Anatolius of Nicomedia

Holy Martyr Anatolius of Nicomedia was a soldier and died by the sword together with Saint Protoleon, on the day when the Church commemorates the Holy Great Martyr George and Empress Alexandra. He is commemorated on 6 May.

Seeing the faith and courage of Saint George, these soldiers believed in Christ and said so openly, and were beheaded at once. The Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious was born in Cappadocia, in a deeply believing family. His father received the death of a martyr for Christ when George was still a child, and his mother, who had estates in Palestine, moved with her son to her homeland and raised him in piety. Entering the Roman army, handsome and courageous in battle, he was noticed by Emperor Diocletian (284 to 305) and taken into his guard with the rank of comes, one of the higher commanders.

The pagan emperor, who had done much to renew Roman power and understood what danger the triumph of the crucified Saviour posed to pagan civilisation, in his last years intensified the persecution of Christians. At a council of the senate in Nicomedia, Diocletian gave all governors full freedom to strike at the Christians. Saint George, learning the emperor's decision, distributed his property to the poor, freed his slaves and appeared in the Senate. The soldier of Christ rose openly against the emperor's plan, confessed himself a Christian and called on all to acknowledge the true faith: "I am the servant of Christ, my God, and, trusting in Him, I have come among you of my own will to bear witness to the Truth." The emperor, who loved him, tried to persuade him, but George answered: "Nothing in this unstable life will weaken my desire to serve God." At the angry emperor's command the armour-⁠bearers pushed him with spears out of the hall, but the steel went soft and bent when it touched the saint's body. In prison they put his feet in stocks and crushed his chest with a heavy stone. Among those who witnessed his torments were those soldiers, Anatolius and Protoleon, who believed in Christ. Their names are bound up with George's suffering.