April 26 / April 13
The Hieromartyr Artemon, priest, of Laodicea in Syria (303)
Artemon was a priest in Laodicea during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Before the tormentor-judge, he spoke of himself: “I am called Artemon, a slave of Christ, my God. For sixteen years I was a reader and read books in the church of my God. For twenty-eight years I was a deacon and read the Holy Gospel. With the help of Christ, I have fulfilled thirty-three years as a presbyter, teaching men and setting them on the path of salvation.” The judge brought him to the temple of Aesculapius, where the soothsayers kept large serpents dedicated to this “god.” They all assumed that the snakes would bite Artemon. Artemon crossed himself and, by the power of the Cross, fixed all the snakes to the ground, rendering them immovable. Then he brought them all out into the courtyard and breathed upon them, and all of them died instantly. All the soothsayers were in great fear. Upon seeing this miracle, Vitalis, the chief soothsayer of this temple, fell to his knees before Artemon and cried out: “Great is the Christian God!” The martyr then baptized him, along with several of his friends. The malicious judge remained persistent in his malice and tortured the aged Artemon in various ways. At one point, he was ready to throw him into a vat of boiling pitch, but the judge himself was thrown off his horse into the pitch, and was killed. Two eagles were seen to swoop down upon the judge, lift him from his horse and drop him into the pitch. St. Artemon remained free for a period of time. He traveled about, always accompanied by his two beloved deer, and instructed the people. He was captured again and beheaded in the year 303; his soul took up habitation in the Kingdom of Christ our God, Whom he had faithfully served.
