Holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus
He was born in the Asia Minor province of Cilicia. He was the son of a pagan senator, but his mother was a Christian. After the death of her husband the mother of Saint Julian moved to Tarsus, where her son was baptized and raised in Christian piety.
When Julian reached the age of 18, persecution against Christians began under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Among those arrested was Saint Julian. They brought him before the governor Marcian for trial, and for a long time they urged him to renounce Christ.
Neither tortures nor threats, nor promises of gifts and honours could convince the pious youth to offer pagan sacrifice and deny Christ. The holy confessor remained steadfast in his firm faith.
For a whole year, they led the martyr through the cities of Cilicia, everywhere subjecting him to interrogation and torture, after which they threw him in prison. Saint Julian’s mother followed after her son and prayed that the Lord would strengthen him.
In the city of Aegea, she besought the governor to permit her to visit the prison, ostensibly to persuade her son to offer sacrifice to idols. She spent three days in prison with Saint Julian, exhorting him to be strong until the end.
Saint Julian was again brought to stand before the governor. Thinking that the mother had persuaded her son to submit to the imperial decree, the governor began to praise her prudence. But suddenly she boldly confessed Jesus Christ and even more fearlessly and boldly denounced polytheism.
The governor then gave orders to cut off her feet, since she had accompanied her son from Tarsus. They tied the Martyr Julian into a sack, filled with sand and poisonous snakes, and threw it into the sea.
The body of the sufferer was carried by the waves to the shores of Alexandria, and with reverence was buried by a certain pious Christian. The martyr’s death occurred in about the year 305.
Afterwards, his relics were transferred to Antioch. Saint John Chrysostom honoured the holy Martyr Julian with an encomium.
Troparion — Tone 4
Your holy martyr Julian, O Lord, / through his suffering has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God. / For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through his intercessions save our souls!
Holy Martyr Aphrodisios of Cilicia
Saint Aphrodisios was from the land of Cilicia, who was taught to revere Christ from his ancestors. Arrested as a Christian, he was brought before the governor Dionysios, and confessed Christ as the true God.
For this he was burned with heated iron on his back, then put in a cauldron full of boiling lead. Afterward he was suspended upside down. Because he was kept unharmed by divine grace, a lion appeared in the theater which was set loose upon the Saint, that harmed him in no way, but instead spoke with him in a human voice, rebuking the harshness of the Greeks. Because of this miracle, many came to believe in Christ, whom they boldly confessed, for which reason they were beheaded, and thus ascended victoriously into the heavens.
When the tyrant saw this, he ordered for a rock to be split, for the Saint to be placed in the middle, and for the other half of the rock to be put on top of him. It took fifty-five soldiers to carry this out. Thus the Saint immediately delivered his soul into the hands of God, and received from Him the crown of martyrdom.
Tr by oca.org; johnsanidopoulos.com
