Armenian Church commemorates Bishop St. Mark, Priest St. Pion, Deacons St. Cyril and St. Benjamin and Holy Martyrs Sts. Abdlmseh, Vormzdana and Sayen

Today, on February 2, the Armenian Church commemorates Bishop St. Mark, Priest St. Pion, Deacons St. Kyouregh (Cyril) and St. Benjamin and Holy Martyrs Sts. Abdlmseh, Vormzdana and Sayen.

St. Mark was the Bishop of Aritus in the middle of the 4th century. Famous theological doctrines are ascribed to him. During the reign of King Julianus the Apostate, he was subjected to torments, then exiled to a remote island, where he passed away, dedicating the last years of his life to Christian preaching.

Priest St. Pion has also been one of the devoted advocates of Christianity. It is known that he has served in Smyrna, where he has been martyred for preaching Christianity.

Deacons St. Kyouregh (Cyril) and St. Benjamin have been martyred for the sake of Christian faith. Accusing Kyouregh (Cyril) of destroying heathen temples, Julianus the Betrayer allowed the heathen priests to judge him, and the heathen priests subjected him to severe torment. Deacon St. Benjamin was martyred during the reign of the Persian king Hazkert I for preaching Christianity among the Persians.

Among the victims martyred during the period of reign of King Hazkert I were Vormzdana, minister of the Persian royal palace, and Sayen, a Persian noble. Both of them, deprived of royal and noble pleasures and privileges, continued to remain loyal to the Christian faith and were martyred for the sake of the Christian faith.

Abdlmseh was the son of rich Jews living in Persia. While pasturing his father’s cattle, Abdlmseh became acquainted with other Christians of the same age, who baptized him and renamed him Abdlmseh, which means “Servant of Christ.” Becoming aware of his son’s conversion to Christianity and not succeeding in forcing him to renounce Christianity, his father stabbed him in the same place where the saint had been baptized.