Hellenic Net

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ Τὰς ἐκ σιδηρῶν ὀξέων ἥλων ξέσεις, Ὥς τις σιδηροῦς καρτερεῖς Θεμιστόκλεις. Saint Themistocles is one of the lesser known saints of the Orthodox Church. He lived during the 3rd century AD. in the region of Myra in Lycia, in Asia Minor, which today is called Kale and is located on the southern coast of Turkey. At that time, Lycia was part of the Roman Empire. Themistocles lived at the time when Diocletian was on the imperial throne. He was in charge of the eastern part of the empire while Maximian was in charge of the western part. Diocletian during the period 284-303 AD. and after establishing the so-called Tetrarchy, he started a persecution against the Christians. Saint Themistocles was one of the many martyrs of this period. During the persecution, Saint Dioskouros was pursued by Asclepius, ruler of Lycia. But he found refuge in Saint Themistocles, a local shepherd, who hid and protected him. When the soldiers found Saint Themistocles they asked him if he knew anything about ...