Holy Martyrs Victor and Stephanida (II)

The holy Martyr Victor served as a soldier in the reign of Marcus Aurelius the Philosopher (161–180). When the emperor began to persecute the Christians, Victor refused to offer sacrifice to the false gods. For his disobedience the saint was handed over to be tortured: he was first shut in a heated furnace, then thrown into boiling oil, but he came through unharmed. By the power of prayer the blessed one overcame a sorcerer, who after this gave up his magic and became a Christian. Through the prayer of the Lord’s chosen one soldiers who had been struck blind received their sight. When she saw the miracles worked by the Lord through Saint Victor’s intercession, Stephanida, the wife of one of the executioners, believed and openly confessed Christ. The lawless tied her to two bent palm trees, and when the trees sprang upright the martyr was torn to pieces. Saint Victor was beheaded. According to one account the martyrs died in Damascus in the second century and were buried there; according to other sources, in the city of Alexandria.