18 March 2025 (MIA)

Macedonian Orthodox Church Calendar

The Holy Martyr Canon of Isauria

Conon was instructed in the Christian faith and baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity by the Archangel Michael himself, and he was accompanied by this archangel of God right up to his death. He was so enlightened and fortified by grace of the Holy Spirit, so that his heart was kept from all things earthly to the spiritual and heavenly. When his parents forced him to marry, he, on the first evening, took a candle and put it under a vessel, then asked his bride: ‘Which is better, light or darkness?’ She answered: `Light’, and he then began to speak to her of the Christian faith, and of the spiritual life as better and finer than the physical. He succeeded in bringing first her and then his parents to the Christian faith, and he and his wife lived as brother and sister. His wife and parents soon died, and he withdrew himself entirely from the world and gave himself to prayer, fasting and pondering on God. He performed great wonders, which brought many to Christianity. Among other wonders, evil spirits were forced to serve him. During a persecution he was arrested and tortured, and stabbed all over with knives. The sick anointed themselves with his blood and were healed. He lived for two further years in his own town, and went to the Lord. This wonderful saint lived and suffered in the second century.

Catholic Calendar

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Born in 315, raised a Christian in Jerusalem. Well educated, especially in religion. He was a priest and great instructor of catechumens, his instructions are still source documents for the Church’s early teachings. He became Bishop of Jerusalem in 348. Exiled three times by the Arians. Died in 387.