Martyred during the persecution of 305-311
Four Christians of Adrianopolis who confessed Christ and were martyred during the persecution under the Emperor Maximian.
The Holy Martyrs Maximus, Theodotus, Hesychius, and Asclepiodota of Adrianopolis
Maximus, Theodotus, Hesychius, and Asclepiodota are four early-fourth-century martyrs commemorated together for confessing Christ and suffering at Adrianopolis. Their commemoration falls on February 19.
According to the synaxarion they were put to death during the persecution under the emperor Maximian, dated to the reign of 305-311, after enduring prolonged torture rather than renounce the Faith.
They are venerated as a single group of martyrs; Asclepiodota is the only one whose individual death is described in detail in the February account.
Your holy martyrs O Lord,
through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God.
For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through their intercessions, save our souls!
Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).
The synaxarion relates that the martyrs were first tied to a tree and torn with iron hooks. They were then led from city to city and given to be eaten by wild beasts, yet the account holds that by the grace of God they remained unharmed.
Asclepiodota was thrown to the ground and beaten, then tied to a tree and stoned, and finally beheaded. Maximus, Theodotus, and Hesychius likewise received a martyr's death at the hands of their torturers.
The same martyrs are commemorated again on September 15 under the names Theodotus, Asclepiodotus, and Maximus, with a fuller narrative; that entry lists three names rather than the four given for February 19, where Hesychius is added.
By that account the martyrs were citizens of Marcianopolis put to death at Adrianopolis under Maximian Galerius (305-311), with a governor named Tiris of Thrace directing the persecution. It relates that Theodotus was hung on a tree and tortured with iron hooks while Maximus and Asclepiodota were beaten, that the prisoners were scorched with white-hot plates, and that after being cast to the beasts in the circus they were finally beheaded in the village of Saltis.
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