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St. Dometius Filofeevsky, Athonite († XVI, commemorated August 7)
Damian was born in the village of Mirikhov (or Rihovon, now Ayia Triada) near Agraf in Greece around 1510 into a family of pious parents.
From an early age he gravitated toward monastic life. First he went to the Filofeevsky Monastery, where he became a monk. After some time, he left the monastery and lived for three years under the guidance of the silent man and wonderworker Venerable Dometius on the Holy Mountain. Hearing one day a divine voice proclaiming that Damian should work not only for his own benefit, but also for the benefit of others, the monk left Athos and came to Mount Olympus, where he began to preach repentance. He was accused of delusion and went to Larissa and the region of Mount Kissavos.
After this, he returned to Agrafy, where he founded the monastery of the All-Holy Mother of God of Pelekit. Due to troubles, he subsequently had to move to Mount Kissavos, where he founded the Monastery of the Beheading of John the Baptist, where many Christians came to hear his sermons and spiritual instructions. After living with the monks for several years, Saint Damian moved to a secluded hermitage two kilometers from the monastery, from where he continued to instruct the monks and surrounding villagers.
One day Damian went to the neighboring village of Vulgarina on monastery business. There he was attacked by the Turks. On charges of “embarrassing” Christians – i.e. in calling on Christians not to engage in trade on Sundays and to remain firm in their faith - he was brought to the ruler of the Larisa region. They beat him, shackled him and threw him into prison, where they continued to cruelly torture him for 15 days, forcing him to renounce Christ. The saint remained adamant. He was eventually sentenced to death by hanging and subsequent burning of his body. But during the execution, the rope broke, and the martyr was thrown into the fire while still alive, after which the ashes were poured into the Penei River. This happened in 1568.
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St. Gregory of Sinai († 1310 (1346), commemorated August 8)