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| Sts. Eugenios, Valerian, Candidus and Aquila |
Verses
Eugenios and his three fellow athletes with him,
Due to their nobility of soul are beheaded by the sword.
Due to their nobility of soul are beheaded by the sword.
These Saints suffered martyrdom during the reign of Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (286-305), when Lysias was military commander (doukas). Due to the bloody and cruel persecution launched against the Christians, many of the faithful fled to the mountains of Trebizond in Pontus, among whom were these four Saints. Three of them - Valerian, Candidus and Aquila - were captured by soldiers of Lysias, and having confessed Christ as the true God, they were banished to a narrow fortress named Pityous, which was in Lazika. From there they were brought to Trebizond and stood before Lysias. It was ordered by him that they be flogged with the sinews of oxen. After this they were suspended and torn at with iron claws, then their wounds were burned with lit torches. As the executioners were inflicting these torments, they became exhausted and fell to the ground prostrate, which agitated Lysias, and he ordered the Saints be thrown into prison.
A few days later Saint Eugenios was captured, and having confessed Christ, he was thrashed without mercy. After this he went with Lysias to the temple of the idols, and after uttering a prayer, the idols of the temple fell to the ground, and they shattered to dust. They then stretched him out and bound him with ropes, and he was beaten with thick rods. After this he was suspended and cruelly torn at with iron claws, and burned with lit torches. Following this they rubbed his wounds with salt and pungent vinegar. After all these things the four Saints were cast into a lit furnace, and having emerged unharmed, they were beheaded, and the blessed ones received the crown of martyrdom.
