Among the Albanian saints, there are special patrons of animals. Sts. Florus and Laurus were early Christian martyrs and missionaries. These twin brothers met their end in Illyricum, probably south of the modern city of Prishtina, Kosova. It is said that the return of their relics to Constantinople coincided with the end of a plague which was sickening horses throughout the empire. Thereafter, they became patron saints of those creatures God has provided to live in community with mankind. The feast of Sts. Florus and Laurus is celebrated each August 18.
At St. George Cathedral, they honored these saints in their prayers in August. His Grace, Nikodhim, brought the relics of these martyrs to be venerated, and after the Divine Liturgy, both the faithful of the community and their friends and neighbors were invited to the meditation garden, where all the animals (and their families) were blessed with holy water.