Hierarch
Saint Michael, Bishop of Synnada
May 23 Old CalendarJune 5 New Calendar
Life
This holy and wise hierarch dedicated himself from childhood to the service of Christ. He struggled ascetically together with Saint Theophylact of Nicomedia. Once in a time of drought, these two saints by their prayers brought down abundant rain upon the earth. Because of his ascetical and virginal life from his early youth, he was chosen and consecrated by Patriarch Tarasius as Bishop of Synnada. He participated in the Seventh Ecumenical Council. At the emperor's wish he went to Caliph Harun al-Rashid to conduct negotiations for peace. In the time of the wicked Leo the Armenian, he was deposed from his hierarchical throne for venerating icons and sent into exile, where in poverty and destitution he ended his life, remaining faithful to Orthodoxy to the end, and in the year 818 he departed to the kingdom of Christ the King.
From the Hymn of Praise
The wicked queen accused Michael,Saying he had insulted the Islamic faith.The king made the monk a strange offer:He would adopt him as a son,
From the Prologue from Ochrid by St. Nikolai Velimirovich, May 23. Translated by Marcian Sakarya, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Also commemorated on May 23
The full reading for May 23 includes the hymn of praise, a reflection, a contemplation and a homily.
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