By Grigorios of Mesaoria
Today the day is called “Sunday of Zacchaeus” (as it is reported in the Gospel) and the Orthodox Church is honouring all families. It also commemorates Saint Xenophon, his wife, Mary, and their two sons, Sts. Arcadius and John.
He lived under Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD. He was a wealthy senator from Constantinople. He offered support along with his wife to the fraternities in the monasteries. They were both modest and discreet. They also instilled the virtue of modesty in their children, who were sent for higher education in Beirut later on.
God protected the two brothers and, therefore, they were both saved after a shipwreck. They fled to Palestinian monasteries, where they followed an ascetic way of life. When their parents searched for them in the Holy Land, they miraculously found both of them in Golgotha (Calvary), where they had gone on pilgrimage.
After that, they remained all steadfast in their faith to the Lord. They gave all their property to the poor and to monasteries and lived the rest of their lives as ascetics until they fell asleep in the Lord.
Source: Church of Cyprus