Martyr
Martyr Chrysanthus of Rome
† III век (ок. 283)
Martyr Chrysanthus of Rome — the only son of an Alexandrian patrician, secretly converted to Christ and married by his father to the pagan priestess Daria in an attempt to turn him from the faith, but converting her instead; together they lived in a virginal "spiritual marriage" and preached chastity among Roman youth, for which they were seized and buried alive in a pit.
Martyr Chrysanthus was the only son of the Egyptian (Alexandrian) patrician Polemius, who moved with his son to Rome. While studying philosophy, he turned to reading New Testament texts, sought out the presbyter Carpophorus, who was hiding from persecution, and was instructed in the faith and baptized by him.
His father, seeking to break his faith, forcibly married Chrysanthus to a pagan priestess of the goddess Athena (Minerva) named Daria — but Chrysanthus himself converted her to Christ, and the couple agreed to live in a virginal, spiritual marriage. Together they openly preached chastity among Roman youth, provoking the displeasure of citizens who complained to the city prefect Celerinus.
After torture they were buried alive in a pit filled in with stones and earth. A group of Christians who later gathered at their burial site to pray — the presbyter Diodorus, the deacon Marianus, and others — were also buried alive in the same cave. Their death is dated variously to 283 (under Emperors Numerian/Carinus) or 256.
Their feast is kept on March 19/April 1, together with Martyr Daria.