Holy Martyrs Eustratios, Auxentius, Eugenius, Mardarius, and Orestes

We celebrate the five companions, Eustratios, Auxentius, Egenius, Mardarius, and Orestes on December 13th. These five companions, Martyred during the reign of Diocletian, the five companions are alternatively called Eustratius, Auxentius, Eugene, Mardarius, and Orestes. Either way, their names are quite the mouthful! So what do we know about these five companions?

Eustratios/Eustratius and Auxentius

Prior to martyrdom, Eustratios was already well known in Armenia, where the five companions all lived. As a noble , well educated man and orator, and secretly, a Christian. In Satalios, he was military commander and high official under Lysius. Eustratios is also known for his work as an archivist.

Eustratios was the second to join the martyrdom of the five companions, after witnessing the torture of Auxentius. Troubled by the treatment of Christians under Diocletian and Lysius, Eustatios appeared before the prefect Lysius and proclaimed his Christian faith. Lysius immediately sentenced Eustratios to be tortured, and so he was beaten, nails embedded in his sandals, and then forced to march for a long distance.

So Auxentius instigated the martyrdom of the five companions. As priest in Church of Arabia, he was caught and brought before Lysius to be tortured and killed.

Eugenius/Eugene and Mardarius, and Orestes

So the suffering of Auxentius prompted Eustratios to make his Christian religion public. This choice led to the public torture of Eustratios. And this event caused Egenius, a simple citizen of the Roman Empire, to shout out that he, too, was a Christian. This, of course, added him to the number of Christians on the way to martyrdom. At this point Auxentius, Eustratios, and Egenius were all tortured and made to parade through the streets in attempt to shame them. At this point, another Roman citizen, Mardarius, saw the torturing of his fellow Christians. Mardarius went out onto the street and professed his Christian faith, and so joined the three others.

Orestes was the last to join the five companions. He had been a soldier under Eustratios, and was doing training exercises when a cross fell from his neck. With Eustratios imprisoned, it was Lysius observing the training, and so Lysius realized at once that Orestes was a Christian. Orestes confirmed Lysius’ charge that Orestes believed in Christ, and so joined the others.

And so five Christian companions accompanied each other toward martyrdom.

Martyrdom of Eustratios and Companions

Lysius condemned each Christian to death, through various tortures. Lysius had his soldiers behead Fr. Auxentius first. Then Lysius sent Orestes to die upon a heated iron bed. Apparently Orestes feared going towards it, and Eustratios offered him words of strength. Mardarius and Eginius did not survive the tortures and beatings. Then, Eustratios alone remained. Eustratios died in a burning furnace.

Prayers for the Five Companions

Troparion: (tone 4) O Lord, Your martyrs received crowns of incorruptibility from You by their suffering. For possessing your power they overcame the tortures and shattered the feeble insolence of demons. By their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.

Kontakion: (tone 2) O Eustratios, you shone as a brilliant light for those sitting in the darkness of ignorance. And armed with faith as with a lance, O victorious martyr and eloquent orator, you did not fear the arrogance of your enemies.

Prokimenon: (tone 4) The Lord has made wonderful all His desires in the saints who are in His land. Verse: The Lord is always in my sight, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken.

The Byzantine Life

Thank you for checking out this week’s article. If you haven’t already, you can read our article about the Eve of the Nativity, and the Synaxis of the Theotokos.

Please share our article on social media! On our Pinterest we have boards full of different icons and faith life ideas! Also, you can follow our  Facebook to see our latest blog posts as they publish. The Badger Dad also runs our Twitter (@TheByzLife) and Instagram accounts (username: thebyzantinelife)!

Do you appreciate our work at TheByzantineLife.com? Consider joining us on Patreon for as little as $5 a month. In other words, you can help us run this website and produce quality content. And in return, you get exclusive access to special posts, photos, and updates from our family! As more people join, we will be adding bonus faith and family resources too. In short, click here to find out more: https://www.patreon.com/thebyzantinelife