St Porphyry (347 – 420) was born in Thessalonica, Greece.
In his early religious life, St Porphyry worked in Palestine and then Jerusalem, committing himself to a routine of prayer and austerity.
At the age of 45, St Porphyry was appointed Bishop of Gaza. There he experienced, at first hand, the pagan hostility towards Christians; upon his arrival in Gaza, they claimed a severe drought was “the feet of Porphyry bring[ing] bad luck to the city”.
St Porphyry succeeded in obtaining a decree to have all pagan temples and idols removed from Gaza which, in turn, led to the cessation of paganism. At the site of the largest temple ruins, a new church was built at the expense of the then empress.
The Feast of St Porphyry is 26th February.
St Porphyry:
Pray for us that we will show by our daily example the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Glory be to the…