Holy Martyr Orion

Verses

The Martyr Orion was hurled alive to the earth,
Orion more than shines in the heavens.*

The Holy Martyr Orion met his end by being hurled alive to the earth. In other words, he was thrown from a high place while alive to the ground.

This Saint Orion is the only Saint Orion in the Orthodox Christian calendar, and could be one of the 37 Martyrs of Egypt with Saint Paul the Egyptian who is known as Saint Orion (January 18th in the Latin Calendar). What we do know is that in a Christian document from the fifth or sixth century written in Greek hexameters, the rising of the Nile was no longer attributed to Osiris, but to a certain Saint Orion: "Come to me, holy Orion, thou who resteth in the north, thou who movest the flood of the Nile, and minglest it with the sea." According to the historian Al-Maqrizi, until as late as the fourteenth century, Christians in Egypt would throw a small casket with the finger of a Saint, probably Saint Orion, into the Nile to induce it to rise. It is not known if this Orion is related to the Saint Orion celebrated on November 10th.

Notes:

* Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Just like the constellation Orion, Saint Orion shines in the heavens.