Euthymius and the Twelve Monks of Vatopedi

Euthymius and the Twelve Monks of Vatopedi suffered martyrdom in 1280; Euthymius was abbot of Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos. They suffered in the time of Emperor Michael Palaiologos and Patriarch John Bekkos, because they denounced the union with Rome.

Emperor Michael had concluded the union of Lyons (1274) with the Church of Rome, in return for which the pope required recognition of his primacy and of the teaching that the Holy Spirit proceeds also from the Son. The people, clergy and monks rejected the union, and the emperor began persecutions against its opponents. Vatopedi Monastery protested openly against the emperor and the patriarch, and so the monks were pursued in the persecution of Mount Athos in 1280. Some were tortured, the abbot Euthymius was drowned in the sea, and the twelve monks were hanged.

They are commemorated on 4 January (new style; 17 January on the old calendar).