Florus and Laurus

Who is Florus and Laurus?

Saints Florus and Laurus are venerated as Christian martyrs of the 2nd century. According to a Greek tale, they were twin brothers who worked as stonemasons. They were originally from Constantinople, Byzantium but settled in Ulpiani, Dardania, in the district of Illyricum.

They were educated in the art of masonry by two men named Maximus and Proculus, who were Christians.

According to their legend, Likaion, the prefect of Illyricum, employed the brothers in the construction of a pagan temple. The brothers gave their salaries to the poor. When the son of a local pagan priest named Mamertin was injured by a chip of stone from the saints' temple, Florus and Laurus cured the boy after the boy converted to Christianity. Mamertin also decided to convert to Christianity as a result of his son's recovery.

After the temple was built, Florus and Laurus brought together many local Christians there. The group smashed all of the statues of the pagan gods, and a cross was set up in the temple.

The Christians spent the whole night in prayer in the converted temple. As a result of this action, the local authorities had 300 Christians, including Mamertin and Mamertin's son, burned to death.