What Saint Day Is Today? September 13 Feast: The Forefeast of the Exaltation of the Cross

If you are asking what saint day is today for September 13, 2026, the Orthodox calendar marks the Forefeast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the commemoration of the dedication of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem. The day also honors Hieromartyr Cornelius the Centurion, several groups of martyrs, Venerable Peter of Atroa, and Great Martyr Ketevan of Georgia. September 13, 2026 is a Sunday, so there is no ordinary weekly fast. The Exaltation itself follows on Monday, September 14, and is a fast day.

What saint day is today: What is today's church holiday, September 13, 2026 on the Orthodox calendar

September 13 is a day of preparation for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It also commemorates the dedication, or renewal, of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem, the complex known today as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This combination gives the date a strong connection with the Holy Cross and Jerusalem.

The saints listed for the day include Cornelius the Centurion; martyrs Cronides, Leontius, and Serapion; Seleucus and Stratonikos; Macrobius and Gordian; Elijah, Zoticus, Lucian, and Valerian; Hieromartyr Julian; Venerable Peter of Atroa; and Great Martyr Ketevan, queen of Kakheti.

What does the eve of Exaltation of the Cross mean?

The forefeast begins liturgical preparation for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14. Hymns and readings start directing attention toward the Cross before the principal celebration begins.

The Exaltation is one of the major fixed feasts of the Orthodox year and has a distinctly solemn character. The forefeast therefore functions as a transition: September 13 still carries its own saints and commemorations, but the worship of the day increasingly points forward to the veneration of the Cross.

What happened during the renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ

The Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem was dedicated in the fourth century after the construction of a major Christian sanctuary at the sites associated with Christ's crucifixion and burial. The dedication is traditionally dated to 335.

The church complex became one of Christianity's most important pilgrimage destinations and is widely known in English as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Remembering its dedication on September 13 creates a historical bridge to the Exaltation of the Cross, which is celebrated the next day.

Who is Kornyliy Sotnyk?

Cornelius the Centurion is the Roman officer described in Acts 10. He is especially significant because the New Testament presents his household as among the first Gentiles to receive the Christian message and the Holy Spirit without first becoming Jews.

His story marks an important moment in the expansion of Christianity beyond its original Jewish setting. Orthodox tradition later remembers Cornelius as a bishop and hieromartyr. The title "centurion" refers to his Roman military office before his Christian ministry.

Who are Kronides, Leontius and Serapion

Cronides, Leontius, and Serapion are commemorated together as martyrs. Their names appear in the ancient martyrological tradition, where groups who suffered in a shared context were often remembered on one date.

The historical record does not preserve equal detail for every early martyr. The church calendar therefore gives us a firm liturgical commemoration even when a modern, fully documented biography is unavailable. Their joint feast on September 13 is part of the day's large group of early Christian witnesses.

Who are Seleucus and Stratonicus

Seleucus and Stratonikos are another pair of martyrs honored on September 13. As with several other saints of the date, their memory survives more clearly in the church calendar than in extensive independent historical documentation.

Their inclusion shows how Orthodox calendars preserve collective memory across centuries. Rather than concentrating only on a single famous saint, the date gathers multiple martyrs whose names might otherwise have disappeared from common knowledge.

Who are Makrovius and Gordian?

Macrobius and Gordian are remembered as martyrs from the early fourth century. They belong to the era in which Christian communities were still vulnerable to state persecution in parts of the Roman Empire.

Sources differ in the amount of detail they provide, so a responsible summary should not present every later hagiographic element as certain history. The stable point is their September 13 commemoration and their place among the martyrs honored by the church.

Who are Ilya, Zotyk, Lucian and Valerian

Elijah, Zoticus, Lucian, and Valerian are commemorated as a group of martyrs. Their names illustrate the linguistic challenge of church calendars: Ukrainian, Greek, Church Slavonic, and English forms can look quite different even when they refer to the same people.

For readers cross-checking calendars, feast date and group membership are therefore more reliable identifiers than spelling alone. Their shared commemoration adds another group of early martyrs to the September 13 observance.

Who is the hieromartyr Julian?

Julian is remembered as a priest and hieromartyr. The title indicates that he was ordained clergy and also died as a martyr. Several saints named Julian appear in Christian history, so the liturgical date and clerical title help identify the correct one.

His commemoration on September 13 stands alongside both lay martyrs and monastic saints, illustrating the different forms of Christian vocation represented in a single daily calendar.

Who is Saint Peter in Atroya

Venerable Peter of Atroa was a Byzantine monastic saint associated with the region of Bithynia. He lived during the era of Byzantine iconoclasm, when the use and veneration of religious images became a major church and political conflict.

Monastic saints of this period are often remembered for preserving communities of prayer and defending traditional icon veneration. Peter's presence on September 13 introduces a later Byzantine layer to a date otherwise heavily populated by early martyrs.

Who is the great martyr Ketevan

Ketevan the Martyr was queen of Kakheti in Georgia and died in the seventeenth century. Georgian Christian tradition remembers her for refusing to abandon her faith under political pressure while she was held in Persia.

Her commemoration is historically much later than the Roman-era martyrs listed on the same date. That contrast is typical of Orthodox calendars, which can bring together saints separated by more than a millennium. Ketevan remains one of the best-known Georgian women saints.

Is there a fast on September 13, 2026

September 13, 2026 falls on a Sunday. There is no ordinary weekly fast on this date, and the forefeast itself does not impose a separate universal fast.

However, the next day is different. The Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14 is traditionally observed as a fast day regardless of which weekday it falls on. The distinction is important: preparation for a fast-day feast does not automatically make the previous Sunday a fast day.

What is important to know about the church holiday of September 13, 2026

September 13 prepares worshippers for the Exaltation while also remembering the dedication of Jerusalem's Church of the Resurrection. Cornelius the Centurion gives the day a direct New Testament connection, while Ketevan, Peter of Atroa, and multiple martyr groups represent later centuries and different regions of the Christian world.

There is no general ban on work and no ordinary weekly fast because the date is Sunday. The major fasting observance begins with the feast itself on September 14.

A final calendar note is useful when comparing sources: the Orthodox Church of Ukraine adopted the New Julian calendar for most fixed feasts in 2023, while some communities continue to use the Julian calendar. As a result, the same fixed commemoration can appear on two different civil dates. This does not mean the church is honoring two different saints or two different versions of the feast. It is usually a calendar difference. For practical observance, the schedule of a person's own parish is the most reliable guide.