Cyril the Deacon of Heliopolis

Cyril was a deacon of Heliopolis in Phoenicia (the city also known as Baalbek) who is venerated as a martyr for his death under the emperor Julian the Apostate. He is commemorated on March 29, together with the Hieromartyr Mark of Arethusa and others who suffered in the same persecution.

During the reign of Saint Constantine the Great, when the Church enjoyed imperial favor, Cyril zealously destroyed many idols and pagan altars in his city. When Julian came to power and the old religion was restored, the pagans of Heliopolis rose against him in revenge for what he had done. By the tradition they put him to death with great cruelty, cutting open his body.

The synaxarion adds that the same persecution claimed many other Christians in the Palestinian cities of Ascalon and Gaza, among them priests, women, and children who had dedicated their lives to God. Cyril is remembered among this company of confessors who refused to forsake Christ when the favor of the empire had turned once more against the Church.