Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus

Gregory (c. 213–c. 270) was born to a pagan family in Neocaesarea, in what is now Turkey, and became a Christian after studying under the great teacher Origen. Around 240 he was made bishop of his hometown, which according to tradition had only seventeen Christians. He preached, cared for his people during plague and persecution, and wrote a short creed on the Trinity. Tradition says that by his death only seventeen pagans remained in the city.

Many miracles are told of him, such as stopping a flooding river with his staff and moving a great rock by prayer. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary and Saint John appeared to him to teach him the faith, one of the earliest Marian apparitions on record.