Holy Martyr Eleutherius (4th century) — August 4 / August 17 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, August 4 according to the Julian Calendar (August 17 on the civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Martyr Eleutherius.

The Holy Martyr Eleutherius was one of the closest servants of the emperor Maximian Herculius (284–305; 307–310). After his conversion to Christianity he withdrew from the imperial court, secluded himself on his estate outside the city, and set up a church in his house, explaining his absence from the palace as illness. One of the servants informed the emperor that Eleutherius had become a Christian. The enraged autocrat commanded the blessed one to offer sacrifice to the idols; when the martyr answered with a firm refusal, he was beheaded. The incorrupt relics of Saint Eleutherius were preserved in Constantinople and were later translated to the city of Chieti in Italy.