Martyr4th century

Martyrs Eustochius and Companions of Ancyra

Also known as Eustochius · Gaius · Probus · Lollius · Urban

Eustochius, a pagan priest converted by the courage of the Christian martyrs, and his companions, who confessed Christ and were put to death under Maximian.

June 23New Calendar

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyrs Eustochius the Presbyter, Gaius, Probus, Lollius and Urban of Ancyra

Life

Eustochius and his companions are a group of early Christian martyrs venerated together in the Orthodox Church, commemorated on June 23. According to their synaxarion account, they suffered during the persecution under the emperor Maximian (286-310).

Eustochius is remembered as a former pagan priest who was moved to convert by the steadfast courage of the Christian martyrs and the miracles attributed to them. He was baptized and ordained a presbyter, after which he led members of his own family to the faith. He and those he had converted were tortured and beheaded together, and the Church commemorates them as a single group.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide

TroparionTone 4

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).

Contributions & Legacy

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Conversion and Ministry

The synaxarion relates that Eustochius was originally a pagan priest. Witnessing the unyielding endurance of Christians under persecution and the miracles associated with them, he was drawn to Christianity. He sought out Bishop Eudoxius of Antioch, from whom he received baptism and was subsequently ordained to the priesthood.

The account places his later ministry in the city of Lystra, where he is said to have converted his nephew Gaius together with Gaius's entire household. Among that household were Probus, Lollius, and Urban, named as Eustochius's fellow martyrs. (Recensions vary in spelling, giving Eudoxius or Eudoxos, Probus or Probius, and Lollius or Lollia.)

Martyrdom

During the persecution under Maximian, Eustochius was arrested. The account records that he was brought before the authorities and then sent to the governor Agrippinus in the Galatian city of Ancyra. Gaius and his household were sent with him.

According to the synaxarion, all of them — including the women and children of the household — were subjected to fierce torture but refused to deny Christ. They were put to death by beheading and are commemorated together on June 23.

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