Andrew of Ephesus

Holy Hieromartyr Andrew of Ephesus, a priest, suffered in the eighth century, in the time of the iconoclast emperor Leo the Isaurian (717 to 741), together with Saint Hypatius, bishop of Ephesus. They are commemorated on 4 October.

In their youth the two studied together in a monastery. Hypatius became a monk, and Andrew remained a cleric and zealously taught the people the Christian faith. When Emperor Leo began to persecute the venerators of the holy icons, and the icons were thrown out of churches, trodden underfoot and burned, Hypatius and Andrew rose in defence of the veneration of icons, urging their flock to stay faithful to Orthodoxy. The emperor, wishing to persuade them, summoned them and held a debate on the veneration of icons, in which Hypatius and Andrew defended the Orthodox veneration of icons without a break. The martyrs were thrown into prison and held there a long time, in the hope that they would thus be forced to give up their convictions, but the saints remained unshaken. Then the emperor ordered them tortured: they were beaten, the skin of their heads was torn off with the hair, their beards were smeared with pitch and set on fire, and holy icons were burned on their heads. The saints bore all the torments and stayed alive. The emperor ordered them dragged through the city to the mockery of all, and only after that were they put to death. The bodies of Saints Hypatius and Andrew were thrown to the dogs, but the faithful buried them with reverence.