Eusebius of Phoenicia

Holy Martyr Eusebius of Phoenicia lived in Phoenicia, the coastal land north of Palestine, and at first was a secret disciple of Christ. At that time the pagans had begun a terrible persecution of Christians, and many of the faithful hid in secret places. Eusebius, thinking of the Lord's words that whoever confesses Him before men He will confess before His Father in heaven, was filled with divine zeal, went to the governor of the city and rebuked him for persecuting the flock of Christ. Asked who he was, he answered that he was the servant of Christ, against whom the governor was rising, and told him that their blindness led them to worship a demon, not God.

Enraged, the governor ordered him stripped, hung up and scraped with sharp iron until his bones were exposed, and then vinegar and salt poured on his wounds. The confessor bore all of it with courage, as if it were not his body that suffered, and rejoiced to suffer for faith in Christ. When the governor demanded that he sacrifice to the gods and live, he replied that they might destroy his body, but Christ would receive his soul. Seeing his firmness, they beheaded him with the sword. So he entered heaven and received the crown of glory from the Lord's hand.

With him is commemorated the holy Martyr Priscus, who confessed the name of Christ in Phrygia and brought many pagans to the Lord. Seized by the lawless, he was hung up and torn along the ribs with iron claws, so that his body was furrowed like ploughed ground, and the bystanders, enraged at the sight of the torments, cut off his head with their swords.

They are commemorated on 4 October (new style). The present account follows Saint Demetrius of Rostov.