Commemorated on November 7

Of the 33 Holy Martyrs, we begin with Saint Hieron. Born in a city of Cappadocia, Hieron was raised as a Christian by his mother who was pure of heart. His father died at an early age, and his mother, Stratoniki, was blind and struggled throughout each day. Hieron helped her and guided her steps with patience and love. He had two brothers as well, Anthony and Matronius. From a humble upbringing, Hieron became a pious and kind young man who was strong in the faith.

At this time two very harsh persecutors of Christians were in power. Emperor Diocletian and Maximian (284-305). They ordered a great army to go to Cappadocia where they would persecute anyone who worshipped Christ. For this great army they recruited young, healthy and strong men. Of this one of the imperial officers, Lysias, drafted Hieron, as Hieron was known among many for his great strength and bravery. Lysias sent several soldiers to retrieve him.

Knowing their reason for the army was to demolish the Christian faith, Hieron did not agree to join and spoke out against their corrupted mission. He also did not want to leave his mother alone. The soldiers then tried to capture but Hieron spoke to them bravely saying that he did not wish to leave his mother, nor did he have any desire to worship the idols. The soldiers them attempted to grab Hieron and bring him to their commander, but due to his great power, he was able to beat them all away with a single stick.

After the soldiers fell to the ground, being beaten by one man, they left with shame and ran off fearing he would strike once more. Hieron continued to preach for the glory of Christ, and the soldiers were searching for him.

Hieron knew he could not fend for himself and he went into a cave to hide alongside 18 other Christians.

While in the cave, one of Hieron’s companions Cyriacus was able to speak with Lysias and persuade him to stop chasing down Hieron. He also spoke with Hieron and convinced him to no longer resist against the officer. Hieron then joined as a soldier and traveled to the neighboring city, Melitene.

After Hieron agreed, he had a dream where an angel came to him. The angel told Hieron that he was a servant of God, and due to his great love for Christ he was to die a martyr. Hieron was then imprisoned with many other Christians. Of these christians was a relative of Hieron, Ouiktoros. When threatened, Ouikoros turned from Christ and worshipped the idols. This motivated Hieron to encourage the rest of those imprisoned to remain steadfast and not turn away from the One True God.

While in Melitene, Lysias commanded his men to bow down to the idols and offer them sacrifices. Hieron, with his 32 other comrades, did not do as they were told and then all of them openly professed their faith to the one true God, Jesus Christ.

Lysias did not let time pass as before. Without haste, he had his soldiers brutally beat all 33 of the martyrs and then they were tortured in wicked manners. Hieron’s arm was cut off at his elbow and all of the men who had been suffering were nearing death. They were thrown into prison for four days until their final punishment. As they were walking to be executed they all sang with joy “Glory be unto God as we walk toward salvation!” Lysais then had all of them beheadeed, and they died for the glory of Christ bravely and with honor.

A wealthy and elite Christian named Chrysanthus was able to buy Hieron’s head from Lysias. He took Hieron’s right hand and gave it to his mother. Through God’s grace all of the other martyrs were properly buried in secret by other Christians. Chrysanthus did not reveal his faith at the time, but after the era of persecutions ended, Chrysanthus built a church in honor of the martyrs upon where they were put to death. He placed Hieron’s head inside of the church. The relics, when discovered again, remained intact.

Troparion & Kontakion

Troparion — Tone 4

Your thirty-three holy martyrs, O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions, save our souls!

Kontakion — Tone 2

The radiant choir of martyrs, the light-bearing company, / spiritually descends to us, enlightening the Church with brilliant rays. / Therefore as we celebrate their honored memory, / we ask You, our Savior: / through their prayers deliver us from misfortunes / so that we may sing to You: “Alleluia.”