Martyr Eusignius of Antioch

Martyr Eusignius was born in the mid-3rd century in Antioch and served roughly sixty years in the Roman army under a succession of emperors — Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius Chlorus, and then Constantine the Great and his sons. Around 308 he witnessed the martyrdom of St. Basiliscus, and during Constantine's reign, by his own testimony, he personally saw in the sky the sign of a luminous cross that presaged the emperor's victory. Retiring from military service, he returned to Antioch, where he lived in fasting and prayer, respected as a just arbiter in the city's disputes. In 362, under Emperor Julian the Apostate, he was denounced and brought to trial for confessing Christ; appearing before Julian himself, the elderly veteran rebuked his apostasy from the faith and recalled the sign of the Cross he had witnessed. For this Julian ordered the saint, by then about 110 years old, to be beheaded. His memory is kept on August 5/18.