Today’s believers speak these words for salvation and peace of the soul

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The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates the Holy Martyrs Flora and Lavra, brothers in body, spirit and occupation. They were both zealous Christians and stonemasons by trade. They lived in Illyria.

A pagan prince hired them to build the temple. It happened during his work that a piece of stone bounced off and hit the eye of the priest’s son, who was curiously looking at the work of the builder. Seeing his son blind and bloody, the priest began to yell at Flora and Lavra, so he wanted to hit them.

Then the holy brothers said to him: If you believe in God, when you believe, your son will be healed. The priest promises.

Flor and Lavr prayed with tears to God, the living and only God, and with the sign of the cross they marked the child’s broken eye. And the child was healed immediately and his eye was healthy as it was. Then the priest Memertin and his son were baptized, and shortly thereafter both suffered for Christ in fire.

And when Flor and Laurel finished the temple, they put a cross on it, they called all the Christians and consecrated it with the name of the Lord Jesus and the evening song. Upon learning of this, the Illyrian governor burned many of these Christians in fire, and Flora and Lavra threw them alive into a well, and the well was covered with earth.

Later, his relics were transferred to Constantinople.

Holy Martyrs Flor and Lavr, Photo: Serbian Orthodox Church

They suffered for Christ and these wonderful brothers became famous in Christ in the second century.

This troparion reads for this holiday today:

Let us praise with dignity the faithful, the two most radiant beautiful and wise of God, Flora the Hieromartir, Emiliano the Blessed and the Glorious Lavra, who with zeal and clarity preached to all the eternal Holy Trinity. That is why you suffered to the point of blood and were crowned with the most holy garlands: Pray to Christ God to save our souls.