March 18 / March 5

1.  The Holy Martyr Conon of Isauria

He was brought up in the Christian Faith and baptized in the name of the All-holy and Life-giving Trinity by the Archangel Michael himself. Until his death, the archangel of God invisibly watched over him. Conon was illumined and empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit so that his heart was driven not by anything worldly but only by the spiritual and heavenly. When his parents forced him into marriage, the first evening he took a candle and placed it under a vessel and asked his bride: “Which is better light or darkness?” She replied: “Light.” He then began to talk to her about the Faith in Christ, and about the spiritual life as being far superior and more desirable than the physical. In this, he succeeds- ed. Afterward, Conon converted his wife and her

parents to the Christian Faith. Conon and his wife lived as brother and sister. Shortly thereafter, his wife and parents died, and he withdrew completely from this worldly life and devoted himself totally to prayer, fasting, and divine contemplation. He performed great miracles, through which he converted many to Christianity. Among other examples, Conon compelled evil spirits to serve him. During a time of persecution, he was captured, tortured, and pierced throughout with knives. The sick anointed themselves with his blood, and they were healed. Afterward, he lived for two additional years in his town of Isauria, and then presented himself to the Lord. This glorious saint lived and was martyred in the second century.

2.    The Holy Martyr Conon the Gardener, of Pamphilia (251)

Conon was born in Nazareth. He was kind and innocent and in all things found favor with God. During the reign of Decius, Conon was persecuted, tortured, and martyred for Christ. Through all this, he remained strong in the Faith. He sharply rebuked and criticized the pagan judges for their foolishness. Nails were driven into his feet and he was tied to the prince’s chariot. Then this virtuous and innocent saint was dragged until he was completely exhausted and fell. He prayed for the last time and gave up his soul to God, in the year 251.

3.   The Venerable Hesychius the Faster, of Bithynia (790)

Hesychius was born near Brusa in the eighth century. He then re-treated to Mount Maion, which had an evil reputation because of demonic apparitions. There Hesychius built a hut for himself and a chapel dedicated to the Holy Apostle Andrew. He surrounded it with a garden, which he cultivated in order to live by his own labor. By his prayers, he performed many miracles. Hesychius prophesied that after his death a convent would be built in that place. A month before his death, he foresaw its day and hour. At midnight on the foreseen day, some men saw his hut shining with an extraordinary light. When they arrived, they found him dead. Hesychius reposed peacefully and was received into the Kingdom of his Lord in the year 790. He was buried in the Church of St. Andrew. Later Theophylactus, Bishop of Amasea, translated his body to Amasea.

4.    The Venerable Mark the Ascetic, of Egypt (5th c.)

Mark was an ascetic and miracle-worker. In his fortieth year, he was tonsured a monk by his teacher, St. John Chrysostom. Mark then spent sixty more years in the wilderness of Nitria in fasting and prayer, and in writing many spiritual works concerning the salvation of souls. He knew all the Holy Scriptures by heart. He was very merciful and kind and wept much for the misfortunes that had befallen all of God’s creation. On one occasion, when weeping over a hyena’s blind whelp, he prayed to God and the whelp received its sight. In thanksgiving, the mother hyena brought him a sheepskin. The saint forbade the hyena in the future to kill any more sheep belonging to poor people. He received Communion at the hands of angels. His homilies concerning the spiritual law, repentance, sobriety, etc., are ranked among the preeminent literature of the Church. These works were praised by the Patriarch Photius the Great himself.

• Martyr Onisius of Isauria (1st ).
• Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine (200).
• Virgin-martyr Irais (Rhais) of Antinoe in Egypt (3rd ).
• Martyr Archelaus and 152 Martyrs, in Egypt (ca. 308).
• Martyr Eulogius of
• Martyr Eulampius of
• Kieran (Ciaran) of Saighir, Munster (5th-6th c.).
• Virgil, archbishop of Arles (618).
• Basil (1249) and Constantine (1257), princes of Yaroslavl.
• Translation of the relics (1463) of Theodore, prince of Smolensk and Yaroslavl (1299), and his children Sts. David (1321) and Constantine (ca. 1322).
• Monk-martyr Adrian (1550), founder of Poshekhonye Monastery (Rostov), and his fellow-ascetic St. Leonid (1549).
• New Martyr John the Bulgarian, at Constantinople (1784).
• New Hieromartyr Parthenius, bishop of Didymoteichon in Thrace (1805).
• New Martyr George of Rapsana, at Larissa (1818).
• New Hieromartyrs Theophan (Grafov), hierodeacon of Borisoglebsk Monastery
• (Vladimir) and Mardarius (Isaev), hieromonk, of Yurievskoe (Yaroslavl) (1938).
• Nikolai (Velimirovich), bishop of Ohrid and Zhicha, Serbia (1956).

HYMN OF PRAISE

Saint Michael the Archangel

The angels are our older and superior brothers.
The will of God Most-high is their will.
They are brighter and swifter than light,
Lighter and fresher than the air on the mountain.
In light they are clothed, the light of their Creator—
These tireless laborers of the work of Christ.
They care for men. Their only concern
Is how to return the prodigal son to God,
How to return their younger brothers from a strange land
To the joyful courts of the Householder.
Michael, Arch-captain, the first among the first:
What Venus is among the stars, he is among the angels.
He hurries to every penitent, to lift him up to God.
No matter how many penitents there are, he reaches them all.
To serve, serve and serve—for him that is joy.
Even in heaven, service to one’s neighbor is paramount.
Service which strengthens life and makes a mother jubilant,
Service which adorns with wreaths unfading:
That service for the angels is joy and celebration,
For it is directed to the glory of God and the salvation of men.

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