The Holy Three Thousand Six Hundred and Twenty-eight Martyrs of Nicomedia (III–IV)

The holy three thousand six hundred and twenty-eight martyrs were put to death for Christ in Nicomedia in the time of the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian (284–305). They were Alexandrians who had believed in Christ the Saviour after the martyrdom of Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria (commemorated 25 November). The saints came to Nicomedia with their families and gave themselves up to torture of their own accord. At first Diocletian tried to persuade the confessors to renounce the true faith, but when he saw their steadfastness he ordered them all to be beheaded and their bodies thrown into a ravine. The holy relics of the God-pleasers were found many years later through a divine revelation.