Date in the old style: June 4. On this day, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Saint Mitrofan, Patriarch of Constantinople, who lived in the 3rd-4th centuries. His father, Dometius, was the blood brother of the Roman Emperor Probus, but realizing the falsehood of the pagan religion, he believed in Christ. During the fierce persecutions of Christians in Rome, he, along with his two sons, Probus and Mitrofan, moved to Byzantium, where they studied the law of the Lord under Bishop Titus. After Titus' death, Dometius was elevated to the episcopal throne for his zeal and good deeds, and later, in 316 AD, his sons were sanctified: Probus and, in 316 AD, Saint Mitrofan. With the arrival in Byzantium of Emperor Constantine the Great, who, upon seeing the holiness of life and wisdom of Saint Mitrofan, took him to Rome. Soon, Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium and brought Saint Mitrofan there, and in 325 AD, at the First Ecumenical Council, he obtained the title of Patriarch for him. Thus, Saint Mitrofan became the first Patriarch of Constantinople. He peacefully reposed in the Lord in 326 AD, at the age of 117. The popular nickname of Saint Mitrofan — the Dungman — was not offensive to the saint. On the contrary, peasants always regarded manure with respect, considering it a pledge of future harvest. Mitrofan's land needed to be fertilized with manure. People said, "Without fatherly manure, do not expect bread from mother earth"; "Good earth receives manure once, but will remember it for nine years." Neglecting such work was fraught with danger: "You deceive the field once, and it will deceive you ten times." It was also believed that when addressing Mitrofan, the wind would bring blessed warm rains. At the same time, it was said, "The wind blows from the rotten corner (that is, from the north) — expect bad weather." Among the people, it was also noted that flax begins to grow vigorously on Mitrofan's day. "The day is so strong that it improves flax," people said. And they added, "Saint Mitrofan dresses girls in sarafans." Name days on this day: Ivan, Maria, Marfa, Mitrofan, Methodius, Nazar, Peter, Rostislav, Sophia