Память святых мучеников тысячи и трех, в Никомидии пострадавших

During the reign of the wicked and cruel king Diocletian, a great persecution was launched against the Church of Christ: at that time, Christians for the name of Christ were everywhere imprisoned and killed. Among them, the servants of Christ, Bishop Theopempt and Theona, a former sorcerer, and four royal dignitaries suffered: Vassus, Eusebius, Eutyches and Basilides, whose guard was entrusted to the holy martyr Peter, Diocletian's bed-rider; and the wives of those dignitaries who, having accepted the holy faith, remained steadfast in the confession of Christ and laid down their souls for the Lord. After the death of these martyrs, their household, all servants, slaves and free, having reflected among themselves, unanimously said: - Here are our masters, who ruled us in this world, for the sake of the holy faith in Christ, having despised this temporary life, they have found the Kingdom of Heaven and for the contempt of earthly things they now enjoy heavenly blessings: why shouldn’t we follow our masters? Let us approach King Diocletian and tell him: we are Christians and wish, together with our masters who possessed us in this life, to receive an imperishable crown in the future life. Having made such a decision among themselves and everyone willingly agreed to it, they counted their number together with their wives and children, and it turned out that they were one thousand and three people. Having all departed, they stood before the judgment seat of the wicked tormentor Diocletian and unanimously began to cry out: - And we are Christians and will follow our fathers and masters, who shed their blood for Christ: we do not obey demons, we do not worship blind, deaf, dumb and soulless idols! The king, seeing that there were so many of them, was filled with great anger; however, at first pretending to be meek, he began to seduce them with affectionate words. He told them: – Why do you act so unreasonably and voluntarily expose yourself to such destruction? Better listen to me, as a father who wants only the best for you, and make a sacrifice to the gods; By this you will avoid the madness with which Eusebius and his friends were seduced, for which they died such a cruel death. But you, if you listen to me and make a sacrifice to the immortal gods, will receive great honor and gifts from me and, by our mercy, will be greatly enriched. The saints answered the tormentor: – We do not ask for your gifts, nor are we afraid of your threat, but we try to offer a sacrifice of praise to the Living and True God; Whatever you want to do, do it with us quickly: for us there is nothing more precious than Christ. Diocletian, having listened to such words of the holy martyrs, was afraid that they would stir up some kind of unrest among the people, since he saw with what great boldness they defended their faith in Christ; With a wave of his hand, he gave the order that soldiers with drawn weapons surrounded this entire Christian gathering; Among him there were many small children whom their mothers held in their arms: some of them were one year old, others were two or three months old. When the armed army surrounded the Christians, the king said to them: “So, now listen to my advice and declare that you agree to make a sacrifice to the gods and worship them, so that you can return to your homes safe and sound; spare yourself and your children, as I spare you, so that both you and your children do not perish because of madness; after all, if you do not listen to me, then your Christ will not help you in anything. To this the saints answered him: – We have learned to worship the One God living in heaven and His Only Begotten Son and the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom everything happened, and His Holy Spirit; therefore, do not seduce us with any promises of your vain mercy: you will not convince us with your benefits, nor will you frighten us with threats, so that we fall away from the faith in Christ our Lord and worship the soulless idols revered by you: nothing can be dearer and more desirable to us than Christ, who lives forever and ever. Then Diocletian, enraged, again gave the order to the soldiers to immediately spot them all. And they, like some fierce beasts, attacked Christians from all sides and spotted the holy martyrs of Christ; They spared no one, not even the children sucking their mother’s breasts, and out of the thousand and three no one remained alive 1258. Thus, the holy martyrs of Christ accomplished their suffering in the true confession of Christ, in the month called by the Egyptians Mehir, the 13th day, according to ours, February 7, in Nicomedia, metropolis of the Bithynia region 1259, during the reign of Diocletian; - over us then reigned as Jesus Christ, the True God and our Savior, reigns now and forever and will reign, to Whom be glory and praise with God the Father and with the Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, forever and ever, amen. Bithynia is the northwestern region of Asia Minor. Nicomedia is the main city of Bithynia, the favorite residence of Emperor Diocletian. 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