Olympius the Persian

Holy Martyr Olympius the Persian was a Christian Persian, put to the sword in the time of the emperor Decius (249-251), together with Maximus.

The Holy Hieromartyr Polychronius, bishop of Babylon, the presbyters Parmenius, Helimenas and Chrysotelus, the deacons Luke and Mucius, the Holy Martyrs Abdon and Sennen, Persian princes, and the Holy Martyrs Olympius and Maximus suffered in the third century, in the persecution of Decius. After defeating the Persians and taking their country, Decius found there many Christians and began to persecute them. The bishop Polychronius, his presbyters and the two deacons were brought to the emperor, who ordered them to sacrifice to idols. Polychronius answered boldly that they offered themselves in sacrifice to their Lord Jesus Christ, and to idols made by human hands they would never bow, and was thrown into prison. At the second examination he was silent. Parmenius said that the bishop was not struck dumb, but did not wish to defile his pure lips and cast pearls before swine; Decius ordered his tongue cut out, but he said clearly to Polychronius: "Pray for me, father, I see the Holy Spirit upon you." The holy bishop was struck on the mouth with a stone and gave up his soul, looking toward heaven. The body lay before the temple of Saturn, and in the night two Persian princes, Abdon and Sennen, secret Christians, buried it by the wall of the city. Then, in the city of Cordula, Parmenius, though without a tongue, answered loudly and firmly for all with a refusal. Decius, thinking that he spoke by magic, ordered them burned, but a voice was heard from heaven: "Come to Me, you who are humble in heart", and he ordered their heads cut off. Abdon and Sennen, who had stolen their bodies and buried them in their village, were brought to the emperor and imprisoned; at this they rejoiced.

On the same day two other Persians, Olympius and Maximus, were brought to Decius as Christians. For their bold confession of faith in Christ, after cruel torments, the martyrs were put to the sword. Five days their bodies lay unburied, and on the sixth day Christians buried them secretly, at night, with honour. Abdon and Sennen, led in chains to Rome, were compelled by Decius to sacrifice to the gods, but they answered that they sacrificed only to their God. They were given to wild beasts, which did not touch them, and then put to the sword, in 251. Their relics are in the church of Saint Mark in Rome.

Their memory is kept on 12 August, in the new style. Their sufferings were written down by Saint Demetrius of Rostov.