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Remembering Great Martyr Euphemia the All-praised · Saints and Scripture

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  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Saints and Scripture Podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today is Wednesday, september sixteenth, twenty twenty six.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today we remember the holy great martyr Euphemia, known as the All Praised.
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  SPEAKER_00: She was the daughter of Christian parents, Philophronos and Theodosha, living in the city of Chalcedon, near Constantinople.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the year three hundred four, during a time of persecution, the governor Priscus ordered all people in Chalcedon to attend a pagan festival and offer sacrifices to the idol of Ares.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those who refused faced severe punishment.
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  SPEAKER_00: Forty nine Christians, including Euphemia, hid in a house to pray to the true God.
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  SPEAKER_00: When they were discovered, they were brought before Priscus.
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  SPEAKER_00: For nineteen days they endured various tortures but did not give up their faith.
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  SPEAKER_00: The governor sent most of them to Emperor Diocletian for trial, but kept Euphemia, hoping she would give in if left alone.
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  SPEAKER_00: Alone, Euphemia prayed for strength.
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  SPEAKER_00: Priscus urged her to sacrifice to the idol, promising rewards, but she refused.
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  SPEAKER_00: He ordered her tortured.
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  SPEAKER_00: She was tied to a wheel with sharp knives which cut her body, but as she prayed, the wheel stopped moving.
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  SPEAKER_00: An angel came down, freed her, and healed her wounds.
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  SPEAKER_00: Euphemia thanked God.
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  SPEAKER_00: Priscus did not see this miracle and sent soldiers to throw her into a red hot furnace.
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  SPEAKER_00: But the soldiers saw angels in the flames and refused to harm her.
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  SPEAKER_00: They declared their faith in Christ and were sentenced to be killed by wild beasts.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yet the beasts did not harm them, and they died peacefully after asking God's forgiveness.
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  SPEAKER_00: Euphemia was thrown into the fire but was unharmed.
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  SPEAKER_00: Priscus then had a pit filled with knives covered with earth, hoping to trap her.
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  SPEAKER_00: She walked safely over it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Finally she was sentenced to be killed by wild beasts.
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  SPEAKER_00: Before her death, she prayed to be worthy of martyrdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: The animals did not attack her, only licking her feet.
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  SPEAKER_00: One she bear wounded her foot slightly, and Euphemia died peacefully.
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  SPEAKER_00: As she died, an earthquake shook the city, walls fell, and pagan temples crumbled.
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  SPEAKER_00: Her parents were able to bury her body near Chalcedon.
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  SPEAKER_00: Later, a church was built over her grave.
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  SPEAKER_00: In four hundred fifty one, the fourth ecumenical council was held there, where Euphemia's witness helped confirm the Orthodox faith.
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  SPEAKER_00: Her relics were moved to Constantinople when Persians captured Chalcedon in six hundred and seventeen.
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  SPEAKER_00: During the Iconoclast period, her relics were thrown into the sea but were recovered by sailors and eventually returned to Constantinople.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today, her incorrupt body rests in the patriarchal church of Saint George in Constantinople.
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  SPEAKER_00: Parts of her relics are also in Cyprus and St.
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  SPEAKER_00: Petersburg.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saint Euphemia's courage and faith remain a powerful example for all who seek to follow Christ.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus Christ, grant us the strength to stand firm in our faith like Saint Euphemia.
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  SPEAKER_00: Help us to trust in your power and love in times of trial.
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  SPEAKER_00: Keep us close to you all our days.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus Christ, grant us the strength to stand firm in our faith, like Saint Euphemia.
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  SPEAKER_00: Help us to trust in your power and love in times of trial.
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  SPEAKER_00: Keep us close to you all our days.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.