{"id":5874,"date":"2022-01-21T10:57:31","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T10:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/?p=5874"},"modified":"2026-02-10T09:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T09:56:49","slug":"feasts-of-saint-cyriacus-and-julitta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/feasts-of-saint-cyriacus-and-julitta\/","title":{"rendered":"Feasts of Saint Cyriacus and Julitta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Feasts of Saint Cyriacus and Julitta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saint Cyriacus and Julitta his mother, and eleven thousand four hundred and thirty-four men in the days of Alexander, the governor became martyred on Tir 15. Julitta was a God-fearing woman from her youth, and hearing that a persecution had broken out, she took to flight through fear of the governor, and she came to the country of Terses, in Celicia, and she dwelt there. \u00a0The governor came into that city seeking for Christians, and the guards seized her and took her to the governor, and told him that she was a Christian.\u00a0 The governor, said unto her, \u201cOffer sacrifice to the gods.\u201d \u00a0She said unto him, \u201cI will not offer sacrifice to unclean gods, but only to my Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 The governor said unto her, \u201cO woman, tell me of what nation thou art, and where thy city is, and what thy name is.\u201d \u00a0Saint Julitta said unto him, \u201cAs for my nation (or, people) [my father was] Isawiros, the chief of the people of the city of Nikyos, I am a rich and noble woman, and my name is \u2018Julitta.\u2019 \u00a0Behold I am in thy power now, but assuredly I will not sacrifice to unclean [gods].\u201d\u00a0 The governor said unto her, \u201cOffer sacrifice so that thou may not die under severe torture.\u201d \u00a0She said unto him, \u201cIf you art pleased to do this, send men into the city, and let them search there for a boy three years old, and let them bring him to thee, and he shall tell us whom we are to serve and worship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor sent men to search for a boy three years old, and they found the boy Cyriacus, who was three years old, less three months. \u00a0They took him to the governor, saying, \u201cWe think that this boy will not fail to speak, for his is of Christian origin.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0When \u00a0the \u00a0governor \u00a0saw \u00a0that \u00a0the \u00a0boy \u00a0was \u00a0handsome, \u00a0and \u00a0of goodly appearance, he said unto him, \u201cO handsome boy, rejoice!\u201d \u00a0The boy said unto him, \u201cJoy is with me, but joy is not with thee. \u00a0God said, There is no joy for the wicked.\u201d The governor said unto him, \u201cWhat is thy name? \u00a0Tell me that thou may not die.\u201d \u00a0The boy said unto him, \u201cI am a Christian, and my baptismal name is Cyriacus.<\/p>\n

The governor said unto him, \u201cSacrifice to the gods, so that I may honor thee, and give thee money.\u201d \u00a0The boy said unto him, \u201cGet thee far from me, O messenger of Satan, and enemy of Righteousness.\u201d \u00a0When the governor heard this he became exceedingly angry, and he commanded the soldiers to carry him away and to beat him with fifty stripes; [and they did so] until his blood flowed like water.\u00a0 When Saint Julitta saw the endurance of her son she gave thanks to God. \u00a0Then the governor commanded them to bring salt and mustard, and to open the nostrils of the boy and thrust these things into them. \u00a0Then the boy cried out and said, \u201cThy word is sweeter to my throat than honey and sugar, \u00a0yea, \u00a0sweet \u00a0to \u00a0my \u00a0mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor then commanded \u00a0them\u00a0 to \u00a0bring fourteen sharp, red-hot rods, and to thrust seven of them into the body of his mother, and seven into the body of Cyriacus, two in his ears, two in his eyes, two in his nostrils and one in his heart; but by the Will of God the fire was extinguished and the rods became like frozen snow. \u00a0Then the governor commanded them to shut him up in the prison house and to be bound with fetters. \u00a0As Cyriacus was praying there, Satan came unto him in the form of an angel to lead him astray; but when the boy made the sign of the Cross over him Satan disappeared like smoke.<\/p>\n

Then the governor commanded a blacksmith to make terrifying instruments of torture wherewith to torture the boy and his mother. \u00a0When Satan knew that Cyriacus was eager to receive the crown [of martyrdom], he entered into the heart\u00a0 of\u00a0 the governor\u00a0 and\u00a0 made\u00a0 him dumb. \u00a0Then the boy said unto the blacksmith, \u201cCouldst thou make for me some instruments of torture which are more hurtful than those wherewith they have been torturing me?\u201d \u00a0The blacksmith said unto him, \u201cI can.\u201d\u00a0 The boy said, \u201cMake me two knives as sharp as razors, each a cubit long, and make me instruments to break the head, and twist the neck, and pierce the ears, and [separate] the members, and scrape the sides; and [make me] a brass crusher, and an instrument for pulling out the sinews and muscles; and make me three pointed stakes, as long as I am high, and write on them, saying, \u2018The Holy Trinity, which is neither divided nor separated from those who call upon it.\u2019 Make me an instrument for twisting [the neck], and a saw, and a frying-pan, and a cauldron, and a wheel, and a roller, and a bender of the neck; and an iron hook wherewith to draw out what is in the belly.\u00a0 These are the instruments wherewith I would be tortured.\u201d\u00a0 When the blacksmith heard these things he marveled, and was silent, and he and his disciples, the blacksmiths of the city, finished them in forty days.<\/p>\n

The governor commanded his servants to shave the head of Cyriacus with a razor, and to pour red-hot coals upon it, and they did so.\u00a0 They drove four rods through his shoulders and straight down his body, to the soles of his feet. The angel of God came and removed from him the pains of the tortures. \u00a0They also cast him into a [boiling] cauldron and kept him there from dawn to the seventh hour, but they were unable to cause him pain; and then our Lord appeared unto him, and comforted him. \u00a0The governor said unto the boy, \u201cIf thou wouldst perform a miracle take up my sandal, and make it to live.\u201d\u00a0 When the boy had prayed, the sandal turned into a great bull, out of the neck of which went forth a kid, and they killed it, and eleven thousand and four men ate of it. \u00a0The governor was wroth, and he ordered the soldiers to cut out the boy\u2019s tongue, [and they did so] and brought back to him the tongue. \u00a0The governor commanded them to bring a red-hot cauldron and to cast him into it; and when Julitta saw this she was afraid. \u00a0Her son prayed, and God gave him divine power to such a degree that she and her son went into it and came out there from alive and uninjured.<\/p>\n

The governor also commanded the soldiers to cast them into a machine, and to drag them about with ropes so that the flesh might be torn off their bodies, [and they did so], until the angel of God came and delivered them. \u00a0When the governor found that he was unable [to vanquish] them, he commanded the soldiers to cut off their heads with the sword.\u00a0 Our Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven, and said unto the boy, \u201c[Tell me] the things which ye wish for.\u201d \u00a0Cyriacus said unto Him, \u201cLet not my body be buried on earth.\u00a0 whosoever shall call upon my name, or celebrate my commemoration, or build a martyrium for me, or write the book of my strife, or read it, or bring an offering into my church, or shall pray therein, grant such their desires and forgive them their sins.\u201d \u00a0Our Redeemer said unto him, \u201cEverything which thou hast asked of Me I will give thee, and thou shall be with Me on My right hand, and I will set thy body in the chariot of Elijah.\u201d When the boy heard this he rejoiced greatly, and he gave thanks to God and was crowned with his mother during the night, and our Redeemer crowned him with incorruptible crowns, and took his soul up with Him, in glory which is indescribable and inexplicable.<\/p>\n

May their intercession be with us, Amen!<\/p>\n

Source: The Ethiopian Synaxarium page 286-288<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saint Cyriacus and Julitta his mother, and eleven thousand four hundred and thirty-four men in the days of Alexander, the governor became martyred on Tir 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feasts","category-holy-scriptures"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5874"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9419,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5874\/revisions\/9419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}