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Canon Al-Isafari, the saint and martyr

علّمه الإيمان المسيحي وعمّده باسم الثالوث القدوس رئيس الملائكة ميخائيل بالذات. وقد كان رفيقا له كل أيام حياته. عندما رغب والداه في تزويجه ورضح كان أول عمل عمله ليلة زفافه انه أخذ سراجا ووضعه تحت المكيال ثم قال لعروسه:” أيهما خير من الآخر النور أم الظلام؟ فأجابت: بل النور! فأخذ يحدثها عن يسوع إذ هو نور العالم فنفذت النعمة إلى قلبها واهتدت. مذ ذاك عاشا كأخ وأخت. كما نجح في هداية والديه. ويبدو ان أباه، نسطر، مات ميتة الشهداء تمسكا بإيمانه بيسوع ربا.

Soon after, Konon's parents and wife passed away, and he devoted himself to fasting and prayer. The Lord God bestowed upon him the gift of working miracles, and he converted many of his people to the faith. It is said that Isafaria was a mountainous region in Asia Minor between Pamphylia, Lycaonia, and Cilicia, and its inhabitants were known for their brutality and their tendency to fight. It is reported that the pagans came to Konon and said to him: You have your god, and we have our gods. Come, let us race; whoever reaches the cave first will have the greatest god. He accepted. The racers set off on their horses, racing the wind. As soon as their vanguard reached the cave, they were surprised. Konon was waiting for them, relaxed and refreshed, while they were tired and sweating, and they were perplexed. Through events of this kind, in which the God of Quen appeared to be the powerful God and the gods of men appeared to be weak, the saint of God was able to guide his people, then preached to them about Jesus and taught them. Since then, they have been accustomed to repeating every year in memory of their patron saint: One is the true God, the God of Quen!

It was also said that Qanun had divine power over the demons, so he forced some of them to plow the land like slaves and imprisoned others in jars that he buried in the ground.

When a new ruler named Magnus arrived in Isafria, intending to enforce the royal decrees ordering the persecution of Christians, he seized Quonan, flogged him and caused him to bleed. But the people attacked the ruler and rescued him, while the ruler fled, fearing for his life. Quonan lived for two years after that and then departed to his Lord.

Our Orthodox Church commemorates him on the fifth of March.

ملاحظة: أورد البطريرك مكاريوس، ابن الزعيم، في القرن السابع عشر، في مؤلَّفه “قديسون من بلادنا” ان مكان هذا القديس هو غربي مدينة يبرود المسمّاة بمفيلية. وأضاف “وإلى الآن موضعه معروف مشهور”. وقال أيضا انه زار المكان.

Troparia in the fourth tune
Your martyr, O Lord, through his struggle, obtained from You the imperishable crown, O our God, for he gained Your power and crushed the fanatics and crushed the powerless might of the demons. So, through his supplications, O Christ God, save our souls.

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