The memory of the martyrs Flora and Lavra

The holy martyrs, Florus and Laurus, were brothers, not only in flesh, but also in spirit, for they both believed in Christ and pleased Him with good works.

They were taught by the pious men Proclus and Maximus, from whom they learned not only their trade but also how to live a godly life according to the rules of the Christian faith.

For the faith in Christ, they were first given over to the death of their teachers, and then, after a while, following their teachers and they inherited martyrdom crowns, having received a painful death from the ruler of Illyria [Illyria <unk> a vast region in the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula, located was

along the Adriatic coast.

At present, the site of ancient Illyria is occupied by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, etc.]

The governor of the province of Illyricum sent a letter to the governor of Illyricum asking him to send skilled masons to build a temple of pagan gods.

In building the temple according to the will of the latter, the holy brethren distributed the wages they received for their labor to the poor, while teaching the poor the holy faith in Christ.

And they used to fast and pray and work, and they used to pray at night and work at day, and they used to eat a little, and they used to feed the hungry and the needy abundantly.

One day a young man, the son of a certain Jewish priest, came up to see the work being done.

And suddenly a piece of stone leaped from the rock, and struck the boy in the eye, and cut him out; and the boy cried out in pain, and his father, a pagan priest, ran to him.

And when he saw that his son's face was covered with blood, and that his eye was gone out, he rent his garments in sorrow, and rebuked the holy workmen, and rushed upon them to smite them; but the workmen that stood by held him back.

Asserting the innocence of the holy brothers, they said that the youth himself was to blame for his misfortune because he approached them while they were hewing the stone and watched their work without taking precautions.

The saints Flor and Laurus, trying to calm the priest, promised to heal his son's eye and make him see as well as before, and took the boy into their home for the night and taught him about the one true God, Jesus Christ.

If you believe with all your heart in the God we are telling you about, you will soon be able to see again". The young man replied, "If my eyesight returns to what it was before, I will believe and worship your God".

And he said: O my people! verily Allah is Hearing, Knowing.

He said, "Some years ago a certain Hermes, a priest of our people, was brought before the temple of Zeus to lay his hands on Paul.

It consists of the priest lifting the idol's arm, which is attached to the shoulders and moves in the joint, upward with a silver chain, and then lowering it to the head of the subject.

And the hand of the idol fell upon the face of the idol, and its nails were upon the bones of the idol, until this day.

When the young man told about this incident, Saints Florus and Laurus began to pray to God with tears that He would heal the young man and enlighten not only his physical eye, but also his spiritual eyes.

And the man's eyes were restored, and he saw again, and his father also believed.

This priest's name was Memertine, and from that time on he was a servant of demons and became a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ along with his son.

After this, the holy workers Florus and Laurus, with the help of an angel of God, completed the temple in a short time, but did not leave it for the dwelling of idols, but consecrated it to glorify the most holy name of Jesus Christ.

And they set the holy cross in the east, and gathered together about three hundred of the poor, their brethren in the faith, and they prayed all night, and praised Christ God.

After the nightly prayer, all who were in the temple went to the nearby building, where the idols were prepared for the new temple, and, binding the necks of these idols with their belts, began to drag them on the ground, beat and break them, and thus smashed them into small pieces.

When the governor learned of this, he arrested Florus and Laurus and all the others, especially Matherinus and his son, and ordered them to be burned at the stake. Then he had them bound and handed them over to the governor of Illyria.

And when he had inquired of them, and had heard that they were Christians, he commanded them to be cast out of the deep pit, and to be buried with dust. And after many years they were brought with honour from the holy and profane relics to Constantinople, to the glory of Christ our God.

To the most perfect and wise of the two, the most glorious of the faithful, the most blessed Flora, and the most honorable Lavra, and the most zealous of the uncreated Trinity, proclaimed plainly to all, suffered to the point of blood, and crowned with the most glorious crowns: pray to Christ God to save our souls.

Kondack, vox 8: As the piety of the martyrs, and the sufferings of Christ, are godly, the universe gloriously venerates Flora and Lavra today: that we may improve grace and mercy by their prayers, and be delivered from troubles and calamities, and wrath and sorrow on the day of judgment.