Feb. 6 – Bucolus (Vikul)

Saint Bucolus was the bishop of the Church of Smyrna. From his earliest youth he was distinguished by gentleness and chastity. He was ordained bishop by the Evangelist John the Theologian. By the grace of God, he converted many pagans to Christ and reposed in peace, entrusting his flock to Saint Polycarp (whose memory is February 23).

The Martyr Julian lived in the Phoenician city of Emesa. He was a skilled physician. While healing bodily illnesses, he also healed many spiritually—that is, he brought them to Christ. When he learned that Bishop Silouan, the deacon Luke, and the reader Mokios (commemorated January 29) had been condemned to be devoured by wild beasts for their Christian faith, he appeared before them and encouraged them not to fear a martyr’s death. But he himself was seized and imprisoned in a narrow gorge. There, several nails were driven into his head and body, causing his death. This occurred in 312, under the persecutor Maximian.

The Martyr Fausta, a virgin, was the daughter of wealthy and pious parents living in Cyzicus. She was raised in godliness and became an orphan at an early age. When Emperor Maximian learned of her pious life, he sent the priest Evilasius to persuade her to renounce Christ. Seeing the steadfastness of Saint Fausta, Evilasius ordered her placed in a wooden chest; the lid was nailed shut, and the chest was sawn with a saw. But the chest resisted the saw’s power, and several saws were worn out. Then Evilasius ordered the chest burned, but the fire had no effect. After this, Evilasius himself accepted the Christian faith. Upon learning of Evilasius’s conversion, the emperor sent his official Maximus to investigate the matter. Maximus tortured both Fausta and Evilasius: nails were driven into their bodies, and they were thrown into a cauldron of sulfur and pitch. Yet this did them no harm and so affected him that he himself desired to become a martyr for Christ. He threw himself into the cauldron with Fausta and Evilasius. At that moment, a voice from heaven was heard: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest in My Kingdom.” And the holy martyrs reposed. This took place in the early 4th century.

The virgin martyrs Martha and Mary were blood sisters who lived in the 3rd century. During the persecution of Christians, when a military commander passed by their house and opened the door, they declared to him—together with their brother, the young monk Carion—that they were Christians. The commander said to them: “Because of your youth, I forgive you.” But they replied: “A martyr’s death is not death, but life.” Then they were crucified and afterward beheaded with a sword, in the presence of their mother.