Holy Martyr Urpasianus (+295)

The holy Martyr Urpasianus (+295) suffered in the city of Nicomedia. The Emperor Maximian Galerius cruelly persecuted the Christians serving in the army and at the palace. Urpasianus, a distinguished courtier, threw down his cloak and belt before the emperor and said to him: “From henceforth I am a soldier of the King of heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. Take back the tokens of rank that thou gavest me.” Maximian ordered him to be tied to a tree and beaten with dried ox sinews. Then the saint was put into an iron cage and a fire was lit under it. Saint Urpasianus endured the unbearable pain with prayer. The saint’s body was thrown into the sea: even after his death he was fearsome to the pagans, who had been unable to break his spirit.