Anthony, John, and Eustathios
Encyclopedia
Anthony, John, and Eustathius (Eustathios, Eustace; Russian: Антоний, Иоанн and Евстафий) are saints and martyrs (died 1347) of the Russian Orthodox Church
. Their feast day is celebrated on April 14 in the horologion
.
They were attached to the Muscovite missionaries dispatched to the court of Algirdas
(Olgierd), pagan Grand Duke of Lithuania. Algirdas was married to an Orthodox Christian princess, Maria of Vitebsk
, and the Orthodox were permitted only to minister to the religious needs of the princess. All outside proselytizing was forbidden.
The three youths were arrested for preaching in public, and were ordered by Algirdas to consume meat in his presence during an Orthodox fasting period
. When they refused, they were tortured and executed. Their bodies were kept in a glass reliquary
in a crypt chapel beneath the altar
of the cathedral
church in the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius
, Lithuania
, but has since been moved to the main sanctuary of the church. Their relics are said to be incorruptible
.
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. Their feast day is celebrated on April 14 in the horologion
April 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Apr. 13 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - Apr. 15All fixed commemorations below celebrated on Apr. 27 by Old Calendarists-Saints:*St Martin the Confessor the Pope of Rome*Martyrs Anthony, John, and Eustace of Vilna in Lithuania*Martyr Ardalion the Actor...
.
They were attached to the Muscovite missionaries dispatched to the court of Algirdas
Algirdas
Algirdas was a monarch of medieval Lithuania. Algirdas ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377, which chiefly meant monarch of Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
(Olgierd), pagan Grand Duke of Lithuania. Algirdas was married to an Orthodox Christian princess, Maria of Vitebsk
Maria of Vitebsk
Maria of Vitebsk was the first wife of Algirdas, future Grand Duke of Lithuania . Very little is known about her life. The only child of a Russian prince Yaroslav, Maria was the only heir to the Principality of Vitebsk. After her father's death ca. 1345, Vitebsk fell permanently under control of...
, and the Orthodox were permitted only to minister to the religious needs of the princess. All outside proselytizing was forbidden.
The three youths were arrested for preaching in public, and were ordered by Algirdas to consume meat in his presence during an Orthodox fasting period
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
. When they refused, they were tortured and executed. Their bodies were kept in a glass reliquary
Reliquary
A reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures...
in a crypt chapel beneath the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
of the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
church in the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, but has since been moved to the main sanctuary of the church. Their relics are said to be incorruptible
Incorruptibility
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness...
.
