Martyr
Martyr Gelasius (Gelasinus) of Heliopolis
† ок. 297
Also known as: Геласин Илиопольский, Геласий-мим
Martyr Gelasius of Heliopolis — a mime actor who entered a stage baptismal font to mock the sacrament of Baptism, but was genuinely converted by divine grace at the moment of the performance and stoned by the enraged crowd.
Gelasius was a mime actor performing comic roles in a theatrical troupe at Heliopolis (modern Baalbek, Lebanon) during the persecutions under Maximinus Daza and Licinius in the early 4th century.
Intending to mock the Christian sacrament of Baptism, he entered a stage baptismal font in white robes, play-acting the rite before a laughing crowd. But upon reciting the baptismal formula and being doused with water, he was genuinely transformed by divine grace and, emerging from the font, declared in earnest: "Now I am a Christian!"
The enraged spectators, realizing the mockery had become a real confession of faith, dragged him from the theater and stoned him to death (some accounts say beheaded). His relatives buried his body in his native village of Mariamme near Damascus, where a church was later built in his honor.
His feast is kept on February 27.
NOTE: the toponym "Ilariysky" in the entry's original data has been corrected to the accurate "of Heliopolis" — the place name refers to the city of Heliopolis (Baalbek), not a fictitious form. A separate, unrelated "Martyr Gelasius" commemorated by some sources on June 6 (a minister to imprisoned Christians, beheaded) is a different person and should not be confused with this saint.