Thespesius of Cappadocia

Saint Thespesius, martyr, was born in Cappadocia and died a martyr in the time of the emperor Severus Alexander, according to tradition on 1 June 230. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on 1 June. His name, which is Greek, means “the Wondrous One.”

Because he confessed faith in Christ, the imperial governor of Cappadocia compelled him to offer sacrifice to the idols. He refused and confessed Jesus Christ, exposing the emptiness of the idols the pagans worshipped. For this he was tortured, then thrown into a furnace glowing with fire, but he remained unharmed.

They then led him into a pagan temple, before the altar, and he, calling on the name of Jesus Christ, brought the altar down. They then threw him into a cauldron of boiling pitch, oil and vinegar, where he remained for two days, enduring everything without any burn or wound on his body. Many pagans were drawn to Christianity by this. At last they led him outside the city and cut off his head.