On the second of this month [November], we commemorate the Holy Martyrs who were of senatorial rank.
Verses
The senators longed for incorruptible honor,
Refusing honor they were beheaded as senators.*
These Holy Senators were from Sebaste and were martyred when the governor was Auxanontos, and the duke was Markellos, and Mark Agrikolaos. Their names have not been preserved, but they shine eternally in heaven. When Emperor Licinius (308-324) was at war with Constantine the Great, he proclaimed a persecution against the Christian faith in the year 315, and a group of senators had the courage to tell the emperor that his decree was unjust, and in return God would show him divine justice if he did not cease his persecution. For their boldness, Licinius ordered they be tortured and that they put to death. They nobly accepted their fate, and leaving behind their families, they encouraged and blessed one another before they were thrown to a fiery furnace, thus receiving the crown of martyrdom.
On this day we also commemorate the Holy Martyrs Eudoxios, Agapios, Attikos, Marinos, Okeanos, Eustratios, Karterios, Nikopolitianos, Styrax and Tobias.
Verses
The ten nobly persevered in the fire,
Towards the noble allotment the ten have gone.
These Ten Holy Martyrs were soldiers in Sebaste during the persecution of Emperor Licinius against the Christians in the year 315. Having boldly proclaimed their Christian faith, they were cruelly tortured in various ways. Later they were burned alive in a furnace, and thus received the unfading crown of martyrdom.
Notes:
* In the Synaxarion of Constantinople, these senators are introduced as having been beheaded by the sword, but their brief life says they died in a fiery furnace.
