Theodore, Mian, Julian and Kion

Saints Theodore, Mian, Julian and Kion of Candavle, near Nicomedia, martyrs, suffered for the Christian faith in the great persecution of Maximian, between 305 and 311. They are commemorated on 4 September.

The martyrs were from a village near Nicomedia, Candavle. According to their life, they were seized by order of the governor of Nicomedia. They refused to renounce Christ and for this were subjected to torments. First their bodies were scraped until the bones were seen, then they were put in a bath heated very hot, the doors of which were sealed with the imperial ring, so that they could not get out. An angel of God brought them out unharmed from the bath, with the doors sealed. The soldiers seized them and took them outside the city, to be put to death. Before death, at the martyrs' request, time was given for prayer. The martyrs' bodies were cut in pieces, their knees were crushed, then the bodies were burned in fire.

According to writings of the tenth century, the number of the martyrs is given differently: in the Menologion of Basil II there are four, and in the Synaxarion of the Church of Constantinople there are five. The fifth martyr is Centurion. In the calendars of the Russian Church the name of Centurion is absent, in the Greek ones it is included.