Memory of Venerable Martyr Euthymius

The Orthodox Church commemorates today Hieromartyr Basil of Ancyra, Saint Drosis, daughter of Emperor Trajan, and Holy New Martyr Euthymius.

Saint Euthymius, also known as Eleutherius, was born in Demitsana, Peloponnese. He was the fifth child of a pious couple, Panagiotis and Maria. He went to school in Greece and then he went to Constantinople to pursue higher education.

He worked as a merchant in Bucharest, where he indulged in debauchery and denied Christ. However, he soon realised his mistake and went to Mount Athos, where he met his compatriot Patriarch Gregory V, to whom he confessed. Even though he became a monk with the name Euthymius, he was so ashamed of his actions that he went to Constantinople in 1814 and confessed his Orthodox Christian faith before a vizier and denounced Mohammed. As a result, he was fiercely tortured and beheaded in the end.

Source: Church of Cyprus