Martyr
Martyrs Hieron and 33 Martyrs of Melitene
III–IV вв. (при имп. Диоклетиане и Максимиане)
Also known as: Мелитинские мученики
Martyrs Hieron of Tyana and his 33 companions — soldiers who refused to serve the pagan emperor, seized and beheaded in Melitene under Emperors Diocletian and Maximian.
The military commander Lysias (Lycius) was sent to Cappadocia to root out Christianity among conscripted soldiers and to recruit a new army for the empire. Hieron, a young man of great physical strength, a native of Tyana, refused conscription and fled with eighteen companions to hide in a cave. He was seized and brought to the city of Melitene (Lesser Armenia, modern Malatya, Turkey), where he joined a larger company of Christian soldiers — 32 men besides himself — who likewise refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods.
When the group openly confessed faith in Christ before the authorities, the persecutors ordered them all beaten and then beheaded together. After the martyrdom, a Christian named Chrysanthius secretly ransomed Hieron's head from the executioners and later had a church built to house it.
Tradition holds that under Emperor Justinian I, the incorrupt relics of the martyrs were rediscovered during the construction of a church dedicated to Great Martyr Irene, confirming their sanctity.
Their feast is kept on November 7/20.