October 26 / October 13
1. The Holy Hieromartyrs Carpus, bishop of Thyateira, and Papylus, deacon, and Martyrs Agathadorus and Agathonica, at Pergamus (251)
Carpus was Bishop of Thyateira and Papylus was a deacon. They were born in Pergamum where they finally suffered for the Christian Faith at the hands of the evil proconsul Valerius, during the reign of Decius. Valerius tied them to horses and dragged them to Sardis, where he subjected them to harsh tortures. Then an angel of God appeared to them, healed them of their wounds and encouraged them. Carpus’s servant, Agathadorus, followed his master with great sorrow. Valerius then condemned him to torture as well. The saints were again tied to horses, and were dragged from Sardis to Pergamum. They tied holy Carpus to a tree and flogged him so that his body was covered with wounds, and his blood flowed like a stream, soaking the ground; but Carpus smiled in the midst of these horrible tortures. When they asked him why he was smiling, the holy martyr replied that he saw the heavens opened and the Lord seated on His throne, surrounded by Cherubim and Seraphim. As Papylus was being tortured, by prayer he healed a man blind in one eye, and many who witnessed this came to believe in Christ the Lord. Thrown to wild beasts, the martyrs remained unharmed. Then they were thrown into a fiery furnace. Agathonica, Carpus’s sister, also leaped into the fire, but the fire did not consume them. Finally, they were all beheaded with the sword, in the year 251. Thus, after their righteous endeavors, they received a wreath of glory in the Kingdom of Christ.
2. The Hieromartyr Benjamin the Deacon, of Persia (ca. 425)
This soldier of Christ was a Persian who zealously preached the Gospel and brought many pagans, both Persians and Greeks, to the Christian Faith. He suffered during the reign of the Persian King Yezdegeherd, circa 412. When he was cast into prison, one of the king’s nobles defended him to the king. The king then released him, under the condition that he no longer preach Christ to the people. Benjamin boldly said: “This I can never give up. For he who hides the talent given him will be given over to great suffering,” and he continued to spread the Christian Faith. The emperor had him seized, and commanded that thorns be driven under his nails, and he was further tortured until he rendered his spirit to God.
3. The Holy Great-martyr Zlata (Chryse) of Meglin, Bulgaria (1796)
Zlata was born of poor peasant parents (who also had three other daughters) in the village of Slatina, in the province of Meglin. She was a meek and devout girl, wise in the wisdom of Christ and golden, not only in name*)but also in her God-fearing heart. Once when Zlata went out to get water, some shameless Turks seized her and took her to their home. When one of them urged her to become a Moslem and be his wife, Zlata fearlessly replied: “I believe in Christ and Him alone do I know as my Bridegroom. I will never deny Him, even though you subject me to a thousand tortures and cut me into pieces.” When her parents and sisters found her, her parents said to her: “O daughter, have mercy on yourself and on us, your parents and sisters; deny Christ in words only, so that we can all be happy, for Christ is merciful. He would forgive such a sin, committed due to the necessities of life.” Her poor parents, sisters, and relatives wept bitterly.
However, the noble soul of St. Zlata resisted such diabolical snares. She answered them: “When you counsel me to deny Christ the true God, you are no longer my parents or my sisters. I have the Lord Jesus Christ as my father, the Theotokos as my mother, and the saints as my brothers and sisters.” The Turks then cast her into prison for three months, flogging her every day until her blood soaked the ground. Finally, they suspended her upside down and lit a fire, to suffocate her with the smoke; but God was with Zlata, and gave her strength in suffering. At last, they hanged her from a tree and cut her into small pieces. Thus, this brave virgin gave her soul up to God, and went to dwell in Paradise in the year 1796. Pieces of her relics were taken by Christians to their homes for a blessing.
- Martyr Florentius of Thessalonica (1st-2nd ).
- Venantius, abbot, of the monastery of St. Martin in Tours (Gaul) (400).
- Nicetas the Confessor, of Paphlagonia (838).
- Luke of Demena, Sicily (984).
- Monk-martyr Jacob of Hamatoura Monastery (Lebanon) (late 13th ).
- Benjamin of the Kiev Caves (14th c.).
- Anthony, metropolitan of Chkondidi, Georgia (1815), and his disciple James the Elder, hieromonk.
- Translation to Moscow of the Iveron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (1648).
- Uncovering of the relics (1993) of New Hieromartyr Thaddeus, archbishop of Tver (1937).
- Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of the Seven Lakes” (Kazan) (17th ).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Holy Great-martyr Zlata of Meglin
The Turks tortured St. Zlata of golden heart,
Tormented her to death for Christ the Living God. Golden Zlata wept not, nor did she waver,
But surrendered her whole heart to the Lord of Heaven.
The tears of parents and sisters were in vain:
Zlata sought delight through sufferings, true delight—
The delight that Christ prepares for wise virgins,
The joy that the Bridegroom bestows upon faithful brides.
The cage of the body of Zlata the Golden was destroyed,
And her soul was freed from its fragile prison.
Zlata rose up to Paradise, joyful in soul,
Taking her place among the royal, holy angels.
St. Zlata, once a poor peasant girl,
Is now glorified in Paradise as a queen.
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