Hieromartyr Hieromartyr Lawrence of Rome

Lawrence of Rome (c. 225–258) was archdeacon of the Roman church under Pope Sixtus II, and, per Prudentius, senior among the seven regional deacons of Rome. During the persecution of Emperor Valerian, Pope Sixtus II was seized and martyred; Lawrence, warned that he would suffer the same fate within days, distributed the church's treasury to the poor.

When the Roman prefect demanded he hand over the "treasures of the Church," Lawrence asked for three days' grace, then presented the city's poor, sick, and crippled, declaring, "These are the treasures of the Church." Enraged, the prefect ordered him tortured and slowly roasted alive on a gridiron. Tradition holds that Lawrence bore the torment with such faith that he told his executioners, "Turn me over — I am done on this side."

He died August 10, 258, and is venerated as one of the most celebrated martyrs of the early Church in both East and West, patron of deacons, cooks, and the poor.