August 18 / August 5

1. The Holy Martyr Eusignius of Antioch (362)

Eusignius served as a soldier under Emperor Maximian, Emperor Constantine the Great, and Constantine’s sons. He was present during the torture of the Holy Martyr Basiliscus (see May 22). He saw myriads of angels, and the Lord Jesus Himself, as He received the soul of this holy martyr from the angels. Eusignius fought under Emperor Constantine and saw the heavenly Cross which appeared to the emperor. He served in the army for sixty full years, and during the reign of Constantine’s sons he resigned from military service and settled in Antioch, the place of his birth. There he lived a God-pleasing life in fasting, prayer and good works. During the time of Julian the Apostate, two men who were arguing on the street asked him to be their judge. He dispensed justice to the correct one, and the man at fault became angry and went to the emperor, accusing Eusignius of being a Chris- tian. The emperor summoned Eusignius to court, but Eusignius strongly denounced the emperor for his apostasy from the Faith and reproached him with the shining example of Constantine the Great. The enraged Julian ordered that he be beheaded. Eusignius was martyred at a ripe old age in the year 362, and took up his habitation in the Kingdom of Heaven.

2. The Hieromartyrs Fabian (250), and Antherus (236), Popes of Rome

Fabian was a Roman by birth. He began as a village priest. Then, during a papal election, a white dove descended upon him, and he was chosen pope, succeeding Antherus. Fabian was meek and kind. With great diligence, he gathered the bodies of the holy martyrs, buried them with honor, and built churches over their graves. In the same manner, he built shrines and chapels in the caves where the martyrs hid during the time of bitter persecution. He baptized Emperor Philip and his son Philip, the heir to the throne; and, with the help of the baptized senator Pontius, he destroyed many idols and idolatrous temples. When the wicked Decius was crowned emperor, a terrible persecution of Christians began, during which St. Fabian suffered and was beheaded, in the year 250. Holy Fabian established the custom of consecrating Holy Chrism on Holy and Great Thursday.

3. The Holy Martyr Pontius the Senator, at Cimella in Gaul (257)

Pontius was the son of Senator Marcus and his wife Julia. The barren Julia finally conceived, after twenty-two years of marriage, and gave birth to Pontius. He was baptized by Pope Pontian, as was his friend Valerius (who would become his biographer), and succeeded in converting his father Marcus, the Emperor Philip and his son, and many other distinguished Romans to the Christian Faith. As a senator, he greatly protected and assisted the Church; he was a good friend of Pope Fabian. When the persecution began under Decius, Pontius fled from Rome and hid in the foothills of the Alps. During the reign of Valerian he was captured and subjected to harsh tortures, during which many miracles of God were manifested, and many souls converted to Christ. Many Jews there cried out to the judge: “Kill him, kill him immediately—this magician!” To this, St. Pontius raised his hands to heaven and said: “I thank Thee, my God, that the Jews cry out against even me—as their fathers once cried out against Christ: ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him.’” Pontius was beheaded in the year 257, and was buried by his friend Valerius.

4.  Saint Nonna (374), mother of St. Gregory the Theologian

Nonna was the mother of St. Gregory the Theologian. As a Christian, she possessed powerful and miracle-working prayer. By her prayer to God, she converted her husband from heathen foolishness to the Christian Faith. Her husband Gregory later became the bishop of the town of Nazianzus. By prayer, Nonna saved her son Gregory from a storm. She died peacefully, as a deaconess, in the year 374.

• Martyrs Cantidius, Cantidian, and Sibelius, of Egypt (4th ).
• Martyr Oswald, king of Northumbria (642).
• Euthymius, patriarch of Constantinople (917).
• Monk-martyr Job the Gorge-dweller, on the Mezen River (Solovki) (1628).
• New Martyr Christos of Preveza, at Kos (1668).
• Eugenius, monk, of Anatolia (1682).
• New Martyrs Eudocia and with her Daria, Daria, and Maria of Diveyevo, novices, at Puzo (1919).
• New Hieromartyr Simon, bishop of Ufa (1921).
• Uncovering of the relics (1967) of Arsenius the New, of Paros (1877).

 

HYMN OF PRAISE

The Holy Martyr Pontius

Pontius walked with his companion Valerius,
But his heart was overcome with sorrow.
His father and mother were both Roman senators,
But a bitter enigma tormented his soul;
All worldly wisdom seemed a fable to him.
“Oh, where is truth?” he asked. He sought truth.
Thus absorbed in thought, both walked,
At eventide, beside a Christian church.
They went in and saw the splendor;
They saw the splendor and heard the chanting:
“The gods of the nations are silver and gold;
Eyes have they, but are blind as clay;
And ears have they, but are deaf as a stone;
And mouths have they, but cannot speak.
The weak ones created gods weaker than themselves,
And thus they become like their creations—
In bowing down to them, one after the other,
And having foolish hope in lifeless things!”
The two sorrowful young men, two slaves of the idols,
Heard these words and trembled;
Then they came closer to the icon of Christ,
And entrusted their hearts to the honorable priest.
The priest revealed the true Faith to them,
And showed them that idolatry is meaningless and bloody.
The two young noblemen walked into the Church,
Though renowned and respected throughout Rome.
They went into the church downcast and sorrowful,
But emerged radiant and joyful.

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