Eugene of Antioch

Holy Confessor Eugene of Antioch was a priest of the Church of Antioch and died in the year 363, together with the Holy Confessor Macarius, with whom he laboured in the desert. They are honoured as venerable confessors.

In the time of Julian the Apostate (361-363), both priests were brought to the emperor's judgment because they refused to take part in pagan orgies. They rebuked him fearlessly for his apostasy and were given over to cruel torments, which they endured with prayer and spiritual joy. After the torments, they were sent in chains into exile at Oasim, an oasis in the Arabian desert, where they wished to settle on a mountain.

The locals warned the saints to leave that place at once, because a huge serpent lived there. The martyrs asked to be shown the place, and at their prayer lightning struck the cave and reduced the monster to ashes. Saints Eugene and Macarius began to labour in that cave. The confessors prayed to die together, and the Lord heard their prayer and they departed to Him at the same time, in the year 363.

The Synaxarion commemorates them on 4 March, a movable day.