Silvanus of Emesa

Holy Hieromartyr Silvanus of Emesa was bishop of Emesa and suffered with the deacon Luke and the reader Mocius in the time of Emperor Numerian.

In the time of Emperor Numerian there was a great persecution of Christians. A denunciation against the local bishop, Silvanus, reached the governor of Emesa, and the saint stood bound before the judge, together with the deacon Luke and the reader Mocius. Learning that they confessed Christ the true God, did not honour the idols and reviled them, the governor was enraged. Unable to draw them to worship the idols with smooth words, he subjected them to scourging and shut them in prison, where they were held long, until he summoned them a second time. He ordered them to be tormented with hunger and thirst, and then condemned them to be given to wild beasts. When the holy martyrs were led to the place of execution and various beasts were loosed upon them, the soldiers of Christ prayed that the Lord would grant them their end there. Their prayer was heard and the Lord received their holy souls; the beasts approached their honoured remains but did not touch them, and the Christians took the relics of the holy martyrs by night in secret and buried them, giving thanks to God.

The saint is commemorated on 11 February, in the new style, in the account of Saint Demetrius of Rostov.