Today the Church honors the memory of the Holy Martyr Eudocia, St. Domnina and St. Synesius, who asceticized in the Lysian community of Mesaoria, and the Great Martyr Paraskea of Trebizond on the Pontus.
Agia Eudocia was born in Heliopolis, Phoenicia, during the reign of Emperor Trajan. She spent the first years of her life trapped in sin and the decay of her psychosomatic personality.
But the grace of God allowed a change to take place in her soul. After severe trials, guilty of a serious illness, she left her hometown only to return a year later, regretting her former life.
She was baptized by Bishop Theodotus, donated all her property to the charitable cause of the Church, and led an ascetic life until she was arrested and brought before King Aurelian, on trial for her unwavering faith.
But she managed to resurrect the king's dead child with her prayer and attracted him to Christianity.
Later she was brought to the governor Diogenes, who released her after God again performed a miracle because of her holiness. Finally, he was beheaded out of love for Christ, thus receiving the crown of martyrdom.
The Holy Great Martyr Paraskeva came from Trebizond. He was a prominent ruler of the Black Sea capital. The Turks forced him to confess faith in Christ to gain an opportunity to torture him and finally hanged him on March 1, 1659. After the devout Christians of Trebizond saw that Paraskeva had grown cold, they buried them with honors in the Holy Church of St. Gregory of Nyssa.
Years later they collected his holy relics. They kept them in the magnificent altar of the Holy Church of Panagia tis Theoskepasti in Trebizond.
Faith, humility and prayer become a magnet for the grace of God in the faces of men and women who repent and fervently seek return and salvation in Christ. Saints Eudocia, Domninius and Synesius, as well as the Great Martyr Paraskeva, who are venerated today, remind us of this.
Agia Eudocia was born in Heliopolis, Phoenicia, during the reign of Emperor Trajan. She spent the first years of her life trapped in sin and the decay of her psychosomatic personality.
But the grace of God allowed a change to take place in her soul. After severe trials, guilty of a serious illness, she left her hometown only to return a year later, regretting her former life.
She was baptized by Bishop Theodotus, donated all her property to the charitable cause of the Church, and led an ascetic life until she was arrested and brought before King Aurelian, on trial for her unwavering faith.
But she managed to resurrect the king's dead child with her prayer and attracted him to Christianity.
Later she was brought to the governor Diogenes, who released her after God again performed a miracle because of her holiness. Finally, he was beheaded out of love for Christ, thus receiving the crown of martyrdom.
The Holy Great Martyr Paraskeva came from Trebizond. He was a prominent ruler of the Black Sea capital. The Turks forced him to confess faith in Christ to gain an opportunity to torture him and finally hanged him on March 1, 1659. After the devout Christians of Trebizond saw that Paraskeva had grown cold, they buried them with honors in the Holy Church of St. Gregory of Nyssa.
Years later they collected his holy relics. They kept them in the magnificent altar of the Holy Church of Panagia tis Theoskepasti in Trebizond.
Faith, humility and prayer become a magnet for the grace of God in the faces of men and women who repent and fervently seek return and salvation in Christ. Saints Eudocia, Domninius and Synesius, as well as the Great Martyr Paraskeva, who are venerated today, remind us of this.
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