St. Mc. Laurence the archdeacon; St. Saint Mc. Xistus, bishop of Rome; St. Mc. Hippolytustranslated

Orthodox calendar, August 10 St. Mc. Laurentius the archdeacon Saint Martyr Lawrence (Laurentius) suffered martyrdom during the persecution started against Christians by Emperor Valerian (253 – 260). Saint Lawrence was an archdeacon and he took care of social assistance in the city of Rome, because together with other deacons he was in charge of distributing things offered by the faithful for the needy.

The saint witnessed the martyrdom of the holy bishop Xist, in the catacombs, after they had celebrated the Holy Liturgy. After dividing the wealth of the episcopal church in Rome so that it would not be confiscated by the emperor Valerian, the saint was caught and subjected to torture suffering a martyr's death.

Many pagans, seeing the courage of Saint Lawrence, converted to Christianity. Emperor Constantine the Great erected a place of worship on the tomb of Saint Lawrence, then, with the passage of time, seven more places of worship were built in Rome in the name of the holy Martyr. A fragment of his holy relics was given by Pope Adrian to Emperor Charlemagne (768-814) and is located in the city of Strasbourg, in the church that bears his name.

Troparion – Voice 4…