Holy Martyr Andrew Stratelates and the 2,593 Martyrs with Him — August 19 / September 1 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, August 19 according to the Julian Calendar (September 1 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Martyr Andrew Stratelates and the 2,593 martyrs who suffered with him.

The holy martyr Andrew Stratelates served in the Roman army during the reign of Emperor Maximian (284–305; 307–310). He had not yet received holy baptism, yet he placed his firm hope in Jesus Christ. For his courage, his victories, and his justice, Andrew was dearly loved by all. When a countless host of Persians crossed the borders of Syria, the governor Antiochus entrusted to him the command of the campaign against the invaders. Before the battle the saint addressed his small company of soldiers, declaring that the pagan gods are demons and that to hope for help from them is vain, and he preached to them Christ, the almighty Master of heaven and earth. Their spiritual eyes opened by the words of the Stratelates, the soldiers called upon the name of the Savior and charged the enemy. The small detachment inflicted a shameful defeat upon the innumerable Persian host and drove it from the land, and this campaign clothed the name of Saint Andrew in radiant glory.

Envious men then reported to the governor that Andrew was a Christian and had converted his detachment to Christianity. The saint was summoned to trial and handed over to torture. Afterwards the governor Antiochus cast him into prison together with his fellow soldiers and reported everything to Diocletian, for he himself did not dare to put the celebrated hero to death. The impious ruler, knowing how deeply the army loved Saint Andrew and fearing an uprising, ordered the martyrs released — intending that each be killed separately later, under various pretexts.

Coming out of prison, the confessors made their way to the city of Tarsus, where they were baptized by the local hierarch Peter and by Nonnus, Bishop of Beroea. The lambs of Christ then withdrew to a place called Taxanata. Antiochus wrote to Seleucus, ruler of the province of Cilicia, ordering him to overtake the soldiers, as though for having abandoned their battle standards, and to slay them all. The pursuers found Saint Andrew and his company encamped near the city of Tabr, in the region of Armenia — for by a revelation they knew that it was there that they were to meet their martyric end. Andrew called upon his soldiers not to fear death; he prayed for all who would honor their memory, and he entreated the Lord to bring forth a spring of healing water in the place where their blood would be shed. While he was still praying, the martyrs, offering no resistance to their attackers, were cut down by the sword († c. 302). In that very moment a healing spring burst forth from the earth. Bishops Peter and Nonnus, with their clergy, had secretly followed the path of blessed Andrew’s company, and to them the Lord granted the burial of the martyrs’ holy bodies.