Saint Greatmartyr Procopius of Caesarea, in Palestine
Commemorated on July 8 Troparion & KontakionOrthodox Church in America Ελληνικά για τον άγιο στην ανάρτησή μας Το στρουμφάκι Προκόπης και ο άγιος ΠροκόπιοςThe Holy Great Martyr Procopius, in the world Neanius, a
native of Jerusalem, lived and suffered during the reign of the emperor
Diocletian (284-305). His father, an eminent Roman by the name of
Christopher, was a Christian, but the mother of the saint, Theodosia,
remained a pagan. He was early deprived of his father, and the young
child was raised by his mother. Having received an excellent secular
education, he was introduced to Diocletian in the very first year of the
emperor’s accession to the throne, and he quickly advanced in
government service. Towards the year 303, when open persecution against
Christians began, Neanius was sent as a proconsul to Alexandria with
orders to mercilessly persecute the Church of God.On the way to
Egypt, near the Syrian city of Apamea, Neanius had a vision of the Lord
Jesus, similar to the vision of Saul on the road to Damascus. A divine
voice exclaimed, “Neanius, why do you persecute Me?” Neanius asked, “Who are you, Lord?”“I am the crucified Jesus, the Son of God.”At
that moment a radiant Cross appeared in the air. Neanius felt an
inexpressible joy and spiritual happiness in his heart and he was
transformed from being a persecutor into a zealous follower of Christ.
From this point in time Neanius became favorably disposed towards
Christians and fought victoriously against the barbarians. The
words of the Savior came true for the saint, “A man’s foes shall be
those of his own household” (Mt. 10:36). His mother, a pagan herself,
went to the emperor to complain that her son did not worship the
ancestral gods. Neanius was summoned to the procurator Judaeus Justus,
where he was solemnly handed the decree of Diocletian. Having read
through the blasphemous directive, Neanius quietly tore it up before the
eyes of everyone. This was a crime, which the Romans regarded as an
“insult to authority.” Neanius was held under guard and in chains sent
to Caesarea of Palestine, where the Apostle Paul once languished. After
terrible torments, they threw the saint into a dark prison. That night, a
light shone in the prison, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself baptized
the suffering confessor, and gave him the name Procopius.Repeatedly
they led Saint Procopius to the courtroom, demanding that he renounce
Christ, and they subjected him to more tortures. The stolidity of the
martyr and his fiery faith brought down God’s abundant grace on those
who witnessed the execution.
Inspired by the example of Procopius,
many of the holy martyr’s former guards and Roman soldiers went beneath
the executioner’s sword together with their tribunes Nikostrates and
Antiochus. Twelve Christian women received martyr’s crowns, after they
came to the gates of the Caesarea Praetorium. Struck by the great
faith and courage of the Christians, and seeing the firmness of her son
in bearing terrible sufferings, Theodosia became repentant and stood in
the line of confessors and was executed. Finally the new procurator,
Flavian, convinced of the futility of the tortures, sentenced the holy
Great Martyr Procopius to beheading by the sword. By night Christians
took up his much-tortured body, and with tears and prayers, they
committed it to the earth. This was the first martyrdom at Caesarea
(303). See also Three girls of July...Saint Paisios of Athos in the Youth Culture of Grece... Elder Sophrony Sakharov († July 11, 1993)
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