Martyr
Martyr Philosophus of Alexandria
† ок. 250 (гонение Декия)
Also known as: Мч. Философ, Философ Египетский, Philosophus of Alexandria
A young Christian who suffered in Egypt under Emperor Decius (249–251). Left bound with a harlot sent to seduce him, he bit off his own tongue rather than sin, and was then beheaded.
The martyr Philosophus suffered during the persecution of Emperor Decius (249–251). His Life places the martyrdom in Alexandria; St Philaret of Chernigov places it in the Thebaid around 252.
According to the Life, a pagan judge decided to destroy the souls of the Christians before their bodies. A young Christian who could not be forced to renounce Christ was tied to a soft bed in a fragrant garden, and a harlot was sent to seduce him. Unable to push her away, he bit off his tongue so that the pain would overcome passion, and spat it in her face. The persecutors then beheaded him with the sword.
Blessed Jerome tells this story in the preface to the Life of St Paul of Thebes without giving the martyr's name; later tradition called him Philosophus, and some synaxaria call him Justin. The Russian Orthodox Church commemorates him on 31 May (13 June, New Style). He is not to be confused with Hieromartyr Philosophus Ornatsky (†1918), commemorated on the same day.