September 4, 2017

Holy Martyrs Centurionus, Theodore, Ammianus, Julian and Okianos

Sts. Centurionus, Theodore, Ammianus and Julian (Feast Day - September 4)

Verses

To Centurionus.
Centurionus breathed with divine fiery longing,
With eagerness of soul he went to the fire and breathed his last.

To Theodore, Ammianus, Julian.
For the three athletes the fire was a strange ladder,
By which they ascended to the heavenly dimension.

These Holy Martyrs were from the village of Kentaules in Nicomedia, and lived during the reign of Maximian (284-305). Because they confessed Christ, they were arrested and given over to torture in the year 288.

At first their bodies were torn with sharp iron hooks, and then they were locked into a hot and flooded bath-house. The doors were locked and sealed with the imperial signet ring so that they should not escape. An Angel of the Lord freed them, however.

Soldiers arrested the Martyrs again and led them outside the city for execution. The Saints requested and were given time for prayer. After their feet were cut off with an axe they were thrown into a fire, and thus departed to the Lord.