Russian Icon - Saint Martyrs Shamona, Guria & Abibus of Edessa (Samon, Gury & Aviv) - Patrons of the Holy Matrimony

Saints Shamona, Guria, and Deacon Abibus of Edessa (known in Russia as Samon, Gury, and Aviv) († ca. 322) were Christians who were martyred in Edessa, Mesopotamia under Emperor Licinius for refusal to worship the Pagan Gods. They are venerated in the Orthodox Church as Patron Saints of the Holy Matrimony and their Feast day is celebrated on November 15. The Orthodox icons depicting the Saints are traditionally gifted as a wedding present. Saint Samon is depicted as a middle-aged man with dark hair and a small beard with a cross in his hands; Saint Gury is depicted as a gray-haired elder with a long beard also holding a cross; Aviv as a young, beardless man in a deacon’s stole holding a censer.