Holy Martyr Porphyrius (+361)

The holy Martyr Porphyrius suffered in the reign of Julian the Apostate (361–363). Porphyrius was an actor, and on the emperor’s birthday he was playing a part in the theatre in which he was to mock the mystery of Baptism; but when, during the play, the blessed one went down into the water and said, “The servant of God Porphyrius is baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the grace of the Holy Spirit came down upon him, and when he came up out of the water he openly confessed Christianity. Julian at once ordered the blessed one to be cruelly tortured and then beheaded. This happened in the city of Ephesus in 361.