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Martyr Leontius, and with him Martyrs Hypatius and Theodoulos, at Tripoli in Syria
73
An honored Roman commander in Tripoli of Phoenicia, he was described as being ‘of great physical stature, powerful, strong and bold in battle’. When it was learned that he was a Christian and had given grain to the poor from the imperial storehouse, the governor Hadrian, a great persecutor of Christians, sent Hypatius, a military commander, and Theodoulus, a soldier, along with some others to arrest him. On the way Hypatius fell gravely ill with a fever, and the company had to delay its mission. One night an angel of the Lord appeared to Hypatius and said, ‘If you desire to be healed, you and your soldiers must cry to heaven three times: “O God of Leontius, help me!”’. Hypatius told his comrades of his vision, and when they all cried out as instructed Hypatius was instantly healed. Hypatius and Theodoulos then went on ahead of the other soldiers and found Leontius. Leontius received them hospitably and offered them refreshment. As they rested in his house, he proclaimed his faith in Christ and their hearts began to burn within them. While Leontius was still speaking, a bright cloud descended upon the two soldiers and shed dew on them while Leontius said ‘In the name of the All-holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’ Thus were they baptized by the Holy Spirit Himself.
When the cruel Hadrian discovered this, he had the two soldiers beaten fiercely, then beheaded; he then subjected Leontius to the cruelest tortures, under which he finally died, unwavering in his faith. This was during the reign of Vespasian.
Holy Hieromartyr Erasmus of Hermopolis
The Hieromartyr Erasmus, sometimes known as Elmo, was bishop of Formia in Italy according to the Latin tradition and is honoured among the Orthodox as bishop of Hermopolis or simply as the holy hieromartyr Erasmus. During the persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian he was hunted for his confession of Christ and withdrew for a time to Mount Lebanon, where an angel was said to have fed him in his solitude. Brought before the emperors, he was beaten, scourged, smeared with pitch and set alight, but each time the prayers of the saint and the help of an angel preserved him. Cast into prison and weighted with chains, he was delivered by an angel and brought safely to Campania, where he continued to preach the gospel and convert many to Christ. He fell asleep in peace around the year 303, having endured numerous tortures for the Lord. He is venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, particularly invoked by sailors against the perils of the storm.
Holy Martyr Leontius and his companions Hypatius and Theodulus
The Holy Martyrs Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus were Roman soldiers who suffered for Christ at Tripoli in Phoenicia during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian, around the year 73. Leontius, a Greek by birth, served as military commander in the imperial army stationed in Tripoli. A man of extraordinary stature and bravery, he was also a Christian, and used his position to feed the poor from the imperial granaries. When the governor of Phoenicia, Hadrian, learned of this, he despatched the tribune Hypatius with the soldier Theodulus to arrest him. Along the way Hypatius fell gravely ill, and an angel appeared to him in a dream commanding him to call upon the God of Leontius. Hypatius told his dream to Theodulus, and together they prayed and were healed. When at last they reached Leontius, who received them with hospitality, all three were enlightened by the Holy Spirit and confessed Christ openly. Hypatius was placed under a column and torn with iron claws, Theodulus was beaten with rods, and both were beheaded. Leontius was suspended head downward with a great stone tied to his neck and beaten with rods until he gave up his soul to God.
Saints Eithne and Sodhealbh
Saints Eithne and Sodhealbh, also written Sodelb, were two virgin saints of sixth-century Ireland whose memory has been preserved in the early martyrologies of the Irish Church. According to the Genealogies of the Saints of Ireland they were daughters of Cairbre, king of Leinster, son of Cormac, and sisters of one Cumania. Their floruit is dated to the middle of the sixth century, on the basis of their father's death recorded in 546. The two sisters founded a hermitage and church near Swords in the plain of Brega, in the barony of Nethercross in modern County Dublin, called Tech ingen mBóiti, the House of the daughters of Baite. They are remembered for the miracle by which they nurtured the infant Christ in a vision, an act of piety much celebrated by the Irish hagiographers. Their commemoration is preserved in the Félire of Saint Oengus the Culdee on the eighteenth of June, and they are honoured among the saints of pre-schism Ireland.