The Twelve Martyred Saints: Pamphilus the Presbyter, Porphyrios, Valentus the Deacon, Paul, Seleucius, Theodoulos, Julian, Samuel, Ilias, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah suffered during the time of a persecution against Christians, initiated by the emperor Diocletian in the years 308-309 at Caesarea in Palestine.
The holy martyr Pamphilus, a native of the city of Berit (Beirut), received his education at Alexandria, after which he was made presbyter at Caesarea. He laboured much over the collation and correction of copyist errors in texts of the New Testament. The corrected texts of Saint Pamphilus were copied out and distributed to those wanting them. In such form many pagans were converted to Christ through them. His works and concerned matters at Caesarea were gathered up into the extensive library of spiritual books available for the enlightening of Christians. Blessed Jerome deeply respected Saint Pamphilus and considered himself fortunate to have located and come into possession of several of his manuscripts. Actively assisting Saint Pamphilus in proclaiming the faith in Christ were Saint Valentus, deacon of the church at Eleia - a man bent over with age and well-versed in the Holy Scriptures, and Saint Paul, ardent in faith and love for Christ the Saviour. All three were imprisoned for two years by the governor of Palestinian Caesarea, Urban.
During the rule of his successor Firmilian, 130 christians were sentenced in Egypt and sent off to Cilicia (Asia Minor) to work in the gold mines. Five young brothers accompanied them there to the place of exile. On the return journey to Egypt they were detained at Caesarea and thrown into prison for confessing Christ. They brought the youths for judgement to Firmilian, together with those imprisoned earlier - Saints Pamphilus, Valentus, and Paul. Having been named with names of Old Testament prophets - Ilias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel, and Daniel, the youths answered the question of their fatherland by saying that they were citizens of Jerusalem, meaning by this the heavenly Jerusalem. Firmilian knew nothing about a such-named city, since on the site of Jerusalem - razed to the ground by the emperor Titus in the year 70 - had been constructed a new city by the emperor Adrian (117-138), which at the time was named Eleia-Adrian. Firmilian tortured the youths for a long time. He sought to learn the location of the unknown city, and he sought to persuade the youths to apostacise. But nothing was accomplished, and the governor gave them over for beheading by the sword together with Pamphilus, Valentus and Paul.
Before this occurred, a servant of presbyter Pamphilus was given to suffer - this was the 18 year old youth Porphyrius, meek and humble. He had heard the sentence of death for the condemned martyrs, and asked the governor's permission to bury the bodies after execution. For this he was sentenced to death and given over to burning on a bonfire.
A witness of this execution - the pious Christian Seleucius, a former soldier - in saluting the deeds of the sufferers, went up to Pamphilus before execution and told him about the martyr's end of Saint Porphyrius. He was seized upon by soldiers and, on orders from Firmilian, was beheaded by the sword together with the condemned.
One of the governor's servants, Thoedoulos, a man of venerable age and secretly a Christian, greeted the martyrs being led to execution, gave them a kiss and asked them to pray for him. He was taken by soldiers for questioning to Firmilian, on whose orders he was crucified on a cross.
The youth Julian, a native of Cappadocia who had come to Caesarea, caught view of the bodies of the saints which had been thrown to wild beasts without burial. Julian went down on his knees and venerated the bodies of the sufferers. Soldiers standing by at the wall seized hold of him and took him to the governor, who condemned him to burning. The bodies of all twelve martyrs stayed without burial for four days. Neither beasts nor birds would touch them. Embarrassed by this situation, the pagans permitted Christians to take the bodies of the martyrs and bury them.
The Disciple from the Seventy, Onesimus, in his youth was a servant of Philemon, a Christian of distinguished lineage, living in the city of Phrygian Colossa. Guilty of an offense against his master and fearing punishment, Saint Onesimus fled to Rome, but as a runaway slave he wound up in prison there. In prison he encountered the Apostle Paul held in chains, was enlightened by him and accepted holy Baptism.
In prison Saint Onesimus served the Apostle Paul like a son. The Apostle Paul was personally acquainted with Philemon, and wrote him a letter filled with love, asking him to forgive the runaway slave and to accept him like a brother; he dispatched Saint Onesimus with this letter to his master, depriving himself of help, in which he was very much in need.
Saint Philemon, having received the letter, not only forgave Onesimus, but also dispatched him to sail back to Rome to the first-rank apostle. Saint Philemon was afterwards ordained bishop of the city of Gaza.
After the death of the Apostle Paul, Saint Onesimus served the apostles until their end, and he was ordained bishop by them. After the death of the holy apostles he preached the Gospel in many lands and cities: in Spain, Carpetania, Colossa, Patras. In his old age, Saint Onesimus occupied the bishop's throne at Ephesus, in succession after the Disciple Timothy. When they took Ignatius the God-Bearer to Rome for execution, Bishop Onesimus came to meet with him with certain Christians, about which Saint Ignatius makes mention in his Epistle to the Ephesians.
During the reign of the emperor Trajan, Saint Onesimus was arrested and brought to trial before the eparch Tertillus. He held the saint for 18 days in prison, and then sent him for imprisonment to the city of Putiola. After a certain while, the eparch sent for the prisoner and, convincing himself that Saint Onesimus quite firmly confessed his faith in Christ, had him subjected to a fierce beating with stones, after which they beheaded the saint with a sword. A certain illustrious woman took the body of the martyr and placed it in a silver coffin. This was in about the year 109.
The Monk Auxentius, by origin a Syrian, served at the court of the emperor Theodosius the Younger (418-450). He was known as a virtuous, learned and wise man, and he was moreover a friend of many of the pious men of his era.
Distressed by worldly vanity, Saint Auxentius accepted the dignity of presbyter, and then received monastic tonsure. Setting off after this to Bithynia, he found a solitary place on Mount Oxus, not far from Chalcedon, and there he began the life of a hermit. (This mountain was afterwards called Auxentian). The place of the saint's efforts was stumbled upon by shepherds, seeking after lost sheep. They spread the news about him, and people began to come to him for healing. With the Name of God, Saint Auxentius healed many of the sick and the infirm.
In the year 451 Saint Auxentius was invited to the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon, where he became known as a denouncer of the Eutychian and Nestorian heresies. He was greatly familiar with Holy Scripture, and Saint Auxentius easily bested those opponents who entered into dispute with him. After the finish of the Council, Saint Auxentius returned again to his solitary cell on the mountain. By means of spiritual sight he saw the end of Saint Simeon the Pillar-Dweller (459), from over a great distance.
The Monk Auxentius himself died in about the year 470, leaving behind him disciples and many monasteries constructed in the Bithynian region.
The Monk Martinian at age 18 settled into the wilderness, somewhat off from the city of Palestinian Caesarea, where he dwelt in ascetic deeds and silence for 25 years, and he was granted a graced gift of healing illness. But the enemy of the race of man would not stop bothering the hermit with various temptations. One time a profligate woman got into a wager with some dissolute people, as to whether she could seduce Saint Martinian, the fame of whose virtuous life had spread throughout all the city. She came to him at night-time under the guise of a wandering suppliant asking night lodging. The saint let her enter, since the weather outside was inclement. But here the wicked guest changed over into her good clothes and began to tempt the ascetic. The saint thereupon rushed out of the cell, set alight a fire and put his bare feet upon the burning coals. He said such as this to himself: "It is hard enough for thee, Martinian, to suffer this temporal fire, now then wilt thou instead suffer the eternal fire, prepared for thee by the devil?" The woman, shaken by the spectacle, became repentant and besought the saint to guide her onto the way of repentance. At his directing she set off to Bethlehem, to a monastery of Saint Paula, where she dwelt for twelve years in strict ascetic deeds until her blessed end. The name of this woman was Zoa.
Having recovered from his scorching, Saint Martinian set off to an uninhabited rocky island, and lived on it under the open sky for several years, nourished by the victuals brought by a certain sailor from time to time, and in return the monk weaved baskets for him.
One time a powerful storm wrecked a ship, and to the island of Saint Martinian the waves carried on the ship debris a maiden named Photinia. Saint Martinian helped her to survive the island. "Remain here," he said to her, "for here is bread and water, and in two months a boat will come," and he jumped into the sea and swam off. Two dolphins carried him to dry land. Thereafter Blessed Martinian began to lead the life of a wanderer. And so passed two years. One time, having come to Athens, the saint fell ill, and sensing the nearness of his end, he went into church and lay upon the floor, and calling out to the bishop he besought him to give his body over to burial. This occurred in about the year 422.
Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, was at first a bishop of Sebasteia in Armenia (c.357), and afterwards he was summoned by the emperor Constantius to Antioch to help defend against the Arian heresy, and received there the cathedra.
Saint Meletius struggled quite zealously against the Arian error, but through the intrigues of the heretics he was thrice deposed from his see; Constantius had become surrounded by the Arians and had been swayed over to their position. In all this Saint Meletius was distinguished by an extraordinary gentleness, and he constantly led along his flock by the example of his own virtue and kindly disposition, presupposing that upon suchlike a soil sprouts more readily the seeds of the true teaching of the faith.
Saint Meletius was the one who ordained as deacon the future hierarch Saint Basil the Great. And Saint Meletius also baptised and encouraged the growth under him of another of the greatest luminaries of Orthodoxy, Saint John Chrysostom, who afterwards wrote an eulogy to his former archpastor.
After Constantius, the throne was occupied by Julian the Apostate, and the saint again was expelled, having to hide himself away in secret places for his safety. But again returning under the emperor Jovian in the year 363, Saint Meletius wrote his theological tract, "Exposition of the Faith," which facilitated the conversion to Orthodoxy of many of the Arians.
In the year 381, under the emperor Theodosius the Great (379-395), the Second Ecumenical Council was convened. Already in the year 380 the saint had set off on his way to the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople, and came to preside over it. Before the start of the Council, Saint Meletius raised up his hand displaying three fingers, and then conjoining together two fingers and bending the one he blessed the people, proclaiming: "We apprehend three hypostatic-persons, and we speak about one self-same nature," and with this declaration of the saint there flashed the fire of a lightning-bolt. During the time of the Council Saint Meletius expired to the Lord. Saint Gregory of Nyssa honoured the memory of the deceased with an eulogistic word.
There are preserved discourses of Saint Meletius concerning the One-in-Essence nature of the Son of God with God the Father, and also his letter to the emperor Jovian about the confessing of the Holy Trinity. The relics of Saint Meletius were transferred from Constantinople to Antioch.
The Hieromartyr Blaise (Blasius), Bishop of Sebasteia, was known for his righteous and pious life. He was unanimously chosen by the people and ordained bishop of Sebasteia. This occurred during the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Licinius (307-324), fierce persecutors of Christians. Saint Blaise had to encourage his flock, visit the imprisoned, and give support to the martyrs.
Many hid themselves away from the persecutors by going off into desolate and solitary places. Saint Blaise likewise took the opportunity to hide himself away on Mount Argeos, where he asceticised in a cave. Wild beasts came up to him and meekly waited until the saint finished his prayer and gave them blessing; the saint likewise healed sick animals by laying his hands upon them. The refuge of the saint was discovered by servants of the governor Agricolaus, being in the area to snare wild beasts to use to tear apart the Christian martyrs. The servants reported to their master that Christians were hidden away on the mountain, and he gave orders to arrest them. But those sent out found there only the Sebasteia bishop. Glorifying God Who had summoned him to this exploit, Saint Blaise followed the soldiers.
Along the way the saint healed the sick and worked other miracles. Thus, a destitute widow complained to him of her misfortune: a wolf had carried off her only possession - a small pig. The bishop smiled and said to her: "Weep not, thy piglet wilt be returned to thee," and actually to the astonishment of everyone, the wolf came running back and returned the piglet unharmed.
Agricolaus, greeting the bishop with words of deceit, called him a companion of the gods. The saint answered the greeting, but the gods he called devils. Then they gave him a fierce beating and led him off to prison.
On the next day they again subjected the saint to tortures. When they led him back to the prison, seven women went along behind and gathered up the drops of blood. The authorities arrested the women and tried to compel them to worship the idols. The women, in pretending to consent to this, said that they needed cleansing beforehand in the waters of a lake. They took along the idols and submerged them in a very deep portion of the lake, and after this the Christians were fiercely tortured. The saints stoically endured the torments, strengthened by the grace of God, their bodies were transformed and became white like snow, and together with the blood there flowed what seemed like milk. One of the women had two young sons, who implored their mother that she help them attain the Kingdom of Heaven and she entrusted them into the care of Saint Blaise. The seven holy women were then beheaded.
Saint Blaise was again brought before Agricolaus, and again he unflinchingly confessed his faith in Christ. The governor gave orders to throw the martyr into a lake. The saint, going down to the water, signed himself with the Sign of the Cross, and he went about on it as though on dry land. Addressing the pagans standing about on shore, he challenged them to come to him whilst calling on the help of their gods. To this, 68 men of the governor's retinue made bold and entered the water, and all immediately drowned. The saint, however, heeding the Angel that had appeared to him, returned to shore.
Agricolaus was in a rage over having lost his finest servants, and he gave orders to behead Saint Blaise, and together with him the two boys entrusted to him, the sons of the martyress. Before death, the priestmartyr prayed for all the whole world, and especially for those honouring his memory. This occurred in about the year 316. The relics of the Hieromartyr Blaise were carried off to the West during the time of the Crusades, and portions of the relics are preserved in many of the lands of Europe.
The Holy Virgin Martyrs Ennapha, Valentina, and Paula suffered in the year 308 under the emperor Maximian II Galerius (305-311). Saint Ennapha came from the city of Gaza (in the south of Palestine), Saint Valentina was a native of Palestinian Caesarea, and Saint Paula was from the surroundings of Caesarea.
Saint Ennapha was the first to be brought to trial before the governor Fermilian, bravely declaring herself a Christian. They beat her, and then they suspended her from a pillar and began to scourge her.
Saint Valentina, accused of not worshipping the gods, was led to a pagan temple for an offering of sacrifice, but she bravely hurled a stone at the sacrifice and turned her back on the burning of it with fire. They mercilessly beat her and sentenced her together with Saint Ennapha to beheading with a sword.
Last of all there was brought Saint Paula, whom they subjected to many torments. She endured them however by the help of God with great patience and courage. Before death Paula gave thanks to the Lord for strengthening her in the deed, and having bowed to the Christians present, bent her neck beneath the sword.
