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Now there was a woman in that city who was a believer and had a little son, a child not more than five years old. She saw the beheading of the holy martyrs, and after their execution, went to where their bodies lay. She took a little of their blood and anointed herself and her son with it. Filled with zeal, she reviled the king and cried out with a loud voice, “May this Jew suffer the same fate as Pharaoh!”

The soldiers laid hold of her, led her to the king, and told him what she had said. The king did not permit her to say anything more and did not question her; instead, he commanded that she immediately be burned. When a great fire had been lit and the torturers had begun to bind that blessed woman, intending to cast her into the flames, her little son started to cry. Then, seeing the king, who was seated nearby, the boy approached him, and with tears in his eyes, clasped Dunaan by the feet and besought him not to slay his mother.

The king took that fair and delightful child upon his knee and asked him, “Whom do you love more, your mother or us?”

The child replied, “I love my mother, which is why I have come to ask you to release her. I want her to take me with her to be tormented, for she has frequently instructed me concerning such things.”

The king asked him, “What is the torment of which you speak?”

Filled with the grace of God, the child answered the king, “To suffer torment is to die for Christ, that one may live with Him again.”

The king asked, “Who is Christ?”

The boy replied, “Come with me to the church, and I will show Him to you.”

Then he turned again to his mother, and weeping, he said to

the king, “Let me go to my mother!”

“Why, then,” said the king, “did you forsake your mother and come to us? Do not go to her. Remain with us, and I shall give you apples, nuts, and every other kind of beautiful fruit.”

The king spoke with him as though he were an ordinary child, supposing that his thoughts were those of other boys his age. But the child was wise far beyond his years, and his replies were most intelligent. He answered the king thus: “I will not remain with you. I wish to go to my mother. I thought that you were a Christian, and so I came to you to make entreaty on behalf of my mother. But you are a Jew, and thus I do not want to take anything from your hand. I only desire that you let me go to my mother.”

In that same city of Nagran there lived a widow named Syncle­tica, an honorable and noble woman, whose countenance was comely and whose soul was yet more fair. She had abundant possessions and was still wealthier in virtue, having been left a widow by her husband while yet very young. She had two daughters, and together they remained in their home, praying and fasting. She did not wish to take another husband, but she betrothed herself to Christ and served Him day and night. Although she was young, in understanding she was like an elderly woman, or rather, she surpassed the aged in her zeal to obey the commandments of the Lord. When the vile Jew Dunaan heard tell of her, he ordered that she and her two daughters be escorted into his presence in honor. As she was led before him, he looked kindly upon her and said to her with a gentle voice, “We have heard concerning you, O honorable woman, that you are noble, chaste, and wise; and indeed, your appearance itself testifies to the truth of that which is said of you. Do not, then, be like the mindless women whom I have destroyed because of their folly. Do not call Him God Who was crucified upon a cross, Who was a glutton and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, and a foe of the Law of our fathers. Renounce the Nazarene and reason as we do, that you may live together with the queen in my royal palace and be honored by all, as befits your noble estate. Then shall you live as you once did, free from the woes attendant upon widowhood. We have heard report of your wealth, and of a truth, it is clear that you are very rich and own many menservants and maidservants; that you are held in honor by all, and are young and fair. But despite the great blessings you enjoy, it has not been your desire to take another husband. It is said you are most virtuous and prudent. Do then what is good, and prove yourself to be truly wise. Give heed to my sage counsel. Do not permit your great beauty and youth to be destroyed; do not allow the virginity of your daughters to be ruined. For if I should deliver you into the hands of my henchmen, they will not only subject you to torture but to shame and dishonor as well. Consider, then, what is to your benefit and that of your children. Forsake the Crucified One and submit to our laws!”

That blessed and honorable woman, whose mind had a man’s strength of purpose, answered the King thus: “It would behoove you, O King, to worship Him Who bestowed upon you your power, the royal purple, and the diadem which you wear. Nay, more: He brought you into being and gave you life, for He is the Son of God and God Himself. But you have proved yourself ungrateful for His blessings and with your shameless tongue have reviled your Benefactor. Do you not fear that lightning will strike you from heaven?” Then she added, “Do you wish to bestow great honors upon me? Know that I count your honors as dishonor and that I do not wish to be praised by your tongue, which blasphemes my God. I am not so foolish as to wish to dwell with the enemies of God in the tents of sinners.”

When the King heard this, he was filled with wrath, and turning to his nobles, said, “Do you hear how this shameless woman reviles us?”

He then ordered that her head and her daughters’ heads be uncovered and that they be led through the city in dishonor to be mocked, with their heads bared and their hair loosed. As she was led thus in humiliation through the streets, Syncletica saw that a multitude of women wept for her on account of the shame and disgrace which she suffered, and she said to them, “I know, O my friends, that you grieve to see me and my daughters dishonored so, but I do not wish you to lament while I rejoice or to weep as I make merry. I regard this day as more joyous than my wedding day, for it is for the sake of my Bridegroom that I suffer. For Him I have remained pure in my widowhood, and I have betrothed unto Him my beloved daughters, who are undefiled virgins. Now I rejoice as my Lord looks upon my disgrace and hears me as I confess Him. He knows my zeal for Him and that I desire neither honors nor wealth. I have no wish even for this fleeting life itself and seek only to find Christ and to enter His presence in the company of these holy martyrs with my daughters, the fruit of my womb. Therefore, I pray you, O my sisters, do not weep. Let us rather rejoice together, for I go to be with the eternal Bridegroom.”

She was then led again before the King, who said to her, “Re­nounce Christ if you wish to live.”

The saint replied, “Who shall deliver me from eternal death in the quenchless fire should I renounce Christ for the sake of this fleeting life?” Then she looked up to heaven and said, “O immortal King, may I not renounce Thee, the only-begotten Son of God! May I not submit to him who is a blasphemer and a perjurer, who took our city by deceit and doth persecute Thy Holy Church!”

The King’s fierce wrath was stirred up, and he shouted, “O vile woman, I shall now tear your flesh to pieces and rip open your womb! I shall cast you out to be food for dogs! Then we shall see whether the Nazarene, in Whom you hope, will deliver you.”

Syncletica’s elder daughter, who was twelve years old, could not bear to hear the persecutor say such things, and she spat in the King’s face. Immediately, the servants who stood nearby cut off her head, and they also slew her younger sister. Both fell to the ground dead before the eyes of their praiseworthy mother. After this the King ordered that their blood be gathered up and brought to their mother to drink. She tasted it and said, “I give praise to Thee, O Lord my God, for Thou hast granted me to taste this pure oblation, the blood of my poor daughters. Unto Thee, O Lord Christ, do I offer this my sacrifice; unto Thee do I present these pure virgin martyrs, the fruit of my womb. Join me with them and lead me into Thy bridal chamber, that, as David says, I may be a mother rejoicing over children.”

After this the king [Dunaan] summoned into his presence the chief citizens, who were still held in bonds. He addressed them, and especially Arethas, as follows: “How can you be so foolish as to believe in a Crucified Man as God? How can God, Who has no body, be put to death? Do you suppose that the Immortal One can be slain? Are there not among you any who are followers of Nestorius, who do not worship Christ as God but rather revere Him as a prophet? It is not my desire to compel you to worship the sun or the moon or anything else which is created, nor do I wish to force you to sacrifice to the gods of the heathen. May it not be so! I ask only that you worship God alone, the Creator of all.”

Saint Arethas and his company answered thus: “We know very well that the divinity cannot undergo suffering. Christ suffered for us in His human nature, taken from the most pure Virgin, concerning whom the prophets (with whose writings you are acquainted) bore witness. As for His divinity, this Christ the Lord revealed through His ineffable miracles. But what need is there for lengthy disputation? We confess Christ to be God and the Son of God, and we say in the name of all the inhabitants of this city that there is no torture which we are not prepared to endure for the sake of Jesus Christ, our God. As for Nestorius, who was con­demned by the Holy Fathers, what is he to us? We do not divide the person of Christ but believe that His human nature is united with His divinity in a single, divine hypostasis. And you who have uttered blasphemy against our Lord shall soon receive your punishment from God for your mockery and perjury.”

The persecutor listened to these things with forbearance because he was put to shame by Arethas’ wisdom and the nobility of the other citizens. Then he began to speak to them kindly, hoping to soften their hearts. He promised them gifts and honors, if only they would forsake piety and their zeal for Christ and accept his evil faith. But they lifted up their eyes unto heaven and cried out with one voice, saying, “We will not renounce Thee, O Word of God, Jesus Christ, neither will we mock Thy most holy Nativity from the most pure Virgin, nor scorn Thy precious Cross!”

When the King saw that the saints’ faith could not be shaken, he put off their torture for another time. Then he turned his wrath upon the people of the city and slew many of them without mercy. He commanded that the wives and children of the holy martyrs who were held bound with Arethas be brought to him; and those honorable women were compelled to appear with many other women, widows, virgins, and nuns. First, he tried to deceive them with kind words and then threatened them with torments, that they might renounce Christ. But not only did they refuse to submit to his will; they vexed and belittled the King, and the virgin nuns especially reviled him. When he could no longer endure their taunts, he ordered his soldiers to slay them all by the sword. They hastened to their death as though they were hurrying to a festival, and a quarrel arose among them, for the maiden nuns, who wished to meet death first, said to the women, “Do not forget that we have preeminence over you in the Church of Christ. Remember that in all things we have the first place: we enter the temple of the Lord before you, we approach the most pure Mysteries first, and the places where we sit and stand are higher than are yours. Therefore, it is fitting that we should first receive the honor of martyrdom, for we wish to die before you and to go unto our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, before you and your husbands.”

Meanwhile, the other women made haste, each hoping to be first to bend her neck beneath the sword, and even the little children pressed between their mothers, rushing to their deaths. Everyone of them cried out, “Cut off my head! Cut off my head!”

“What man is he that desireth life and to see good days? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile: depart from evil and do good” (Ps. 34:12-14, cf. 1 St. Peter 3:10-11). Evil means gluttony, drunkenness and dissolute living. Evil means love of money, being greedy for gain, and injustice. Evil means vainglory, arrogance and pride. Let everyone turn aside from such vices and do those things which are good. What are they? Self-control, fasting, chastity, right­eousness, almsgiving, forbearance, love, humility. That by so doing we may worthily partake of the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for our sake, and so receive the earnest of incorruption, and keep it as an assurance of the inheritance promised to us in heaven. Is it hard to do what is good, and are the virtues more difficult than the vices? That is certainly not how I see it. The drunken, self-indulgent person subjects himself because of this to more sufferings than someone who restrains himself; the licentious person suffers more than someone chaste; someone striving to become rich more than someone who lives in contentment with what he has; the person seeking to surround himself with glory than someone who passes his life in obscurity. Since, however, the virtues seem more difficult to us because of our love of comfort, let us force ourselves. “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence”, it says, “and the violent take it by force” (St. Matthew 11:12).

All of us, eminent and lowly, governors and governed, rich and poor, need diligence and attention to drive these evil passions away from our souls, and introduce the whole range of virtues in their stead. Farmers, shoemakers, builders, tailors, weavers and in general all those who earn their living by their own effort and the work of their hands, provided they throw out of their souls the desire for riches, glory and pleasure, are truly blessed. These are the poor to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs. It was on their account that the Lord said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (St. Matthew 5:3). The poor in spirit are those whose spirits, or souls, are free from boasting, love of glory and fondness for pleasure, and therefore either choose to be poor in external things as well or else courageously bear involun­tary poverty. Those who are rich and comfortable, and enjoy fleeting glory, and in general all who long to be like them, will yield to more harmful passions and fall into other worse traps of the devil, which are more difficult to deal with. When someone becomes rich, he does not lay aside his desire for riches, but increases it, grasping at more than he did before. In the same way, pleasure lovers, power seekers, the dissolute and the debauched increase their desires rather than renouncing them. Rulers and eminent men increase their power so as to commit greater injustices and sin.

That is why it is difficult for a ruler to be saved or for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “How can ye believe”, it says, “which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (St. John 5:44). But if any of you are well off, or eminent or rulers, do not be dismayed. You can, if you wish, seek the glory of God and exert force on yourselves to stop the impetus towards becoming worse, to practise great virtues and to drive away great evils, not just from yourselves, but from many other people, even against their will. Not only can you act honestly and chastely yourselves, but there are many ways in which you can prevent those who want to be unjust and licentious from doing so. Not only can you show yourselves obedient to Christ’s Gospel and His teachings, but you can also bring those who are minded to disobey into subjection to Christ’s Church and its leaders according to Christ. This you are able to do, not just by means of the power and authority allotted to you by God, but by becoming an example of all that is good to those below you. For subjects become like their rulers.

Thinking that after such humiliation the saints' firm resolve would be weakened, the judge then addressed them with kind words, saying, "Had I not perceived that you are prudent men, I should never have sought to give you good counsel but would have forced you to accept our faith by torture, against your will. But inasmuch as your dignity and decorum betoken your nobility of character, I have decided to offer you good advice. I think that it is not unknown to you that glory and honor have been offered the immortal gods since ancient times, and this remains the case until the present day, not only among us who know the Greek and Latin tongues but among the barbarians as well. Because of the zeal which men show for the gods, cities are governed by just laws, our enemies are defeated in battle, and peace has been estab­lished. How is it that the emperors and princes of Rome, both of the past and present, have gained such great glory, and nations and cities have been subdued, and every enemy has been forced to acknowledge their dominion, if not because they revere and bow down before the gods? Therefore, you should worship them also. If you have been deceived by unlearned men and have accepted the senseless and novel Christian faith, come to your senses and return to that which is better. Then the gods will have mercy on you, and you shall enjoy many benefactions from us and obtain much favor with the Emperor. But if you remain unsubmis­sive, you shall be deprived of these good things and compel us to deal with you most harshly."

When the saints heard this, they lifted up their eyes unto heaven, signed themselves with the Cross, and answered Valerius, "Do you think that we are simpletons and that we shall be so easily converted to your impiety? Know that we who stand before you are neither cowardly nor feeble-minded. We do not count your faith as worthy of honor simply because of its antiquity, for not all things ancient are venerable: evil is very old and yet is not to be esteemed. You ought not to be concerned whether your faith is ancient but whether you should accept it. We are determined not to accept it but to remove it as much as possible from our midst, for it prepares the fire of Gehenna for those who love it. If you wish to know the truth, consider, and you shall discover that your gods are nothing but the works of the hands of men. They are deaf and dumb and can profit neither themselves nor others. But the nature of the true God is indescribable: our minds cannot conceive Him. His being cannot be measured in time, for He has no beginning, and it is He Who has brought into existence all things which can be seen or imagined. He made man, placed him in Paradise, and gave to him a commandment, that man might learn to obey his Creator; but through the malice of the devil man fell into disobedience and became worthy of death. The devil, however, was not content to have brought to pass the first man's fall. The evil one hastened to separate all the first man's descen­dants from God as well, causing man’s body and soul to be subject to death. Thus, the people abandoned God, turned their eyes away from the truth, and fell into the darkness of idolatry. Therefore their Creator, Who is compassionate and merciful and could not suffer to behold man tormented by the devil, came down to the earth without leaving the bosom of the Father, and having become like us in all things, except sin, He was nailed to the Cross and died, in order to deliver us from our fall into sin. After conquering our foe the devil by His death, He ascended into the heavens, to which He calls us, having made easy our ascent thereto. And so, O judge, are you able to say anything like this of your gods? Are you not, rather, ashamed even to call them gods? We have no desire for your riches or for the esteem of the Emperor which you so value, for we put our trust in God, for Whom we have firmly resolved to suffer and to die.”

When Valerius heard this, the fire of his wrath grew hot, and he set aside his hypocritical meekness. No longer did he conceal his brutality, but first he allowed those who had accused the saints to plunder their possessions, and then he had the martyrs tied to horses and ordered that they be driven to Sardis.

The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints by St. Dimitry Rostov - October 13th

During the reign of Diocletian and Maximian, while Numerius Maximus was Proconsul of Tarsus in Cilicia, three Christians, Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus, were seized in the city of Pompeopolis and taken to Tarsus to be tried before Maximus the Proconsul. When they were brought before him, the Proconsul saw that Tarachus was an honorable and aged man, and he said to him, "What is your name? For it is proper that I question you first, on account of your old age."

Tarachus answered, "I am a Christian."

Said the Proconsul, "Do not speak of your impious faith, but rather tell me your name."

Tarachus again said, "I am a Christian."

    Maximus said to the servants who stood nearby, "Strike him on the mouth and say to him, 'Do not answer the judge in this way!'"

As Tarachus was being beaten, he said, "I say to you that I am a Christian. This name I value more than that which I was given by my parents. But if you wish to learn the name my parents gave me, then know that I was called by them Tarachus. When I was a soldier, I was called Victor."

    The Proconsul asked him, "Of what sort of lineage are you, Tarachus?"

"I am descended from a line of Roman soldiers from Claudiopolis, a city of Syria, but since I became a Christian, I no longer serve in the army," Tarachus replied.

Said the Proconsul, "You were not worthy to be a soldier. But tell me, how was it that you succeeded in leaving the army?"

    Tarachus answered, "I asked permission of Publionus the Prince, and he released me."

The Proconsul said, "Have compassion on your old age and obey the decrees of our emperors, that you may receive honor from me. Come and sacrifice to our gods, for even the emperors, the rulers of the world, worship them."

    Replied Tarachus, "They are deceived and have been beguiled by Satan."

The Proconsul said to his servants, "Break his jawbone, for he has dared to say that our emperors are deceived and have been beguiled!"

As Tarachus was being beaten, he cried, "I have said and do say that as men they are deceived."

    "Cease to utter nonsense and sacrifice to our gods," the Proconsul said.

    Tarachus said, "My God alone do I serve, and I offer unto Him not blood but a pure heart."

The Proconsul said, "Think of your age, old man, and pity yourself. I advise you to forsake your vain Christian faith and to sacrifice to the gods."

Tarachus replied, "I will not do this impious thing, for I love the law of my God and will not renounce Him."

    Said the Proconsul, "There is another law which you must keep."

Tarachus said, "O you wicked one, cursed is your law, by which you, the impious, command that idols made of stone and wood, the works of the hands of men, be adored and wor­shipped."

The Proconsul commanded the servants who stood nearby to strike Tarachus upon the neck, but the martyr bore the beating and said, "I will not abandon my confession, which is my salvation."

    The Proconsul said, "I shall turn you from your foolishness and make you wise!"

    "Do as you will: you have power over my body," said the martyr.

    The Proconsul Maximus exclaimed, "Strip him of his garments and thrash him with a rod!"

As Tarachus was being beaten, he said, "Now have you truly made me sage and wise, for because of these wounds I trust yet more in God and His Christ."

The Proconsul said, "O you wicked and accursed one, you first said that you serve God alone, but now you speak of two: of God and of His Christ. How is it that you serve these two Gods but abhor our many gods?"

"I confess but one true God," answered Tarachus.

Said the Proconsul, "Did you not say, 'God and His Christ'?" Tarachus answered, "Christ is the Son of God and is divine, as are the Father and the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Hope of all Chris­tians, and we are saved through suffering for His sake."

    Maximus the Proconsul said, "Cease your babbling and sacrifice to our gods."

Said Tarachus, "I do not babble but speak the truth. For sixty­-five years I have believed thus, and now I will not renounce the truth."

A centurion who stood nearby, whose name was Demetrius, then said, "Take my advice, man: have pity on yourself and worship the gods."

Tarachus replied, "Depart from me with your counsel, servant of Satan!"

After this, the Proconsul Maximus commanded that Christ's sufferer be bound in heavy iron chains and cast in prison, and he said to his servants, "Bring me one of the other prisoners."

To this the centurion Demetrius said, "Behold, my lord, another stands before you."

Numerius Maximus the Proconsul, seeing that another Christian had been brought before him, said, "First tell me your name."

He who stood before him answered, "My principal and most honorable name is 'Christian'; my other name, by which I am called by men, is Probus."

"Of what sort of lineage are you, Probus?" asked the Procon­sul.

    Probus replied, "My father was from Thrace, and I was born in Pergia of Pamphylia, and I am a Christian."

Maximus the Proconsul said, "There is no profit for you in that name. Hearken to me: sacrifice to the gods, that you may receive honor of the princes and become our friend."

Answered Probus, "I do not wish to be honored by princes, nor do I seek your friendship. I once possessed considerable wealth, which I have forsaken, that I might labor for the living God."

    "Strip him, stretch him out, and lash him with straps made of dry leather!" the Proconsul said.

As the saint was being beaten, the centurion Demetrius said, "Man, see how your blood is poured out upon the ground: have pity on yourself!"

Replied Probus, "You have possession of my body and may torture it, but I regard torture as oil poured out upon me."

    Said Maximus the Proconsul, "Will you cease your buffoonery, or are you hardened in your insolence?"

    Probus answered, "I am no fool, but in the Lord I am made far bolder than you."

    The Proconsul said to his servants, "Turn him over and beat him on the belly."

    As Probus was being beaten cruelly, he cried out, "O Lord, help me, who am Thy servant!"

    The Proconsul said, "As you beat him, say, 'Where is your Helper?'"

Said Probus, "My Helper sustains me and will continue to sustain me; therefore, I count your torments as nothing. They will in no way cause me to submit to you."

The Proconsul Maximus said, "Look at your body, you wretch: the earth is soaked with your blood."

    "Know that as my body suffers for Christ's sake, my soul receives healing and is enlivened," Probus said.

Then the judge ordered that the servants cease beating the saint, and he said, "Bind him hand and foot in irons, and cast him into prison. Permit no one to visit him so that he may receive no help."

After this the Proconsul commanded that the third Christian be brought before the judgment seat. When Maximus asked him his name, he replied, "I am a Christian."

The Proconsul said, "Those who entered into my presence before you were not profited by this name. It is to your advantage to answer otherwise."

    Then the saint said, "The name by which I am commonly called by men is Andronicus."

    "Of what manner of parentage are you, Andronicus?" said Maximus the Proconsul.

    Andronicus replied, "I am a nobleman, the son of one of the foremost of the citizens of Ephesus."

The Proconsul Maximus said, "Have pity upon yourself and hearken to me, as to a father. Those who were brought to this tribunal before you spoke nonsense and received no gain from it. Worship the gods, who are our lords and fathers."

Said Andronicus, "Well have you said that they are fathers, for your father is Satan, and you are sons of the devil and do his works."

Maximus the Proconsul said, "You are only a youth, and yet you show me no respect! Do you not know that great torments are already prepared for you?"

Replied Andronicus, "Do you think, persecutor, that I am so foolish as to show myself less willing to undergo torture than the sufferers who preceded me? I am prepared to endure any torment."

    The persecutor then said, "Strip him, bind him, and hang him up!"

Demetrius the centurion said to Andronicus, "Do what has been commanded, wretch, before your flesh falls from your bones."

"It is better that my body perish than for you to succeed in doing what you wish to my soul," said Andronicus.

    The Proconsul Maximus said, "Submit to us, and sacrifice unto the gods before you perish!"

    Andronicus said, "From my youth I have never served idols; neither will I sacrifice to them now."

    Maximus the Proconsul cried, "Mangle his flesh!"

    Anksius, another centurion who stood nearby, of a different command than Demetrius, said to Andronicus, "I am of such an age that I could be your father. I give you good counsel: submit to the Proconsul."

Andronicus replied, "You are old enough, but insofar as you counsel me to worship stone and to sacrifice unto the demons, you are surely devoid of reason."

As he was being beaten, the Proconsul said, "Wretch, do you not feel pain as you undergo such torments? Why have you no pity for yourself? And why do you not renounce your vain faith, which cannot save you?"

"That which you call vain I and all who hope in the Lord regard as a most honorable confession. But your empty specula­tions lead to eternal death," Andronicus answered.

    Maximus the Proconsul said, "Stop your babbling before we subject you to yet crueler tortures."

    Andronicus replied, "My body lies before you: you have power to do as you will."

    The Proconsul said, "Strike him upon the mouth!"

    Andronicus said, "May the Lord behold how you murderously torture me!"

    The Proconsul said, "You do not obey the decree of the emperors, and you defy my judgment!"

Said Andronicus, "In God I trust, and in His compassion and righteousness I put my hope; therefore, I am able to endure these sufferings."

The judge said, "Have the emperors, then, done wrong, O you who are worthy of death?"

"Indeed, they have transgressed, and if you judge rightly, you will acknowledge that it is a great sin to offer oblations to demons," replied Andronicus.

    The persecutor said to those who were beating the saint, "Turn him and strike his sides!"

    Andronicus said, "I lie before you: torture my flesh as you wish."

    As he was being beaten, Andronicus cried, "Through torment has my flesh been strengthened."

    The persecutor said, "I will cause you to perish slowly!"

Said Andronicus, "I do not fear your threats. My mind is above the schemes of your wickedness; therefore your tortures trouble me not at all."

When he reached Nicomedia, Evlampios saw nailed to the gates of the city the imperial proclamation, written upon a scroll, decreeing that all Christians were to be put to death. As he read it, he laughed at the great folly of the impious Emperor, who had taken up arms not against his foes but against an innocent people and thus brought his own domain to desolation by his slaughter of a numberless multitude of Christian people. Immediately, the blessed Evlampios was seized by the idolaters, bound, and led before an unrighteous judge. The iniquitous judge, seeing that Evlampios was young and handsome, first attempted with guileful words to entice him to worship the idols. He said, "Your face itself makes it plain that you are not of the common people but of the nobility, of an honorable family. Therefore, fair youth, do not permit your comeliness to be ruined and do not subject your noble estate to humiliation. Rather, take care to add to your glory and dignity and to that of your whole line. If you obey the Emperor's decree and worship the gods with us, you will be held in our esteem and be exalted, and you will receive gifts from the Emperor. A lofty rank will be given you, and you will pass your days in good fortune. Heed my good counsel, and be of one mind with us. The temples lie open before you: within them are many gods, their altars laden with offerings. All the people rejoice in their gods and worship them. Therefore, you should also bow down before them and thus fill us with joy, and the gods will always be merciful to you."

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Saint Evlampios answered the evil judge thus: "Your heart is full of guile, and wicked words are in your mouth: vain and deceitful are all your promises. You have completely failed to deceive me, you beguiler, and you will not separate me from my Christ. O, if only you would hearken unto me! My words are certain and my counsel trustworthy: through them you would come to know the true God, Whom I adore and worship. I would promise you blessings from Him that are neither fleeting nor vain, for my God's blessings consist of honor and glory, gifts and riches which are everlasting and true. These good things neither you, nor your Emperor, nor the whole world possess. But since you are deaf as an asp and do not heed that which would profit you, you shall inherit a portion with your gods in the fire of Gehenna. Inasmuch as you have offered vile sacrifices to them, you shall yourself become an offering unto the worm which never sleeps, but I will not sacrifice to demons. Unto my God shall I sacrifice a sacrifice of praise, and pay my vows unto the Most High.”
    When the judge heard this, he began to threaten the saint with torture, but Evlampios fearlessly declared himself ready to suffer every torment for Christ his Lord. Then the judge ordered that he be stripped, stretched out upon the ground, and beaten with scorpions. The saint endured courageously as they flogged him mercilessly for a long time: so nobly and bravely did he suffer, that even though he bore very great pain from the stripes laid upon him, it seemed as if he felt no hurt whatsoever.

[After much torture], while remaining at heart steadfast in his faith in the Lord his God, he began to pretend that he had abandoned his confession and would consent to the godlessness of the impious. And so the heathen triumphant­ly led him to the temple of the idols, and the judge and all the people rejoiced, thinking that Evlampios had renounced Christ and wished to worship their gods. A multitude of people followed him to the temple, and as the saint entered the building, he prayed fervently to Jesus Christ, asking Him to manifest His power, to enlighten the blinded people, and to glorify His holy name. Evlampios saw that the idol of Mars was greater and more handsome than the other idols, and he drew near it and said, "In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I command you, O deaf and lifeless idol, to fall to the ground and to be shattered into dust!"

When the saint said this, the idol immediately fell, making a great noise, and was broken into little pieces. Seeing this, the people cried out, "The God of the Christians alone is great and mighty!"

When Evlampios' sister, a maiden called Evlampia, heard that her brother was suffering torment for Christ, she arose quickly and went to the place where he was being tortured. She stepped forth and cried out to her brother, "Were we not born to the same mother? Were we not suckled by the same breasts? Were we not taught to believe in the same God? Why then do you suffer for Christ, yet deny me a portion with you? Why did you not send word to me of your sufferings so that I might have endured every torment with you from the beginning? I wish to die for my Lord even as you do. Let every persecutor know that I am a Christian and am ready to die for Christ!"

Then Evlampia said to the judge, "Hearken, judge, and learn who I am: I am Christ's handmaiden. Christ is my life and the joy of my soul: Him do I love, and I wish to become a sacrifice unto Him. Therefore, make ready the fire, bring forth lions, prepare wheels of torture, sharpen the swords, and devise various torments. Torture me for my Christ in any way you wish. I am prepared to endure everything, just as my beloved brother Evlampios."

When the persecutor heard this, he was amazed at Evlampia's boldness and commanded that the saint be beaten in the face. She was struck many times so that her beauty was destroyed and blood flowed from her nose and mouth. With these words Saint Evlampios strengthened his sister: "Fear not, sister, them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul!”

Then the tormentor commanded that a cauldron be brought to a fierce boil and that both Evlampios and Evlampia be cast into it. When they were about to hurl Evlampios into the kettle, he quickly entered it himself, but Evlampia, being a tender maiden, began to waver and became afraid. Her brother, seeing her falter, called to her from the boiling cauldron as though it were a place of refreshment, saying, "Fear not, sister: be brave and enter! You see that I remain unharmed and have suffered no hurt. When you enter this seething kettle, you will straightway feel God's help and will suffer no harm."

When the saint heard this, she straightway went into the cauldron with her brother. Immediately the fire died down and the kettle ceased to boil, and the saints remained in it unharmed, glorifying God and chanting to Him. When the people beheld this wonder, they marvelled, and two hundred men believed in Christ. They confessed themselves to be Christians and were slain by the sword at the hands of the impious idolaters. Then the iniquitous judge ordered that Saint Evlampios' eyes be plucked out and that Saint Evlampia be suspended by her hair and beaten. As she suffered this torment, Evlampia exclaimed, "1 thank Thee, O my God and Creator, that Thou hast vouchsafed me, Thy handmaiden, to suffer for Thy holy name!"