Mocius of Emesa

Holy Martyr Mocius of Emesa (Emisa), a reader, suffered together with the holy hieromartyr Silvanus, bishop of Emesa, and the deacon Luke, in the time of the Roman emperor Numerian, when there was a great persecution of Christians (283-284). To the governor of the city of Emesa (now Homs, in Phoenicia, on the bank of the Orontes, in the coastal part of present-⁠day Syria) a denunciation was sent against the local bishop, Saint Silvanus. The hierarch, with the deacon Luke and the reader Mocius, bound, were brought before the judge. Convinced that they confessed Christ the true God, and did not honour the idols but reviled them, the governor was enraged. Unable to bend them to idolatry with flattering words, the judge scourged them and shut them in prison. The saints lay there long, until the governor summoned them a second time. He ordered them to be wasted with hunger and thirst, then condemned them to be given to the beasts to be torn. When the holy martyrs were brought to the place of execution and various beasts were let loose on them, the soldiers of Christ prayed that the Lord would send them their end there. Their prayer was heard, and the Lord received their holy souls. The beasts came near their venerable remains but did not touch them, and the Christians by night secretly took the relics of the holy martyrs and buried them, giving thanks to God. Mocius is commemorated on 11 February, in the new style.