Hierarch Triphyllius, Bishop of Ledra (Leucosia), Cyprus

Saint Triphyllius was born into a noble family in Constantinople and received an excellent legal education in Berytus (Beirut), training for a career as an advocate. Renouncing worldly ambition, he traveled to Cyprus and became a disciple of St. Spyridon of Trimythous, the renowned wonderworker. Recognizing his intellect and piety, St. Spyridon ordained him first deacon, then priest, and finally consecrated him bishop of Ledra (Leucosia, present-day part of Nicosia). Using the inheritance left by his mother, Triphyllius built a monastery in Ledra. He was celebrated for his eloquence and deep knowledge of Scripture, so much that contemporaries likened his gift of speech to that of the apostles. Tradition recounts that when he once altered a Gospel word while preaching, St. Spyridon himself gently corrected him. Bishop Triphyllius reposed in extreme old age around 370. In the early twelfth century, the Russian pilgrim Abbot Daniel saw his incorrupt relics on Cyprus.