Theodoritus of Antioch

Holy Hieromartyr Theodoritus of Antioch, a priest, was a presbyter and keeper of the sacred vessels in the great church of Antioch. This church had been built and richly adorned by the Emperor Constantine the Great, equal to the apostles (306 to 337, commemorated on 21 May), and his son Constantius, and the people called it the "Golden Church."

After the death of Constantius (337 to 361), Julian the Apostate (361 to 363) resolved to restore paganism throughout the Roman Empire. He appointed his uncle, also called Julian, governor of Antioch, ordering him to close the Christian churches and send the treasures taken from them to the imperial treasury. Wishing to please the emperor, the governor, himself fallen away from the Christian faith, set zealously to the lawless task. Arriving in Antioch with the official Felix, he ordered the presbyter Theodoritus imprisoned and began the plunder, defiling the altar and the Holy Table. One of those present, Eusoios, tried to shame the lawless man, but was beaten. Julian accused Saint Theodoritus of hiding the church's treasures, but the honest keeper of the vessels refuted the charges and openly rebuked Julian for his apostasy.

In spite of cruel tortures, the holy martyr defended to the end the faith in Christ the Saviour, and foretold to Julian and the emperor a speedy death for their sacrilege. The soldiers who tortured the faithful presbyter, astonished at his steadfastness and patience and strengthened by the power of the Word of God, turned to the faith of Christ, and for this they were drowned in the sea. The confessor himself was beheaded. The mockery and blasphemy against the holy things did not go unpunished: the prediction of Saint Theodoritus soon came true, for the governor Julian died in torments of a grave illness, and the emperor Julian perished on the campaign against the Persians. Theodoritus is commemorated on 21 March (new style). His story was also written down by Saint Demetrius of Rostov.