Gelasius of Heliopolis

Saint Gelasius, martyr, was an actor in the city of Heliopolis, today Baalbek in Lebanon, who, after mocking Christian Baptism, confessed Christ and was put to the sword. He is commemorated on 27 February. Until the ninth century his name appears in the sources in the form Gelasinus.

The oldest report about him is in the Chronicle of John Malalas, of the sixth century. According to it, Gelasinus suffered in the time of the emperors Maximin Daza (305 to 313) and Licinius (308 to 324). The Chronicle says that he was a second mime, that is, an actor who played secondary roles, usually comic, in small parodic theatrical pieces.

According to his life, when the persecution of Christians began, he thought to portray the Christians in mockery. Dressed in white garments, he entered the baptismal font and began to act as though he were receiving Baptism. The idolaters began to laugh. But after water was poured over him and the words were spoken, "The servant of God Gelasius is baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen", he became serious and said that he was now a Christian. It is said that he felt the grace of God come upon him then, and his heart found innocence and was made ready to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The onlookers saw that he had suddenly stopped jesting, and heard him confess faith in Jesus Christ, and they were astonished. Soon, however, anger seized them, because they understood that their mockery of Christians had turned against themselves. The indignation was so great that Gelasius was put to the sword at once. So he became a holy martyr of the Church of Christ.