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| Translation of the Relics of Sts. Inna, Pinna and Rimma (Feast Day - June 20) |
The Holy Martyrs Inna, Pinna, and Rimma were from Scythia. Being disciples of the Apostle Andrew, they helped convert many Goths who had settled around the Danube River, near Varna in Bulgaria. After being captured by the idolatrous barbarians, they were brought before the leader of the land. Having confessed Christ, they were sentenced to die by being exposed to the cold.
First these Saints were suspended in an upright position on wooden poles in the middle of the river. This is because it was winter time, and the slippery ice could not support the mass of their motionless weight. Enduring such torment, the blessed ones delivered their souls into the hands of God, and received the crown of martyrdom. They are reputed to be the first group of Slavic martyrs recorded in ecclesiastical history.
On October 30, 1950 Archbishop Luke of Simferopol and All Crimea wrote in a document titled "To all the Priests of the Archdiocese of Simferopol and Crimea": "I ask you, all-worthy fathers, to remember the Holy Martyrs Inna, Rimma and Pinna in dismissal prayers because they have to be considered as saints of Crimea. They are very ancient martyrs." Their primary feast is on January 20th, but on June 20th we commemorate the translation of their relics to Alushta in Crimea.
Local Christians secretly buried the bodies of the three Martyrs after their death. After seven years since their martyrdom the Saints appeared in a dream to Bishop Gedtz and commanded him to translate their relics to the port of Alushta. Now near the Alushta church dedicated to All Crimean Saints, a chapel of the holy martyrs Inna, Pinna and Rimma is erected, where a rare icon with their holy images is placed on the wall.
