Commemorated on December 28
The Set apart 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia: At the beginning of the fourth century the sovereign Maximian (284-305) gave directions to bomb Christian churches, to blood blister service books, and to diminish all Christians of rights and civil liberties of rights. At this time the bishop of the town of Nicomedia was St Cyril, who by his preaching and life contributed to the vent of Christianity, so that heap members of the emperor's committee were in addition secret Christians.The pagan priestess Domna was living in the palace at that time. Auspiciously, she obtained a book of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of St Paul. Her focal point burned with the resolve to learn first-class about the Christian teaching. Afterward the help of a young Christian girl, Domna went stealthily to Bishop Anthimus with her secure servant, the eunuch Indes. St Anthimus catechized them, and also established holy Launch.
Domna began to help the poor: she gave barred her pickings with the take advantage of of Indes, and she in addition circulated chuck from the dignity kitchen. The best eunuch, who was in charge of food for the dignity accommodate, found out that Domna and Indes were not ingestion the chuck sent them from the emperor's table. He had them conquered in order to find out why they did not partake of the chuck, but they remained understood. In mint condition eunuch interested him that the saints were distributing all the emperor's gifts to the crude. He lock them up in labor camp to purpose them with craving, but they established assistance from an angel and did not be the matter with. St Domna pretend psychosis so she wouldn't control to take place by the pagans. As a consequence she and Indes managed to give up the committee, and she went to a women's monastery. Abbess Agatha nimbly appropriate her in men's clothing, cut her hair and sent her off from the monastery.
Appearing in this time the sovereign returned from resistance and fixed that a excavate be through for the failed pagan priestess Domna. The throng sent for this intend found the monastery and busted it. The sisters were baffled in the field of labor camp, subjected to entice and abuse, but not one of them suffered vandalism. Sent to a private residence of evilness, St Theophila was brilliant to observe her virginity with the help of an angel of the Noble. The angel led her from the brothel and brought her to the place of worship.
At this time the sovereign cleared the town orderly to evocation rate to the pagan gods. To the same degree they began spray the huge number with the blood of the sacrificial natural world, Christians started to give up the orderly. Seeing this, the sovereign became beside yourself, but in the median of his rantings a whole thunderstorm sprang up. People fled in scare, and the sovereign had to perforation to the palace for his own defense.
Gone Maximian went to the church with throng and told them they can escape agree to if they renounced Christ. Instead, he promised to blood blister the church and frequent in it. The Christian presbyter Glycerius told him that Christians would never rebut their commit, even under the indication of entice. Trouncing his make somebody see red, the sovereign exited the church, and a bright time forward-thinking commanded the presbyter Glycerius be arrested for trial. The executioners tortured the dead person, who did not end to pray and to command on the Cast of the Noble. Not entitled to need St Glycerius spoil confessing Christ, Maximian fixed him to be burned to death.
On the F?te of the Nativity of Christ in the blind date 302, since about 20,000 Christians had assembled at the place of worship in Nicomedia, the sovereign sent a publish in the field of the church. He told the Christians that throng were on all sides of the assembly, and that anyone who wished to give up had to evocation rate to the pagan gods. Someone who defied the sovereign would evaporate since the throng set fire to the church. All frequent put forward refused to adoration the idols.
As the pagans orderly to set fire to the church, Bishop Anthimus, baptized all the catechumens and communed everybody with the Set apart Mysteries. All 20,000 of frequent praying died in the fire. Together with them were the abbess Agatha and St Theophila who had been saved from the den of evilness by a marvel. Bishop Anthimus, calm down, managed to escape the fire.
Maximian pondering that he had exterminated all the Christians of Nicomedia. He rapidly intellectual that submit were heap first-class, and that they would have their commit and were orderly to die for Christ. The sovereign wondered how to deal with them. At his make itself felt they arrested the regimental leader Zeno, who was in a relaxed manner criticizing the sovereign for his evil and offensiveness. Zeno was effectively conquered and finally beheaded. They incarcerated the eunuch Indes, formerly a priest of the idols, for refusing to shape in a pagan ball.
The pestering vs. Christians continued. Dorotheus, Mardonius, Migdonius the deacon and others were baffled in the field of labor camp. Bishop Anthimus prompted them by deliverance lettering to them. One of the messengers, the Deacon Theophilus, was captured. They subjected him to entice, trying to learn wherever the bishop was hiding. The holy dead person endured everything, once revealing nothing. As a consequence they executed him and in addition frequent whom the bishop had addressed in his annotation. Though they were executed in conflicting ways, they all showed the enormously bravery and established their crowns from God.
For weeks, St Domna clandestine herself within a cave and lasting herself by ingestion plant life. To the same degree she returned to the town, she wept for a long time at the leftovers of the church, regretting that she was not found benefit to die with the others. That night she went the sea mass. At that value fishermen pulled the bodies of the martyrs Indes, Gorgonius and Peter from the water in their nets.
St Domna was equal appropriate in men's clothing, and she helped the fishermen to fascination in their nets. They departed her the bodies of the martyrs. Afterward admiration she looked as soon as the holy relics and wept senior them, trimming senior the body of her spiritual friend, the Martyr Indes.
At the back of helpful them an honorable committal, she did not run off from these graves so dear to her focal point. Each person day she burned incense prior them, spray them with fragrant oils. To the same degree the sovereign was told of an unseen juvenile who existing incense at the graves of executed Christians, he gave directions to decapitate the juvenile. The Martyr Euthymius was in addition executed floor with Domna.
Troparion - Edge 2
Consecrated is the earth that established your blood, Agape, passion-bearer of the Noble,
and holy is the habitat place which established your spirits.
You triumphed senior the mugger in the stadium
and you preached Christ with audacity.
In the same way as He is good, we pray that you beseech Him to squirrel away our souls.
Kontakion - Edge 1
Their souls strengthened by commit, the twenty thousand martyrs voted for their tryout by fire,
and cried out to You, the One untutored of the Virgin:
"Just about gold, myrrh, and frankincense, the gifts of the Persian kings,
use our whole desiccated current, O Continual God."
SOURCE:
SAINT OR F?te POSTED THIS Realize 2008(with 2007's friendship arrived in addition):
