The Martyrs of Eugenia

The Martyrs of Eugenia are many martyrs whose names remained unknown to the Church. In times of persecution the remains of the holy martyrs were usually buried by the faithful in hidden places. So at Constantinople, near the gate and tower called those of Eugenius, the bodies of a multitude of martyrs were buried. When wonderful healings began to take place at that spot, the relics of the saints were discovered and moved with great honour into a church. To a pious cleric, Nicholas the Calligrapher, it was revealed that among the relics found at Eugenia were those of the holy Apostle of the Seventy Andronicus and of his helper Junia, mentioned by the holy Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 16:7). In the twelfth century, on the place where the relics of the holy martyrs were found, the emperor Andronicus (1183-1185), whose heavenly patron was the holy Apostle Andronicus, built a magnificent church. They are commemorated on 7 March, a movable day.