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The Martyrdom of St . Philotheus .

The Martyrdom of St . Philotheus .

On this day, the honorable St . Philotheus, whose name means "lover of God", was martyred .He was born in the City of Antioch, of pagan parents, who worshipped a bull, which they fedcakes made of fine flour and sesame seed oil mixed with honey . They also anointed the bull withspices and fine perfumed oils three times every day, and they gave it wine and oil to drink . Theyestablished two places for the bull, one for the summer, and another for the winter . They putaround its neck a collar of gold, and golden rings in its legs .When Philotheus was ten years old, his father asked him to worship the bull, but he refused, hisfather left him without punishment, for he loved him as he was his only son .As for St . Philotheus, because of his young age, he did not know the Living God, and he thoughtthat the sun was the god . He stood once looking at the sun and said, "I beseech you, 0 sun, if youare God, tell me ." He heard a voice coming from heaven saying, "I am not God, but I am aservant and a slave to God, Whom you will know, and you will shed your blood for His Name'ssake ."When God saw the integrity of the child's heart, He sent His angel to inform him about thecreation of the world, and the incarnation of the Lord Christ, for the salvation of mankind . St .Philotheus was pleased, and rejoiced in his heart . From that time on, he fasted, prayed and gavealms to the poor and those who were in distress .After one year had passed, his parents had a great banquet for their friends, and they asked theirson to worship the bull before they ate and drank . The child stood in front of the bull and said,"Are you the God that should be worshipped?" A voice came out of the bull saying, "I am not the183God, but the devil has possessed me and I have become a deceiver of men ." Then the bull jumpedand attacked his parents and killed them instantly . The Saint ordered his servants to kill the bull,burn its body and scatter its ashes .St . Philotheus prayed to God for the sake of his parents, and the Lord raised them up from thedead . Later on, he was baptized along with his parents in the Name of the Father, the Son, and theHoly Spirit . God granted him the gift of healing the sick, and his repute reached Diocletian, theemperor . He brought him, and ordered him to offer incense to the idols, but he refused . TheEmperor tortured him with all kinds of tortures, but the Saint never swayed from hisdetermination . The Emperor tried again to persuade him by deception and flattery, and the Saintpromised to worship Apollo as the Emperor commanded . The Emperor was pleased to hear this,and he brought Apollo along with 70 other idols, and 70 pagan priests and a herald went aroundto call upon the public in the city .Great multitudes came to watch St . Philotheus worshiping Apollo . On their way, the saint prayedto the Lord Christ, and the earth was opened and swallowed the priests and the idol of Apollo .There was a great excitement and disturbance, and a great multitude believed and confessed theLord Christ .The Emperor was exasperated, and ordered them all beheaded, and they received the crown ofmartyrdom . St . Philotheus was also beheaded, and he received the crown of life .His prayers be with us . Amen .