Venerable Martyr Lucian, Presbyter of Antioch (†312) – October 15 / October 28 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, October 15 according to the Julian Calendar (October 28 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates Venerable Martyr Lucian, Presbyter of Antioch.

Venerable Martyr Lucian, presbyter of Antioch, was born in the Syrian city of Samosata. He was twelve years old when he was orphaned. The blessed one then distributed all his possessions to the poor and went to the city of Edessa, where under the guidance of Macarius the Confessor he diligently studied Holy Scripture and the ascetic life. For his piety and his zealous preaching of Christianity among Jews and pagans, Lucian was ordained a presbyter.

In Antioch he opened a school, gathered many disciples, and trained them in the word of God. The saint rendered a special service to the Church by correcting the text of Holy Scripture, which had been corrupted by copyists and heretics. (The complete Greek text of the Bible established by Lucian, which was walled up during the time of his confession, was discovered in the reign of Constantine the Great.) When Diocletian (284–305) began the persecution of the Orthodox faithful, the venerable father was seized and sent to prison in Nicomedia, where he was confined for nine years. Tormented by many tortures and by hunger, he died there.

Before his death, on the feast of Theophany, the holy martyr, bound in chains to his bed, celebrated the Divine Liturgy upon his own breast, received Communion, and gave the Body and Blood of Christ to the faithful who were present. His body was thrown into the sea, but after thirty days dolphins carried it to the shore. The faithful reverently committed the holy relics to the earth. Originally Saint Lucian was commemorated on the day of his repose, January 7, but later, in connection with the Synaxis of John the Baptist, his commemoration was moved to October 15.