Holy Martyrs Eulampius and Eulampia (†303–311) — October 10 / October 23 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, October 10 according to the Julian Calendar (October 23 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Martyrs Eulampius and Eulampia.

The holy martyrs Eulampius and Eulampia were brother and sister who lived in the city of Nicomedia in the fourth century. When the Emperor Maximian (284–305; 307–310) issued a decree that all Christians were to be put to death, Eulampius publicly denounced the ruler, who, instead of making war on the enemies of his country, had declared war on his own subjects. For this the blessed one was seized, brought before the tribunal, and ordered to renounce Christ.

When he answered with a firm refusal, the godless first tortured the holy confessor cruelly with iron instruments and then laid him on a red-hot iron bed. Suddenly the martyr asked to be taken to the pagan temple. The judges rejoiced, thinking that the firmness of the saint’s spirit had been shaken. But upon entering the shrine of Mars, Eulampius rebuked the idol: “Mute and lifeless idol, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command you to turn to dust!” The idol fell from its pedestal and was shattered. The astonished people cried out: “One is the God of the Christians, great and mighty!”

At that moment the holy martyr’s sister, Eulampia, also came before the judges and declared that she too was a Christian. Eulampius encouraged the blessed one: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). After tortures, the chosen ones of the Lord were cast into a heated furnace, yet they remained unharmed. In the end the brother was beheaded, while the sister gave up her soul under torture.

This took place in the year 303, or according to other accounts, in 311.