On this day, June 5 according to the Julian Calendar (June 18 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Hieromartyr Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre (reposed c. 362).
The holy Hieromartyr Dorotheus was Bishop of Tyre during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284–305). Heeding the Gospel counsel, “When they persecute you in one city, flee to another” (Matthew 10:23), he departed Tyre and escaped the persecutors. When Constantine the Great (306–337, commemorated May 21) came to reign, Dorotheus returned to his episcopal see and faithfully governed his flock for more than fifty years.
When the persecutions against Christians were renewed under the apostate Julian (361–363), the holy Dorotheus was already more than one hundred years old. Once again he departed Tyre and hastened to the city of Udum (present-day Varna) in Mysia. There he was seized by the emperor’s servants, who demanded that he offer sacrifice to idols. The holy man refused. The persecutors then attempted to break the aged confessor by torturing him. The holy martyr died from his wounds during his torments, reposing around the year 362.
May the intercessions of the Holy Hieromartyr Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre, be with us all.