Hieromartyr and Martyr Zenobius and Zenobia of Aegae

Hieromartyr Zenobius was bishop of the city of Aegae in Cilicia, Asia Minor, and a physician who healed the sick without charge; his sister Zenobia shared with him the labor of Christian service and charity. Both came from a noble and wealthy family but, orphaned early, distributed their inherited estate to the poor and devoted themselves to works of mercy. During the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian around 285, they were seized and brought to trial before the provincial governor; after refusing to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods and confessing faith in Christ, brother and sister were subjected to cruel torture and beheaded. The Church honors their joint memory on October 30 (November 12) as an example of holiness manifested in the kinship bond of brother and sister.