Saint Germanos, who was from Constantinople, was born to a wealthy and powerful family, and was the son of Justinian the Patrician. First he became Metropolitan of Cyzicus; in 715 he was elevated to the throne of Constantinople. But because of his courageous opposition to the iconoclasts (those who wanted to destroy and "outlaw" icons), he was exiled from his throne shortly thereafter. He lived the rest of his life in privacy, and fell asleep in the Lord in about 740. He left us many writings—the most important of these deal with the Ecumenical Councils of our faith. He also wrote many hymns for our services, including some we still use today for the Entrance of Christ to the Temple.

Making it real. Sacrifice is a big word. If St. Germanos had only backed off the iconoclasts and said it was "okay" to destroy icons, everything would’ve been fine. If he had turned a blind eye to those that were denying the power and reality of Christ’s incarnation, he would have been able to keep his place in Constantinople. But St. Germanos was all about faith and truth, even when it wasn’t easy to be so. To him, it was more important to live the Gospel than to have a place of honor in the world. Talk to your children about Christian bravery. The best path isn’t always the smoothest, and they can’t learn this early enough in life. Maybe they can share examples of this from school and problems experienced with their friends. Maybe you can share examples from your own life. In the end, whatever you do, make sure to share with them and let them do the same with you, in whatever way they feel comfortable.