Holy Martyr Vincent (+304)

The holy Martyr Vincent was from childhood a disciple of the blessed Valerius, bishop of the city of Augustopolis (present-day Saragossa, Spain). When the devout, educated and eloquent Vincent came of age, the hierarch ordained him deacon. At that time, by order of the godless Diocletian (284–305), the governor Dacian came to Spain, to the city of Valencia, to punish the Christians. The saints were seized, and after long suffering and torture a public interrogation was held. The bishop was brought forward first. The hierarch spoke quietly, haltingly, as if timidly. Then Saint Vincent stepped forward and, before the judges and the people gathered there, delivered a most excellent sermon, in which he publicly confessed and glorified the true God. The tormentor sent the hierarch back to prison and ordered the deacon to be tortured. The blessed Vincent endured many torments: he was nailed to a cross and beaten with red-hot rods. When the Lord’s chosen one came loose from the wood, he himself asked to be nailed to it again, so as to share in the sufferings of the crucified Saviour. After torture the martyr was locked in prison. The astonished guards heard him singing psalms and saw an unearthly, radiant light coming from the cell. In the morning the blessed martyr was burned in the fire (+304).