Artemon of Laodicea

Holy Hieromartyr Artemon was a priest in Laodicea, in the time of the emperor Diocletian, who died around 305 (the Serbian source gives 303), according to the sources in extreme old age. He is commemorated on 13 April by the old calendar (26 April); the Greek source gives 24 March, which does not agree with the others.

According to the Serbian source, Artemon was 28 years a deacon and 33 years a priest. In the persecution of Christians, the emperor Diocletian sent his commander Patricius to Laodicea to destroy the Christians. Artemon was bound by Patricius and brought to Caesarea, then thrown into prison, where he endured heavy torments and survived. Before the judge who was tormenting him he said who he was: a servant of Christ his God, for 16 years a reader in the church, 28 years a deacon, 33 years a priest, teaching people and guiding them on the way of salvation.

The judge led him into the temple of Asclepius, where the pagan priests took particular care of great snakes dedicated to that god. Artemon crossed himself and by the power of the cross pinned all the snakes to the ground, so that they could not move. Then he brought them all out into the court and killed them with his breath. The chief priest of the temple, Vitalius, seeing the miracle, fell on his knees before Artemon and cried that the God of the Christians is great. Artemon then baptized him, together with some of his friends. After that the judge continued to torment him; wanting to throw him into boiling pitch, he himself fell from his horse into it and burned.

The saint succeeded in escaping from prison in a wonderful way and went to the coastland of Asia. He remained free for a time and went about, always accompanied by two stags of his own, and taught the people the Christian faith, guided them with the teaching of Christ, healed the sick and converted pagans. But he was seized again and beheaded in 303. According to the Greek source, the pagans, together with Bishop Sisinnius, took him to their temple to offer sacrifice to their gods. Artemon, already old, prayed to the Lord to enlighten the pagans; then the statues of the false gods suddenly fell and broke into pieces. The pagans, enraged, seized the old man and brought him as the culprit of the destruction to the local governor, who subjected him to terrible tortures; during them he gave up his soul to the Lord, reaching in extreme old age martyrdom without shame.

At Mesić monastery are the holy relics of Saint Artemon: a small wooden coffer in which was a small silver box holding a bone of the skull, set in silver. The relics were brought there in 1773 from Šemljug monastery, where they had been before and which was then closed.