people knew that the summer warmth had finally set in and would not be replaced by frosts. Especially since the bird cherry – the main harbinger of cold mornings – had already bloomed by this time. Name Days on This Day Alexander, Arkady, George, Ephraim, Modest, Muza, Nicholas, Peter, Fedor.