Cyril

Holy Hieromartyr Cyril, bishop of Gortyn in Crete, was born in 206 and received the crown of martyrdom in the year 299, in the time of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian.

After spending his life piously and in struggle, he was ordained bishop of Gortyn at the age of 68. He shepherded his flock for twenty-⁠five years, then appeared before the governor Agrianus and, because he boldly preached Christ, was thrown into the fire. The bonds burned and the wood became ash, but the saint remained completely unharmed, so he was let go. Later, because he turned many idolaters to faith in Christ, he was condemned to death. A bridle was put in his mouth and he was loaded on a wagon, for at 93 he could no longer walk. When they reached a place called Raxos, the oxen stopped of themselves, and there the worthy hierarch and champion of the Lord received the crown of martyrdom by beheading.

The synaxarion adds, after Dositheos of Jerusalem, that there was also another Cyril, a hieromartyr of Gortyn, killed by the Saracens in the year 780 because he did not deny Christ; from his wounds myrrh flowed instead of blood. He is commemorated on 14 June, according to the calendar of the Church of Greece (new style).