St. Abel the Righteous
Commemorated March 20
The Righteous Abel's story is found in Genesis 4. Abel was born to Adam and Eve after the fall of humanity in Genesis 3. We know from his story that Abel was a righteous man, a shepherd who offered pleasing sacrifice to God. Abel would become the first of humanity to suffer martyrdom and physical death at the hands of his jealous older brother, Cain. His blood is mentioned as "crying out from the earth" at the conclusion of his story in Genesis 4, but this is also noted by Christ in Matthew 23 and by Paul in Hebrews 12. In these scriptural passages and several Akathists of the church, this cry is seen to be an entreaty for justice to be done on earth.
