Saint Paul the Confessor, Bishop of Prusia

St. Paul the Confessor of Prusia (Feast Day - March 8)

Verses

The trumpet of Paul of Prusia is silenced,
Maintaining the sound of the trumpet till the end.

Saint Paul lived during the time if iconoclasm and was elected Bishop of Prusia in Bithynia, which previously was known as Cius (today it is called Gemlik or Bursa). When he saw the great madness and rage of the iconoclasts against the Church of Christ, causing the images of the saints and decorations of the churches to disappear, as well as the persecution, exile, torture and death of those who venerated icons, he encouraged all those who kept the Orthodox faith to endure with courage. For this he was exiled and persecuted and underwent hardships, because he honored and venerated the holy image of Christ, who became man for our salvation. Having bravely struggled on behalf of Orthodoxy, he delivered his soul into the hands of God.