The Passion of the Holy Martyr Callinicus

The holy martyr Callicus was born in Cilicia and was brought up in Christian piety. When he grew up, Callicus saw how many people adhered to pagan wickedness; darkened by demonic charm, they were far from the Lord Christ, believing in stones and offering sacrifices to idols.

He traveled through the towns and villages, preaching the word of the Lord, until he came to Antioch, where he stayed for a long time.

And when he was seized by the unbelievers, he was brought before Sackerdon the prince, a zealous idolater, an enemy of Christ, and a fierce persecutor of the Christians.

How dare you, madman, being a stranger here, corrupt the people, teaching them to forsake the gods that the world has made and that the king and all the authorities and the whole universe adore?

For I have compassion on those who are going astray, and I strive to bring them out of darkness into light, and out of perdition into salvation.

And I will make thee serve our gods against thy will; and I will put thee to the sword, and I will know whether thy God will save thee out of my hand; and I will not spare thee, until thou knowest the power of the gods, and until thou offerest sacrifice unto them.

The saint answered Sackerdon boldly: "Every suffering for the sake of my Lord is as desirable to me as the food of a hungry man. So do not delay and do not waste time in threats, but begin to do your torture. Behold, my body is ready for torment. In my soul is God himself, who will prepare my salvation and your destruction".

Wretched man! how dareest thou trouble me with these words? I swear by the gods that I will not spare thee, but I will cut off thy flesh from thy bones, and I will make thee suffer every kind of torment, until thou art consumed with a cruel death.

The most wicked of all the wicked, until you waste your time in your rage and do not act, deliver me to the torture and know the courage and generosity of the champion of Christ, waiting to receive the crown of victory from his Savior. Then the torturer ordered to strip the martyr and beat him mercilessly with the veins of the bull.

But the holy martyr laughed at the tormentor and the torments, and said loudly: "You threatened me with great torments, and you inflict the weakest torments. Bring me great wounds, give me the fiercest torments, for I fear neither fire nor sword, but laugh at death, for I expect from my God eternal life". Then the prince ordered the story of the martyr on the tree and to bind his body with iron nails.

But the saint continued to laugh at this torment, as if it were not his own, but someone else's body, and said to the prince: ‘Order me to be bound still harder, for the more you bind my body, the more you satisfy my soul. Christ helps me; strengthened by His grace, I do not feel pain from torment.

Then the torturer ordered the martyr to be taken down from the tree, to be clothed in iron boots with sharp nails inside, to be taken to the city of Gangra, eighty yards away from Ankara, and to be burned there.

So the enraged prince gave the soldier of Christ into the hands of his cruel soldiers and ordered them to ride on their own horses, and the martyr to run ahead of him, forcing him to go faster with beatings.

(Ps. 39:2-3) So he set out on the appointed course and went swiftly, without any coercion, ahead of the horsemen.

And when they had passed sixty fields, and had come to a place called the Matrix, the soldiers, because of the intense heat of the sun, for it was the month of July, began to thirst, and there was no water in the way, and the soldiers were weary, and their horses could scarcely breathe.

O servant of the true God, have mercy on us who are despairing in our own lives. Pray to your God that he may give us water, and we will not die. We have heard that your God is all-powerful. Forget that we have afflicted you. Not by our will, but by the command of the prince, we have tormented you. Seeing that they are dying of thirst, St. Callinicus had compassion on them and, wishing to do good to his enemies, he stood near the stone that happened on the road, and, raising his eyes to heaven, began to pray.

Lord of heaven and earth, and of sea, and of all that is therein, who didst give water out of the rock in the wilderness to Moses and to his companions of old, and now shew thy wonders, and cause water to come out of the rock, and give drink to them that thirst; that thy praises may be known among them that know thee not, and that thy holy name may be glorified.

And when he had made an end of praying, he opened a fountain of living water from the rock, and they all drank, and were satisfied, and cried with a loud voice, "Great is the God of Christ, and glorified above all".

And when they had come to Gangra, they did not want to put to death their friend Callicus, who had saved them from their doom; but fearing that the prince would kill them, they did as the prince commanded.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for making me worthy to die for your holy name.

When he had said this, he went into the midst of the burning fiery furnace, and lay down and gave his holy soul into the hands of God. When the furnace was extinguished, his body was found to be intact.

The mountain of red has now deservedly inherited you, for Christ's love burned you with fire, and you dared to fight with it in the fires of Kalinice.