Tunom

Holy Martyr Tunom was an emir, that is, a Turkish official, and he received the crown of martyrdom in Jerusalem in the second half of the sixteenth century, according to tradition in the year 1579.

The miracle of the Holy Light

On Great Saturday of that year, the Armenians bribed the Turkish governor and obtained an order forbidding the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Sophronius IV to enter the Church of the Resurrection for the service of the Holy Light. The guards locked the door, and the patriarch, with his clergy and the faithful, stayed outside in prayer. Despite the efforts of the Armenian patriarch, the Light did not come within. It came out by passing through a column, which is still seen cracked and blackened, and it lit the candles held in the hand of the Orthodox patriarch. He then gave the Light to the faithful in the courtyard, and the Armenian left in shame.

Martyrdom

The miracle was seen by the emir Tunom, who was then guarding the door. He believed and became a Christian. The Turks killed him so that what had happened would not be known. According to another version, he cried out to those present that this was the true faith, and the Turks burned him alive for changing his religion. Learning of the miracle, the sultan issued a firman recognising the exclusive right of the Greek Orthodox patriarch to receive the Holy Light.

The sources do not give the exact year, but they mention Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem and the sultan Murad III (1574-1595). A reckoning that sets the contemporary patriarchs and the sultan side by side leads to the year 1579. The saint's bones are kept at the Monastery of the Great Panagia in Jerusalem. He is commemorated on 18 April, according to the calendar of the Church of Greece (new style).