On May 31, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Martyr Theodotus of Ancyra and the Seven Virgin-Martyrs Alexandra, Thecusa, Claudia, Phaine, Euphrasia, Matrona and Julia (†303).
In the second half of the third century, St. Theodotus and the seven virgins, whose names are Thecusa, Alexandra, Claudia, Phaine, Euphrasia, Matrona and Julia, lived in the city of Ancyra.
St. Theodotus was an innkeeper in Ancyra and was married. He was famous for his kindness and mercy. The saint sheltered Christians, who were persecuted by Emperor Diocletian (284–305), in his house. St. Theodotus fed and clothed them, treating their wounds and illnesses. He would often tell his wife:
“Prepare the basement of our house—there will be a service there tonight.”
At St. Theodotus’ inn, Priest Phrontonos would celebrate the Divine Liturgy at night. St. Theodotus often spent time in prayer, reading the Holy Scriptures and Patristic works. He would visit the prisons of Ancyra, where he met with Christians, whom he strengthened in patience. He tried to buy the weakest of them from the guards. In prisons, he also met with pagans, many of whom, through the saint’s efforts, converted to the Christian faith.
“Think about it seriously, brother,” he would say to a pagan. “Now you are suffering, but your earthly troubles are nothing, because the Heavenly Kingdom, the Lord awaits you.”
And St. Theodotus would tell the person about the Christian faith. Both Jews and pagans became Orthodox after speaking with the saint. For his righteous labors, the Lord endowed St. Theodotus with the gift of healing. He healed the sick by prayer and the laying on of his hands.
In Ancyra, as elsewhere in the pagan lands, Christians were thrown to wild beasts and executed by beheading. St. Theodotus spent whole nights collecting the bodies of Christians who had been killed or torn to pieces, burying the martyrs secretly.
Soon the ruler of Ancyra was succeeded by a new and even crueler one—Theoteknos. He immediately announced that on the assigned day all the inhabitants of the city must come and offer sacrifices to the pagan gods, and those who refuse would be executed. After this decree, many Christians fled from the city, abandoning their homes, livestock and possessions. The pagans were triumphant; they seized defenseless Christians and took them to be tortured by the ruler Theoteknos. The pagans would seize all the Christians’ household goods and belongings.
During those tragic days, St. Theodotus gave refuge to all the persecuted Christians in his house and inn, fed them, and gave money to the soldier-guards who were on the trail of the hiding Christians, in order to save their lives. He visited the prisons fearlessly and encouraged condemned Christians to be faithful to the Lord to the end.
At that time the Divine Liturgy was only celebrated in the basement of St. Theodotus’ inn. He understood that he, too, would be martyred for his faith soon, and he told Priest Phrontonos:
“I feel that the days of my life are nearing their end. Like other Christians, I will be put to death. So, Father Phrontonos, please lay my body in this place.”
And St. Theodotus showed the priest the place he had chosen for the burial of his body.
At that time, seven pious virgins lived in Ancyra. The eldest of them, Thecusa, was St. Theodotus’ aunt. She and the other virgins—Alexandra, Claudia, Phaine, Euphrasia, Matrona and Julia—wholly devoted their lives to God, spending time in prayer and charitable acts. Thus they reached old age. But their advanced age did not save them from suffering. As Christians, the virgins were brought to trial before the ruler Theoteknos.
“We are Christians, and we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ,” the virgins replied.
The ruler ordered dissolute youths to defile the maidens. The old Thecusa, coming out in front of her sisters in Christ, bowed to these young men and pulled off the veil from her head to show everyone her gray, snow-white hair. The villains came to their senses and left.
Seeing that the young men who had been sent had not fulfilled their task, the ruler ordered the virgins:
“You must take part in the festival of the washing of the gods. Unless you do it, you will be put to death.”
The Holy Virgins replied:
“We will not do that. This is not a God, but a mere idol.”
Then the ruler ordered the martyrs to be taken after ornate chariots, on which idols were taken to a nearby lake to the noise of pagan songs.
On the bank of the lake, Theoteknos attempted several more times to convince the maidens to obey him, but they rejected all persuasions and threats.
Glaring angrily, the ruler Theoteknos yelled out:
“Let them be executed!”
The guards seized the virgins, brought them to the lake, and tied heavy stones around the sufferers’ necks. Then they were all drowned in the lake. Before falling in, each of them managed to pronounce:
“Into Thy hands, O Lord, do I commend my spirit.”
The next night St. Thecusa came to St. Theodotus in a dream and asked him to retrieve her body and the bodies of the other martyrs from the lake and bury them in a Christian manner.
St. Theodotus with his friend Polychronius went to the lake, accompanied by several other Christians. The night was very dark, so it was difficult to figure out where they should look for the bodies of the holy virgins. It was also hard to carry out this task because of the guards that Theoteknos had left on the bank of the lake, knowing that Christians would come to take the martyrs’ bodies.
Help came from above: The holy Martyr Sosander suddenly appeared in front of the pagan guards. Seeing him safe and sound, the guards shouted:
“Look, he is alive! Although we have executed him! A dead man has risen!”
And the horrified guards scattered.
At that moment, another miracle occurred: a strong wind rose, and the waves drove the water of the lake to the other bank, uncovering the bodies of the holy martyrs.
St. Theodotus and his companions took them and buried them beside the church.
The next morning, the ruler was informed of what had happened at the lake. He flew into a rage and commanded:
“Catch all the remaining Christians of Ancyra and put them to death quickly!”
On learning that St. Theodotus had buried the holy virgins, the ruler ordered him to be caught.
Meanwhile, St. Theodotus was already preparing for death. Together with several Christians, he was praying to the Lord when the soldiers of Theoteknos appeared on the threshold of his inn.
St. Theodotus was brought to trial. The judge said:
“Now you will see various instruments of torture and know what awaits you unless you renounce your faith in Jesus Christ.”
The saint said firmly:
“I will endure any torture in the name of the Lord with prayer and gratitude, and I will lay down my life for Him.”
St. Theodotus was subjected to various tortures, but he was supported by the power of God. When, according to all indicators he should have died, he survived. He even had the strength to walk to the prison unaided, where the executioners had decided to place him for the night. Perhaps they hoped that St. Theodotus would die of his wounds that same night.
The next morning the guards brought the martyr to the ruler. St. Theodotus again refused to worship the pagan gods. The ruler commanded to torture him again. It seemed that there would be no end to these sufferings. But it was not St. Theodotus who gave in, but the ruler Theoteknos, who said:
“This man’s courage cannot be broken. Cut off his head!”
The Martyr Theodotus of Ancyra
The order was carried out, and St. Theodotus surrendered his soul to the Lord. To prevent the Christians from taking the martyr’s body and burying it, the guards started collecting firewood and lighting a fire: they resolved to burn the body of St. Theodotus. But all of a sudden a strong wind rose, which was more like a storm. The people gathered for the execution scattered everywhere instantly. The soldiers hid in a tent that was fluttering in the wind, ready to collapse at any minute. However, they received a strict order: “Guard the body of the Christian!”
At that moment, Priest Phrontonos appeared. Overcoming gusts of strong wind, he struggled to get from his vineyard to his house, leading a donkey. Suddenly, the donkey fell beside the body of the murdered Theodotus. Despite all Phrontonos’ efforts to lift it, he could not. Then the soldiers came out of the tent and helped him. Meanwhile, the priest did not take his eyes off St. Theodotus’ body. He asked the soldiers about what had happened, and they told him everything. They explained:
“We have been ordered to guard the body of Theodotus—a Christian who was executed by order of the ruler.”
The priest realized that the Lord had brought him to that place for a reason. He coaxed the soldiers into giving him St. Theodotus’ holy body, placed the martyr’s remains on the donkey and brought them to the place that the saint had chosen for his burial during his lifetime. The relics of St. Theodotus were interred with honors. This happened in the year 303. Subsequently, Priest Phrontonos built a church on this site.
