MEMORIAL OF SAINT CHAEREMON, BISHOP AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS AND SAINT ISCHYRION, MARTYR IN ALEXANDRIA, HOLY MARTYRS – FEAST DAY ~ DECEMBER 22ND: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Chaeremon, Bishop and Companions, Marytrs and Saint Ischyrion, Martyr in Alexandria, Holy Martyrs. The third century was marked by Roman persecutions of the Church. Today’s saints were martyred during the reign of Emperor Decius. They lived in Egypt. In the year 247 St. Dionysius was chosen Bishop of Alexandria. Soon afterward, the people of Alexandria, incited by a pagan prophet and given further impetus by an edict of the Emperor Decius, began a fierce persecution of all Christians. St. Dionysius was himself hunted and escaped only through the aid and insistence of a wedding party of pagans. In his letter to Fabian, the Bishop of Antioch, St. Dionysius of Alexandria speaks of Christians who suffered martyrdom under the Emperor Decius. St. Dionysius wrote an account of this persecution to Fabian, Bishop of Antioch. In it he states that many Christians fled into desert and there perished from the elements and died in a variety of ways: from hunger, thirst, and over-exposure to extreme weather, or from wild beasts and wild men and criminals. Naturally, if the Christians tried to return to civilization, they were killed. The young, healthy Christians were captured and sold into slavery.
In his letter, St. Dionysius especially mentions SAINT CHAEREMON, Bishop of Nilopolis, who was very old when the persecution became extreme. St. Chaeremon, the elderly bishop and a companion took refuge in the mountains of Arabia. They were never seen again, nor were their bodies ever found. Although a search was made in the mountains of Arabia by the Christians, nothing was ever again heard or seen of either of them after 250. The bishop and his companions are listed as martyrs.
In the same letter St. Dionysius also mentions the name of SAINT ISCHYRION, the procurator of a magistrate of Egypt. St. Ischyrion worked for an official in one of Egypt’s cities, it may have been Alexandria. His employer, the Egyptian official ordered him to sacrifice to the gods. Ischyrion refused so steadfastly because this was against the first commandment, neither abuse nor threats could make him change his mind. The official was angry and insulted. The enraged magistrate then had St. Ischyrion mutilated and impaled. He was eventually killed. A great many other martyrs are included here who gave their lives for Jesus at this time in Egypt.
REFLECTION: Today, there are still many people who suffer for their faith in Jesus. Let us pray for them, that they will have the courage they need to be faithful to the Gospel.
PRAYER: Loving God, You not only sent Your Son into the world to save us, but You also had Him call us to a life in this world lived in Your presence. Through the intercession of Your servants St. Ischyrion, St Chaeremon and companion martyrs, grant us the grace to respond with joy. This we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen🙏