Holy Thirty-three Martyrs “those in Melitina”
Date of celebration: 07/11/2020
The names of the Saints are: Hieron, Nikandros, Hesychius, Varachus (or Varachios), Maximianus, Kallinikos, Xantikos (or Xanthias), Athanasios, Theodore, Dukitios, Eugenios, Theophilos, Valerius, Theodotus, Callimachus, Hilarios, Gigantios, Longinus , Themelius, Eutychius, Diodotus, Castricius, Theagenes, Mamas, Nicon, Theodolus, Vostrichius (or Ostrichius), Uictor, Dorotheus, Claudianus, Epiphanius, Aniketus, and another Saint.
The first of them, Hieron, was from Tyana in Cappadocia. His father died quickly and his upbringing, as well as that of his two brothers, Matronianos and Antonios, was entirely taken over by their mother Stratonikis. Although Hieron received enough education, he engaged in the agricultural profession. Pagans considered such occupations derogatory.
But Christians knew that Christ did not disparage the sweat of the humble laborer. And that every honest work is a virtue and only the holiday, which brings sin, is a stigma for man. After all, the divinely inspired word of the Holy Bible, describing the life of the Apostles and by extension, of all Christians, says: “we labor with our own hands” (1 Corinthians, 4:12). We toil, that is, working with our own hands.
When the persecution of Christians began under Diocletian, the prefect of Agricolas arrested Hieron on the charge that on Sundays and other holidays he went around and preached Christ to the workers, with the result that he diverted many from idolatry. Together with him, his two brothers and thirty more associates in the ministry of the Gospel were arrested. After being imprisoned and horribly tortured, the prefect of Agricola finally beheaded them outside the city of Melitini.
