20 June / 3 July

The Hieromartyr Methodius, Bishop of Patara

He devoted himself from his youth to the ascetic life and, like a city set on a hill, was seen and called to the episcopate in the city of Patara in Lycia. Methodius was a learned and eloquent hierarch and wrote against the heresy of Origen. His words, 'inspired by God, illumine the whole world like lightning'. The pagans rose up against him, tortured him and beheaded him in 311, in Chalcis in Syria. The Holy Martyrs Aristocles, Dimitrianus and Athanasius.

Our Holy Father Naum of Ochrid

During this his summer feast there is a great assembly of people at the monastery of St. Nahum. Many sick people come or are brought to beseech healing through faith and prayer over the relics of the saint. Not only Orthodox people but also those from other faiths come to seek favor from St. Nahum. In 1926, a Muslim from Resna brought and donated a bell to the monastery out of thanksgiving because St. Nahum healed his brother from his deathbed and restored him to life. The donor was Jemail Zizo and his brother, who was healed, was called Suleiman Zizo. Both were prominent citizens of Resna..

On the same day: St Kallistos I, Patriarch of Constantinople; St Leucius, Bishop of Brindisi; Blessed Studios