Holy Martyr Callistratus and His Companions Gymnasius, Dalmatius, Heliodorus, Domentian and Others (+304)

The holy Martyr Callistratus was born in the city of Carthage. His grandfather, Neoskor, served in the time of the Emperor Tiberius (14–37) in a troop of horsemen under Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judaea. “And there he had been an eyewitness of the Passion of Christ, and a hearer of His Resurrection, and had come to know the wonders then accomplished.”

The saint’s father confessed Christianity and brought up his son too in faith and the fear of God. Like his grandfather and father, Callistratus was a soldier, and among his fellow soldiers he stood out for his good morals and humility. At night, when everyone was asleep, he would usually stand up to pray. Soon the saint was denounced to his superior. He summoned the Lord’s chosen one and demanded that he offer sacrifice to the idols, and received a firm refusal in reply. Callistratus was cruelly tortured, but they could by no means bend him; then they sewed him into a leather sack and threw him into the sea. By the providence of God the sack caught on the point of an underwater rock and tore, and the saint was set free. Two dolphins carried him to the shore. Forty-eight soldiers who saw this miracle believed in Christ. By the commander’s order all the new converts were locked up in prison together with Saint Callistratus. Here the Lord’s chosen one continued to preach the word of God and to strengthen his fellow strugglers in the faith. Brought again before the authorities, the soldiers firmly confessed the Saviour, after which their hands and feet were bound and they were thrown into a river. The blessed Callistratus fervently besought the Lord that this water might become a font of baptism for the martyrs. And “there befell them a thing worthy of hearing and of wonder”: the martyrs’ bonds were loosed, “and they were radiant of face and clothed in radiant garments in those waters”. On Callistratus himself a radiant crown was set, and a voice sounded from on high: “Fear not, Callistratus; be of good courage together with thy flock! Henceforth come and rest in the everlasting dwellings.” At that moment the earth shook; a pagan temple standing nearby collapsed, and the idols in it were shattered. This miracle converted another hundred and thirty-five soldiers to the true faith. The commander, fearing unrest in the army, did not put them on trial, but locked Callistratus and his band in prison again. Here the saints prayed fervently and gave thanks to God, Creator of all, who granted them the strength to endure their torments. By night the executioners hacked the martyrs limb from limb with swords. The hundred and thirty-five newly converted soldiers who remained alive committed the holy relics of the Lord’s saints to the earth with honour. Afterwards a splendid church was built at the place of the blessed ones’ martyrdom, and in the prison a book was found “in which were written the teachings and instructions of the holy martyr”.