He lived over 800 years before Christ. He was the son of the widow of Zarephath of Sidon—the boy whom the Prophet Elijah raised from the dead. Upon reaching adulthood, he pleased God so greatly that he was deemed worthy of the gift of prophecy. He prophesied the Lord's Passion, the desolation of Jerusalem, and the end of the world. When the Lord commanded him to go to Nineveh and prophesy, he disobeyed, attempting instead to flee from the presence of God. A great storm overtook the ship on which he was fleeing, and the sailors cast Jonah into the sea. He was swallowed by a great fish—in whose belly he repented—and after three days, he was cast onto dry land. By his three-day sojourn in the belly of the whale, the Holy Prophet Jonah prefigured the three-day sojourn of the Lord Jesus Christ in the tomb, and his deliverance from the belly of the whale is a prefiguration of the Lord’s Resurrection.

Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishop of Sinope. Hieromartyr Phocas the Gardener. Venerable Cosmas of Zographou. Saint Peter the Merciful. Saint Jonah, Presbyter.