Damascene the New

Holy Hieromartyr Damascene the New was born in the village of Gabrovo in the Trnovo diocese in Bulgaria. As a young man he went to Mount Athos, to the Serbian monastery of Hilandar, where he was ordained deacon, then priest, and was finally chosen abbot.

On monastery business he was sent to Svishtov in Bulgaria to collect rent from a Muslim for a property of the monastery. To avoid paying, the man sent a Turkish woman into the room where the saint was staying, then burst in with others and accused him of impropriety, a charge punishable by death. The kadi did not believe the charge, but the false witnesses demanded a verdict, and he condemned him. Damascene was offered the choice of death or saving his life by denying his faith. He replied: "I was born a Christian and I shall die a Christian. It would be madness to keep this passing life at the price of eternal loss."

Seeing that they could not move him, they took him to the place of execution. The saint asked for time to pray, then made the sign of the Cross and said he was ready. He was hanged at Svishtov on 16 January 1771 and received the crown of martyrdom. Those who had condemned him drowned in the Danube when their boat capsized in a storm. His life was also written by Saint Nicodemus the Hagiorite. He is commemorated on 16 January (new style; 29 January on the old calendar).