Holy Martyr Mertius the Soldier (+284–305)

The holy Martyr Mertius was a soldier. He suffered for confessing Christ in Africa in the time of the Emperor Diocletian (284–305). The saint was ordered to offer sacrifice to the idols, but they received a firm refusal in answer. For this the martyr of Christ was terribly tortured, and then thrown into a dungeon, where, weakened by hunger and wounds, he gave up his soul.