Today, October 29, the Church remembers the holy martyr Longinus the centuriontranslated

The memory of the holy martyr Longinus the centurion (+ 1st century), a Roman soldier, is honored by the Orthodox Church on October 29.

During the years of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, Saint Longinus served under the procurator Pontius Pilate in Judea. It was he who commanded the detachment that stood guard at the Cross of the Lord on Calvary.

According to Church Tradition, it was Longinus who was the warrior who pierced the ribs of the crucified Savior with a spear and received healing from the flowing blood and water of his sore eyes.

The last suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross, as well as various signs revealed at the same time, shocked this warrior so much that he believed in the Savior and confessed his faith with the words: “Truly this is the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

After the execution and burial of the Savior, Longinus and his squad stood guard at the Holy Sepulcher. Having witnessed the Resurrection of Christ, Longinus and two more of his soldiers were baptized by the apostles, after which they left service.

The three of them went to the homeland of the centurion Longinus - to Cappadocia, where they began to talk about Christ. Thanks to their preaching, Christianity began to quickly spread in the city and its surroundings.

At the instigation of the Jewish elders, Pontius Pilate sent a detachment to Cappadocia that was supposed to execute...