Holy Martyrs Cecilia, Valerian, Tiburtius and Maximus (+c. 230)

The holy Martyrs Cecilia, Valerian, Tiburtius and Maximus. The holy Martyr Cecilia, the daughter of rich and noble pagans, became a follower of Christ while still young. Under her rich clothing the saint wore a garment of sackcloth. Her parents decided to give the maiden in marriage to a noble pagan, Valerian. The saint did not dare to oppose her parents’ will; with tears she besought the Lord to convert her bridegroom to Christianity, and to help her herself to preserve her purity.

The saint persuaded Valerian to go to Bishop Urban, who because of the persecution of the Christians had taken refuge in a cave. Under the influence of the wise teacher’s preaching the holy maiden’s pagan bridegroom believed in the true God, and converted his brother Tiburtius too to the faith of the Saviour.

When the governor Almachius learned of this, he ordered the holy brothers to be seized and brought before the tribunal. He demanded that Valerian and Tiburtius deny Christ and offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, to which they answered with a refusal. Then the martyrs were cruelly beaten. During the torture Valerian urged the Christians not to be afraid of the torments and to hold firmly to the faith of Christ.

The governor, wishing to keep the people away from the influence of the holy confessor’s preaching, ordered the martyrs to be put to death outside the city. The detachment of soldiers charged with guarding the Lord’s chosen ones on their last road was led by Maximus. He was amazed at the martyrs’ firmness and asked them why they were not afraid of death. The saints answered that they were giving up temporal life for the sake of eternal life. A desire was awakened in Maximus to learn the Christians’ teaching more thoroughly. After the holy brothers had preached to him, Maximus confessed Christ with his whole household.

The next day Valerian and Tiburtius were beheaded. Maximus publicly declared that he too was a Christian; for such boldness he was beaten until he gave up his soul (+230).

The governor wished to take the property of those put to death, but when he learned that Saint Cecilia had already given everything away to the poor and had converted four hundred people to Christianity by her preaching, he ordered her to be put to death as well.