Память святого мученика Лукиллиана и с ним четырех отроков Клавдия, Ипатия, Павла и Дионисия и святой девы Павлы

The holy martyr Lucillian, who suffered during the time of the Roman king Aurelian 3599, at first remained in pagan polytheism and was even an idol priest, who had already reached venerable old age, adorned with gray hair and a venerable appearance. He lived not far from Nicomedia 3600, serving the bad gods in the churches. Then, by the grace of Christ our God, who wants everyone to be saved and no one to perish (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4), he was convinced of the deception of demons and pagan error, achieved the knowledge of the truth, believed in the one true God, our Lord Jesus Christ, rejected and despised idols, and his youth was renewed in old age, like that of an eagle (Ps. 102:5). Then he was reborn through holy baptism and with all his thought and soul he completely surrendered to the love of Christ. He also clarified to other pagans the vanity and destruction of their wickedness, instructed them in salvation and with his teaching led them to Christ, so that for many he was an example of turning to God. Local Jews, seeing that Lucillian had moved from idolatry to the Christian faith and that many, following his example and teaching, left idolatry, joined Christians and accepted holy baptism, were filled with anger and hatred. God-killing and cruel people, out of envy they slandered him and brought him to the court of the wicked; and the servant of Christ was presented for interrogation to the ruler of Nicomedia, Silvanus. The ruler strongly forced the elder to deny Christ and return to idolatry, but he refused to obey him. Then the ruler was filled with rage and ordered Lukillian to be given over to various torments: they crushed his jaws, beat him mercilessly with sticks, hung him upside down and then, after a long and fierce torment, threw him into prison. There Saint Lucillian found four youths imprisoned for the faith of Christ: Claudius, Hypatius, Paul and Dionysius. He joyfully talked with them about Christ God and strengthened them for the feat of martyrdom, so that, remembering eternal reward in heaven, they would not be afraid of temporary torment, would not be afraid of death for the future life and would not regret their blooming youth for Christ, who is preparing for them unfading bliss in His Kingdom. All together they prayed to God day and night and consoled themselves with hope in Christ. After quite a few days, Saint Lucillian was again subjected to torture, together with the youths, and with them he was thrown into a red-hot furnace. But Almighty God showed His miraculous mercy over them, as He once did over the Jewish youths thrown into the Babylonian furnace (Dan. 3): the fire turned into cold, the flame into dew, and abundant rain, pouring down from above, finally cooled the entire furnace, and Saint Lucillian and the youths emerged unharmed. The pagans, blinded by unbelief and malice, attributed this glorious miracle of God not to God’s power, but to the magic of Christians. Then the unrighteous judge condemned the holy martyrs to death and sent them to Byzantium in 3601 to be executed there. When they reached Byzantium, the four holy youths, Claudius, Hypatius, Paul and Dionysius, were beheaded with the sword, and Saint Lucillian was hanged on the cross, nailed to it all over his body, and so gave up his spirit to God. He was crucified on the cross by the Jews, as can be seen from the third song of the canon dedicated to him, where it is said in this way: “Judas betrayed the deliverer Christ of old to the murderers of God: but now you have been betrayed by the lawless Jew.” The Holy Virgin Paul also joined their crown of suffering. Born of Christian parents, from her youth she nurtured in her heart an ardent love for Christ, observed her virginity to the immortal Bridegroom and tried to be worthy of the heavenly palace. Orphaned after the death of her parents and possessing wealth, she went around the dungeons and, buying the right of entry from the guards with gold, visited the prisoners suffering for Christ. She served the servants of Christ, giving them everything they needed from her property, tormented by hunger and thirst, she brought food and drink, gave clothes to the naked, healed the wounded and rotting bodies of the martyrs, washing, wiping, applying medical plasters and tying them with clean linen. Kissing their wounds, mistaken for Christ, she with tears asked them to pray to Christ God for her, so that He would not deprive her of His mercy. This chosen bride of Christ also came to Saint Lucillian, imprisoned in Nicomedia with the youths, and enjoyed his useful instructions. When they tortured the saint and the youths, she witnessed their feat, and in the secret of her heart she diligently prayed for them to Christ, that He might strengthen His servants and give them courage and help to endure their torment to the end, for the sake of the glory of His holy name. When the people dispersed at the end of the executions, she came to the place of torment of the saints, collected their spilled blood on the ground and kept it with her as a shrine; when they led the elder and four youths to Byzantium to die, she followed them and served them; when the holy youths were beheaded, the holy virgin took their venerable bodies and reverently gave them over to burial. After the death of Saint Lucillian and the holy youths, she returned to Nicomedia and continued to do the same. The wicked learned that she was a Christian, took her and brought her to trial before the same ruler Silvan, who, seeing that she remained rebellious after many flattering and formidable admonitions, ordered to beat her for a long time and mercilessly on her naked body with rods and sticks, but when she was exhausted from many wounds in body, but not in spirit, the Angel of the Lord appeared and healed her; and the martyr’s physical health returned, and she showed herself to be even more courageous and courageous in her torment. Then she was brutally beaten on the lips because she had annoyed her tormentor with reproachful words. Then she was thrown into prison, and then again taken out to be tortured and thrown into a very hot oven. But she came out of the oven without harm, for for her, as for the previous holy martyrs, the power of God destroyed the power of fire, so that the burning flame would not touch the bride of Christ. After all this, the tormentor condemned her to death by beheading with a sword and sent her to Byzantium so that she would be executed in the same place where Saint Lucillian and his youths died. Taken to the place where Lucillian died on the cross for Christ, the martyr of Christ earnestly thanked God, who honored her with the crown of martyrdom and communion with the saints. Having prayed diligently to the Lord, she joyfully bowed her maiden head to the sword and accepted the beheading. So she moved from the valleys to the mountains and entered the heavenly palace, into the joy of her Lord, crowned by her most beloved Bridegroom, Christ our Lord, with a double crown - virginity and martyrdom. Aurelian reigned from 270 to 275. Nicomedia is a city in the Asia Minor region of Bithynia on the shores of the Propontis (Sea of Marmara). Byzantium, a Megarian colony founded in 658 BC on the European side of the Bosphorus, occupied a dominant position on the narrow strait connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara. In 330, Constantine the Great, after his victory over Licinius, moved the capital of the Roman Empire here, and Byzantium began to be called Constantinople, New Rome. You might be interested in: