Orthodox · 4th century
Martyrs Emilian and Hyacinth of Amastris
Commemorated: July 31 (July 18, Old Style)
Life
Emilian was a slave in the city of Durostorum on the Danube, in Moesia, a secret Christian. During the reign of Julian (361–363), the governor Capitolinus came to the town, sacrificed in the temple and invited the leading citizens to a banquet. While they feasted, Emilian went into the temple with an iron hammer and broke the idols and the altars. When a villager was seized in his place, Emilian came forward to say that he had done it alone.
After being beaten, he was sentenced to be burned on the bank of the Danube. According to the account retold by St Dimitry of Rostov, the flames did not harm him and his body was found whole. Secret Christians buried it outside the city. He died on 18 July 363.
Places
- Place of birth: Silistra
- Place of death: Silistra
Retold briefly in our own words from: the Lives of the Saints by St Dimitry of Rostov (1902–1916).
The commemorations of the day: Ponomar (ponomar.net), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Places and years: Wikidata (CC0), each saint matched by hand.