New Martyr19th century

New Martyr Acacius of Mount Athos and Seres

18th century – 1816

Also known as Athanasius of Neochorion

A young Christian of Macedonia who, having denied the faith, repented and became a monk of Mount Athos, then confessed Christ openly and was martyred in 1816.

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Commemorated as

The Holy New Martyr Acacius of Mount Athos and Seres

Life

Acacius of Mount Athos and Seres was an Orthodox new martyr of the Ottoman period who, after denying Christ in his youth and living for years as a Muslim, repented, was received back into the Orthodox Church, became a monk on Mount Athos, and was beheaded in 1816 after publicly confessing his faith. Baptized Athanasius and born to Bulgarian peasant parents at Neochorion near Thessalonica before being raised at Serres, he is among the new martyrs of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who atoned for an earlier apostasy by openly returning to confess Christ.

He is commemorated on May 1 together with two other Athonite new martyrs of the same era, Euthymius and Ignatius, with whom his relics came to be associated on the Holy Mountain.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide

TroparionTone 8

The image of God was truly preserved in you, O Father,
for you took up the Cross and followed Christ.
By so doing you taught us to disregard the flesh for it passes away
but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore your spirit, venerable Acacius, rejoices with the angels.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline6 momentsReadHide

18th centuryBirth at NeochorionBorn at Neochorion in Macedonia, near Thessalonica, the eldest son of Bulgarian peasant parents, and baptized Athanasius.
Age nineMove to Serres and apprenticeshipHis family relocated to the city of Serres, where he was apprenticed to a cobbler who frequently beat him.
YouthDenial of ChristAfter a severe beating on Holy Friday, he was persuaded by Muslim women to deny Christ. He was taken to Yusuf Bey, who adopted him, gave him a Muslim name, and had him circumcised.
Nine years laterExpulsion and returnHaving rejected the advances of Yusuf Bey's wife, he was falsely accused by her and expelled from the household. He returned to Thessalonica to seek out his parents.
After returnReception back into the Church on Mount AthosJudging it too dangerous for him to remain, his mother sent him to Mount Athos. There he confessed his apostasy to Father Nicholas at the Xenophontos Monastery, who received him back into the Church through Chrismation. Placed under the monk Acacius, he was tonsured on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent and given the name Acacius.
May 1, 1816Martyrdom at ConstantinopleSeeking to atone for his earlier denial, he traveled to Constantinople with Father Gregory, denounced Islam before the vizier, and declared himself a Christian. After being seized, beaten, and imprisoned, he was led to a place called Parmak Kapi and beheaded at six o'clock in the evening.

Contributions & Legacy

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Apostasy and Repentance

The accounts of Acacius's life present it as a passage from denial to confession. Brought to deny Christ as a youth after mistreatment and the influence of those around him, he was raised in a Muslim household under an assumed name for some nine years.

His return began when he was expelled from that household and sought his parents in Thessalonica. Directed to Mount Athos, he formally confessed his earlier apostasy to Father Nicholas at the Xenophontos Monastery and was reconciled to the Church through Chrismation before being tonsured a monk.

Relics & Shrines

After his execution, the synaxarion relates that pious Christians ransomed his body and that Father Gregory carried it back to Mount Athos. His relics were brought to the Iveron Monastery and buried in a church dedicated to Saints Ignatius and Euthymius, the two new martyrs commemorated with him.

The heads of Saints Acacius, Euthymius, and Ignatius are kept in the Russian monastery of Saint Panteleimon on the Holy Mountain.

Commemoration

Acacius is commemorated on May 1, jointly with the new martyrs Euthymius and Ignatius. By tradition the three are grouped together as Athonite new martyrs of the early nineteenth century whose relics are venerated on Mount Athos.

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The Three Athonite New Martyrs

Commemorated together · May 1

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Fellow Athonite new-martyr — commemorated with him on May 1; beheaded at Constantinople in 1814, his name joined with Ignatius's on the church at Iveron where Acacius was buried.

New Martyr Euthymiusof Mount Athos

Fellow Athonite new-martyr — commemorated with him on May 1; the church at Iveron where Acacius's relics were buried was dedicated to Ignatius and Euthymius.

New Martyr Ignatiusof Mount Athos

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints