Feast of the Holy Great Martyr Procopius at the Patriarchate
On Tuesday, 8/21 July 2026, the Patriarchate celebrated the feast of the Holy Great Martyr Procopius at the chapel dedicated to his honour. The chapel is incorporated into the Chapel of St Modestos, situated on Abu Tor Hill, opposite Mount Zion.
The Church preserves the account of the life, conduct and martyrdom of St Procopius in its Synaxarion as follows:
St Procopius lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, around the year 303 AD. Having been appointed Duke of Alexandria and a persecutor of Christians, he saw, one night, a cross shining like crystal and heard a voice saying: “I am Jesus, the Crucified, the Son of God.” Filled with awe at the voice and the vision, he abandoned his former course and began proclaiming Christ in Jerusalem.
He was denounced by his own mother, Theodosia, as a Christian and was summoned to Caesarea to answer the charges against him. There he openly confessed his Christian faith. As a result, he was subjected to severe torture and thrown into prison, left half dead.
Later, he was brought out and taken to a pagan temple, where he was compelled to offer sacrifices to the idols. Instead, through the miraculous destruction of the temple, he brought his mother Theodosia to faith in Christ, together with the soldiers, two tribunes—Nicostratus and Antiochus—and twelve women of senatorial rank. All of them endured bitter tortures and were ultimately beheaded for their faith.
Afterwards, four emperors sought to compel the saint to submit. In reply, the martyr declared: “It is not good to have many rulers; let there be one ruler, one king.” Thereupon, he too was beheaded, and thus entered the path leading to the heavenly Kingdom.
In honour of St Procopius, Vespers was celebrated on the eve of the feast, followed by the Divine Liturgy on Tuesday morning at the aforementioned chapel. The services were celebrated by Archimandrite Philoumenos, while the chanting was led by Hierodeacon Prodromos, with the participation of faithful from Jerusalem.
After the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and the congregation were warmly received and offered hospitality by the diligent caretaker of the shrine, the monk Seraphim.
From the Chief Secretariat
H αναδημοσίευση του παραπάνω άρθρου ή μέρους του επιτρέπεται μόνο αν αναφέρεται ως πηγή το ORTHODOXIANEWSAGENCY.GR με ενεργό σύνδεσμο στην εν λόγω καταχώρηση.
Ακολούθησε το ORTHODOXIANEWSAGENCY.gr στο Google News και μάθε πρώτος όλες τις ειδήσεις.
