On this day, June 22 according to the Julian Calendar (July 5 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Hieromartyr Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata (380).
The Hieromartyr Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, steadfastly defended the Symbol of Faith adopted at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325, for which reason the Arians persecuted him with fierce hatred. They drove the holy hierarch from his see many times and sent him into exile.
When the Orthodox Emperor Theodosius the Great (379–395) came to power, Saint Eusebius returned to his diocese and set about strengthening Orthodoxy. He traveled from city to city, restoring the faithful to the true faith and ordaining Orthodox clergy. During one such journey, as he was passing through the town of Doliche in Syria, an Arian woman hurled a roof tile at him from above. The saint fell to the ground mortally wounded. Before he died, he asked those around him not to take any revenge on the woman who had struck him, saying: “You know not what you do.” He died with these words on his lips, conforming himself in his last moments to the Savior’s prayer for those who crucified Him.
His holy relics were transferred to Samosata, and a large number of the faithful accompanied them on the journey. The holy bishop was buried with great honor.
May the intercessions of Hieromartyr Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, be with us all.