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July 4: Saint Michael of Choniatis celebratestranslated

July 4, 2026 · 1 min read

Today, July 4, the Church honors the memory of Saints Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, the poet, and Michael Choniatos, Archbishop of Athens (†1220). We also celebrate the finding of the Relic of Saint Anisia, which is kept in the church of Saint Demetrius in the queen of Thermaikos, Thessaloniki.

By LAMBROS K. SKONTZOU, Theologian - Professor

Saint Michael Choniatis or Acominatos: The learned Bishop of Athens Through the modern spiritual Babel and the dense darkness of the compulsive fanaticism against the Christian faith, the all-illuminated figures of the saints of our Church appear to remind us that faith in Christ is light, because the "leader and finisher" of our faith, Jesus (Heb. 12:2), is Himself "the true light" (John 1:9), and the "light of the world" (John 8:12). The saints and their work are the strong historical bulwarks against the various Christian fighters, who, by mudslinging, want to present our Church as darkness.

One of the myriad enlightened figures of our Church is Michael Choniatis or Akominatos, bishop of Athens. He was born in 1138 in the city of Chones in Asia Minor. As a teenager he went to Istanbul to…

Source: Orthodoxia News Agency · Read the full story →

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Radu Tudor

I wonder why the church in Chisinau dedicated to Saint Michael Choniates was built only in 1930, when he was entered in the calendar of saints in 1138.

Alexandra Rusu

In Iași, the church of Saint Michael was built in 1928, but his memory was traditional for a long time — probably the same was the case in Chisinau, churches are built when the time is right, not necessarily immediately after the canonization.

Илья Смирнов

It is interesting that Saint Michael Choniates was born in 1138 in Khoni, and in Chisinau a church was built for him only in 1930. Apparently, the memory of him lived on even without a large church, as Alexandra writes about Iasi. Here in Samara, such things also often happen - the saint has been venerated for a long time, and a church is built when the strength and means become available.

Katherine Davis

The article cuts off right when it gets to his teenage years in Constantinople, but I was glad to see the mention of St. Anysia’s relic still being kept at St. Demetrios in Thessaloniki. We have a small icon of St. Michael Choniates in our parish library here in Chicago and I always wondered why he wasn’t better known; sounds like he was one of those steady, learned bishops who just kept the faith going in tough times.

Alexandru Matei

Yes, you are right, in Iași the tradition kept the memory of the saint alive long before 1928. Here in Constanța we have also seen similar cases, where the church was erected only decades later, when the funds and people gathered. Do you think that in Chisinau there was an older document that mentions a chapel or shrine dedicated to him before the construction?