The suffering of the holy martyrs Proclus and Ilarius

The memory of 12 July The holy martyrs, Procles and Ilarius, were of the city of Calixtus, near Ancyra [There were two cities of Ancyra: one in Galatia, the other in Phrygia. It is not known exactly which of them was near the village of Calixtus.]; they suffered from the goodwill of Maximus during the reign of Trajan [Trajan <unk> Roman emperor from 98 to 117].

The king, having examined the case of Proclus and finding that he did not obey the wicked commandments [Concerning idolatry], delivered him to the igimon Maximus to be tortured. Maximus, sitting on the judgment seat, demanded an answer from the prisoner of Christ, who asked him: What kind are you?

"My people are Christ's", said St. Proclus, "and my hope is my God". "By the gods, I will not spare you!" said Egemon, and again he asked, "Do you know the king's decrees that have been proclaimed everywhere that all Christians should sacrifice to the gods?" "I have heard", said the saint, "about these commandments of the wicked, which they have caused many to stumble, and to their own destruction".

"Do you dare, " said Achimon, "to rebuke the king and to revile his laws? Do you not see the punishment for this, you wretched one?" "Do what you will", replied the martyr, "I will not offer sacrifice to your gods, and I do not fear the pain that kills the body and not the soul; it is better to fear God than men.

"Choose for yourself", said Egimon, "or life or death. Here is the torture stake prepared for you, and the instruments of torture, we await your answer.

<unk> If you are afraid of disobeying the emperor's command to avoid a brief torment, how much more do we Christians fear to disobey God's command to avoid the eternal torment that God has prepared for those who abandon Him and worship your false gods, who themselves will be handed over to eternal destruction in the coming judgment along with those who sacrifice to them.

And the martyr said, I hope, by my God, that before thou make me confess thy gods, I will cause thee to confess my lord before all the soldiers and servants, contrary to thy desire, and to write with thy own hand, The true God curseth the sinner, and there is none else besides him.

The enraged Ecumenical Patriarch ordered the martyr to be hanged naked on a tree, a heavy stone to be tied to his feet and iron hooks to bind his body.

Then he went to the city of Kaliptus and ordered a martyr to be brought with him, who was forced to keep pace with the fast horses on foot.

O God of my Jesus Christ, for whose sake I suffer, and am reviled by soldiers, hear this day thy servant, that thy name may be glorified for ever; and stretch out thy mighty hand, and restrain this wicked man, and let him not go on his way, until he confess before all men that there is no God but thou.

And when the saint had thus prayed, behold, he stood up in the way, bound, as if bound: neither he nor his horses could move, being held by the invisible power of God.

And the chariot stood still as a mountain, and the chariot as if it had been nailed; and the chariot stood still, and the chariot stood as if it had been nailed. And the chariot said to his companions, See the wonderful magic power of this cunning Christian, what he has done to us, that we cannot move from our place, and go back?

And Eglon sent one of his servants, named Jeremiah, to say to the martyr that stood far behind, What hast thou done, that thou hast made us to cease by thy sorceries in the midst of the way?

I swear by the Lord God that you will not leave this place until you confess the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, as I told him before. Jeremiah asked, "If you confess the name of your God standing in the middle of the road, how will you hear or know about it, if you are far from him?" The martyr said, "Let him write this confession on paper and send it to me, and now you will go on your way to the city of Caliph".

When Jeremiah returned, he delivered the words of the martyr to Egimon, who, although he did not want to, but was forced by the misfortune to take the charter and write: <unk> There is only one true God, <unk> The One Whom the Proclamation honors, and there is no other god but Him.

And now, behold, I will show thee the power of my kingdom, and I will make thee sacrifice to our gods, as thou hast made me sacrifice to thy gods.

And when he had said this, he commanded that they should bring burning candles, and burn with them the belly and the ribs of the holy Proconsul; and they burned the martyr, so that his whole body was burned; but he, showing no impatience, was silent, as if he had borne another, and not his own body.

"I obey", he heard the answer, "to Christ, who lives forever: He is my hope". He asked Egimon, "Do you want to die in torment?" "If I die", said the holy Proclus, "I will live again". Then Egimon ordered the soldiers to take the holy Proclus out of the city and crucify him on a tree and shoot at him with bows.

And if thou wilt hearken unto us, and offer a sacrifice unto the gods, the physicians shall make thee whole in a moment, and thou shalt have great honour.

While they were talking about this, a young man named Hilarius, a nephew of St. Proclus, who was his own brother, met them on the road.

The soldiers took Ilarius and put him in prison, and brought the holy Procle to the place of execution, crucified him on a tree, and, having drawn their bows, began to shoot at him. The martyr, pierced through his whole body with arrows, prayed to God, saying, "In Your hands, Lord, I commit my spirit, save me, true God!" And with these words, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. The holy martyr Procle died on the 12th day of the month of July. The believers secretly took his remains and buried him.

And when he slept, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a vision, and said, Be of good courage, and be of good courage; I am with thee, I am sent from God to strengthen thee.

Yes, Christian, all my relatives were in Christ and all died for the sake of Christ.

Then Egimon in anger ordered that the martyr be long and cruelly beaten, hanged naked on a tree, and then condemned him to death, ordering him to be taken three yards from the city and there his head be cut off.

The body of the martyr, dragged on the ground, was torn apart, the ground was scorched with blood. When they had gone three yards from the city, the executioner drew his sword, and the saint prayed to God: "Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit".

And the head of the martyr was cut off. St. Hilarius died on the fifteenth day of the month of July, the third day after the death of St. Proclus. The body of St. Hilarius was thrown in the same place where it was beheaded.

As the day the star of the rising of the martyrs Proclus and Ilarius, the fair suffering, illuminating us with miracles of light: thus we celebrate your memory, pray to Christ Boa, save our souls.