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Holy Martyrs Philemon, Apollonius, Arianus and their companions 12/27/2013
During the reign of Diocletian, the Governor Arianus fiercely tortured the Christians in Egypt. He seized Apollonius and threatened him with tortures. Apollonius was frightened at the prospect of torments, so he paid a musician called Philemon to put on his clothes and sacrifice to the idols in his place. At the very moment Philemon had found himself before the idols, his heart was illumined by the light of the Christian faith and he made the sign of the Cross. Then he rushed out and exclaimed: “I am a Christian! I am a servant of the living God!” Hearing this, the Governor laughed, thinking that Philemon was mocking the Christians. But afterwards he put him to dreadful tortures. At that time rain fell from heaven and baptised him. At the end, both Philemon and Apollonius were beheaded at the order of the Governor Arianus. Not long after, the blind eye of Arianus was miraculously cured at the tomb of Philemon and he too confessed the faith of Christ. Diocletian condemned him to death, together with the four soldiers who had also confessed Christ, and he ended his life in martyrdom.
