Being fully aware that since time immemorial, after the Holy Bible, the lives of the Saints have been the daily nourishment of all Orthodox believers, in 1987 the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra on Mount Athos decided to publish, first in French and subsequently in English, a modern translation of the Synaxarion, for the needs of the worldwide Orthodox mission. This laborious but so necessary task was undertaken by the most reverend Hieromonk Fr. Makarios of Simonopetra, a connoisseur of foreign languages and a scholar of hagiological subjects. From the outset, it was determined that this work could not be limited to a simple translation or adaptation of the Synaxarion of Constantinople, even of the well-known circulating work of Saint Nicodemus the Hagiorite. In order for this hagiology to meet the demands of the modern, especially Western reader, and for the even more universal-global character of the Orthodox Church, a revision of the texts based on the most authentic hagiological sources was necessary. This time-consuming work allowed not only for the correction of certain errors that had crept into the Synaxarion over time but also for the completion of many laconic biographies and the addition of commemorations of Byzantine Saints who had not yet found their place in the classical Synaxaria. To give this collection a pan-Orthodox character, Saints from all the local canonical Orthodox Churches (Russia, Serbia, Romania, Georgia, Bulgaria, etc.) were included, as well as the recently recognized Saints of all Orthodox Churches, who multiplied especially after the fall of the communist system. Along the way, the translation work turned into an original composition of a true New Synaxarion, which seems to be today the most complete and updated Orthodox hagiological collection, as it includes all the Saints recognized by the Church up to the year 2000. [...] [Excerpt from the preface text]