THE HOLY MARTYRS AMPHIANUS AND EDESIUS

April 2

From the Prologue

These two young men were blood brothers from the city of Patara of distinguished but pagan parents. While they were studying the secular sciences in the city of Beirut, they were enlightened by the Spirit of God, and acknowledging the falsehood of paganism, discerned the truth of Christianity. When they returned home they could no longer live with their pagan parents and kinsmen and secretly fled to Caesarea in Palestine to the presbyter Pamphilius, renown for his sanctity and spiritual learning. With Pamphilius, they studied the Law of God day and night and practiced Christian asceticism. It is said of Pamphilius that he was twenty years old according to the flesh but, in understanding and generosity, he was a hundred years old. When a persecution began during the reign of Maximian, many Christians fled the city and hid themselves. Others, willingly and rejoicefully, gave themselves into the hands of the persecutors in order to suffer for the Name of Him, Who first suffered for them. Amphianus was among the latter. Unafraid, he entered a pagan temple where Prince Urban was offering sacrifices to the idols, grabbed the prince by the hand which was holding the sacrifice and cried to him to refrain from serving and making sacrificial offerings to dead idols and to acknowledge the True God. Some of the pagans who heard these words and witnessing the great courage of Amphianus, repented and embraced the Faith of Christ. The enraged prince subjected Amphianus to torture. Among the other tortures, they wrapped the legs of Amphianus with cotton and set them on fire. When he remained alive, they tossed his body into the sea with a stone around his neck. The sea became turbulent and hurled his martyred body back into the city. At first, Edesius was sent to a cooper mine in Palestine and was later taken to Egypt. In Alexandria, Edesiuswas filled with holy zeal against a certain Prince Hierocles who, in the market place, assembled Christian nuns, maidens and virtuous women and handed them over to the most shameful perverts for derision. Edesius, filled with holy zeal, struck the disgraceful prince. For that, he was tortured and drowned in the sea as was his brother Amphianus. As two innocent lambs, they were sacrificed for Christ about the year 306 A.D. and were translated to the glorious mansions of the Lord.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT AMPHIANUS AND EDESIUS

As a sacrifice, two brothers offered themselves to God,

Despising the decaying world; a dead corpse,

Amphianus and Edesius, blood brothers both,

In sufferings, wonderful brothers, pleasing to Christ.

He who has faith in God, does not value the world,

To a dead soul, the world can replace God.

Whoever has love for Christ; of death, he is not afraid,

Among the immortal and even before death, he is already numbered.

Whoever considers death as the gloomy end; the end of the inglorious,

That one must consider himself a slave of despair.

Death; the martyrs considered the veil of heaven,

An example they gave; that to fear death is not necessary.

That there is no heaven, O man, do not fear

But, fear the Dreadful Judgment which heaven prepares.

For a sinner it would be easier if heaven did not exist,

That is why the sinner with anger questions:

But heaven, where is it?

O sinner, heaven is not there, where you are,

Together, you and heaven will never be.