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Celebration: Great celebration today. Don’t forget to wish them happy birthday!
The memory of Saint Eleftherios is honored on December 15 by the Orthodox Church. Priest and martyr (hieromartyr) of the Christian Church, protector of all notion of freedom, but especially of pregnant women, since it is believed that it gives “good freedom”.
Today the celebrants are: Eleftherios, Lefteris, Lefteris, Lefteris, Eleftheria, Ria, Leftheria, LefteriaAnthi, Anthoula, Anthia, AntheiaSylviaSosana, Sosana, Sosanna.
Eleftherios was born in Rome in the 2nd century to a rich father, whom he lost from an early age. He was raised by his mother Anthia, who had been converted to Christianity by disciples of the Apostle Paul. From a young age, Eleftherios was noted for his faith and theological competence. At age 15 he was ordained a deacon, at 17 he was ordained an elder and at 20 the Invincible Pope entrusted him with the episcopal throne of the Illyricum region (present-day Albania), based in Avlona (present-day Vlore).
Eleftherios testified when the emperor of Rome was our famous Hadrian, who subjected him to a series of horrible tortures to renounce his faith. At first he sent his general Filikas to Avlona to arrest him, but Eleftherios converted him to Christianity.
A few days later, Eleftherios arrived in Rome and appeared before the emperor, who, after failing to persuade him to renounce his faith, subjected him to a series of horrific tortures, according to the conspirators. He first ordered it to be placed on an incandescent copper baking bed. God, however, sent him reassurance and eased his pain. Then he placed it on a lit grill, under which coals burned. God intervened instantly, putting out the fire and cooling the grill.
Enraged, Hadrian ordered him to be placed in a large cauldron containing grease, wax, and tar and wounded. Also in this case Divine Providence intervened, cooling the cauldron and freeing Eleftherios from martyrdom. So the governor of Rome, Koremon, offered to free Hadrian from the impasse. He built a bronze furnace with sharp points inside, set it on fire, and was ready to toss Eleftherios inside. Then the miracle happened. Koremon became a Christian and, instead of Eleftherios, was found in the furnace by order of the emperor. However, with divine intervention he did not suffer the slightest, but was immediately beheaded. Then it was Eleftherios’s turn to suffer the torment of the furnace with the nails. But here too God was present. The fire was put out and the nails with spikes were bent, so as not to damage his body.
Desperate, Adriano ordered the saint to be imprisoned to starve. There, in his sunless cell, God sent him food with a dove. After the saint also did not die in prison, the emperor ordered that he be tied behind two wild horses, so that his meat was cut and he died pitifully. An angel of the Lord tamed the horses, freed the saint from bondage, and led him to a mountain, where he remained praying, amid beasts, which he managed to tame.
Some hunters, who saw the saint on the mountain, reported him to the emperor, who sent a military detachment to arrest him. The beasts rushed at the soldiers, but the saint ordered them to calm down and return to their nests. He followed the soldiers, teaching them to deny their mistake. Some of them believed in Christ.
When he arrived in Rome, the emperor led him to the sand to be eaten by wild beasts, as he believed. A lioness and a lion that approached him, instead of attacking him, began to kiss his feet. Seeing the behavior of the lions and hearing the roar of the crowd, “the great God of Christians” ordered the beheading of Eleftherios. The scene of his martyrdom was observed by his mother Anthia, who ran to embrace the lifeless body of her son for the last time. She did not succeed, since the executioners also beheaded her.
On the feast day of Agios Eleftherios, the church honors the memory of Anthias’s mother, Agios Koremonos (the prefect of Rome), but also of the two executioners who beheaded and beheaded him because they believed in Christ. The relics of Saint Eleftherios are found in the church of the same name in Rieti, Italy.
In Greece, Saint Eleftherios is considered the protector of pregnant women. Many interested women invoke his help and place the icon of the saint on them to give them “good freedom.”
Apolitikio by Agios Eleftherios
Priest walks adorned, and blood in the lined kennels, of your Blessedly defenseless despot Christ, wise Liberty, demolition of Satan. Do not stop the ambassadors, in favor of the honorable, your blessed sport.
Source: sansimera.gr
