Byzantine Saints: Venerable Melania the Younger of Rome (31 December)

About this sermon

St Melania the Younger of Rome is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on December 31. Born into immense wealth and nobility in Rome, she chose a life of chastity, sacrifice, prayer, and radical charity, abandoning worldly riches for Christ. Married at the age of fourteen, St Melania longed from the beginning to live fully for God. Through immense personal suffering—including the loss of her children—she and her husband St Pinianus renounced worldly life and dedicated themselves entirely to Christ. Together they sold vast estates across the Roman Empire, using their wealth to build churches, monasteries, hospitals, and to care for the poor, prisoners, widows, orphans, and exiles. St Melania traveled throughout Italy, Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Jerusalem, and Constantinople, living an ascetic life marked by fasting, prayer, humility, and copying Holy Scripture. She founded monasteries for both women and men on the Mount of Olives and the Mount of the Ascension, guiding countless souls toward holiness while refusing titles out of humility. In Constantinople, she defended the Orthodox Faith against the heresy of Nestorius, converting many through wisdom and grace. Endowed with spiritual gifts, her prayers worked miracles. Having completed her earthly labors, she reposed peacefully in the Lord in 439 AD. ☦️ St Melania the Younger is a powerful example of repentance, obedience, chastity, charity, and unwavering faith in Christ. 0:00 – Introduction: St Melania the Younger of Rome 0:23 – Birth into wealth and early marriage 0:38 – Desire for chastity and devotion to God 0:54 – Birth and dedication of her daughter 1:04 – Death of her son and vow of chastity 1:23 – Loss of children and renunciation of wealth 1:41 – Leaving Rome for a life of charity 2:01 – Selling estates and aiding the poor worldwide 2:21 – Voyage to Africa and saving a city from destruction 2:57 – Ascetic life, fasting, prayer, and copying Scripture 3:23 – Journey to Jerusalem and meeting holy elders 3:53 – Life on the Mount of Olives 4:01 – Founding a women’s monastery 4:40 – Enshrining relics of holy saints 4:52 – Death of St Pinianus 5:01 – Founding a men’s monastery 5:22 – Journey to Constantinople 5:39 – Conversion of her pagan uncle 5:51 – Defending Orthodoxy against heresy 6:07 – Final instructions and holy repose 6:25 – Repose of St Melania in 439 AD https://www.oca.org/saints/lives 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.com for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 SensusFidelium.TV - https://sensusfidelium.tv/@SensusFidelium 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium 🔴 Truth Social - @SensusFidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StMelaniaTheYounger #OrthodoxSaints #December31 #OrthodoxChristianity #LivesOfTheSaints #VenerableMelania #OrthodoxFaith #ChristianHoliness #SaintBiography