Holy Martyr Hermias suffered for Christ in the city of Comana during the persecution under the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161). The governor Sebastian, who was in Cappadocia to arrest Christians, urged the saint to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, promising him honors and mercy from the emperor.
The old soldier bravely confessed his faith in Christ. After long exhortation, the governor gave orders to torture the saint. They beat him on the face so that the skin peeled from his face, and they threw him into a red-hot oven. When the oven was opened after three days, the martyr Hermias emerged from it unharmed.
The governor Sebastian ordered the sorcerer Marus to poison Saint Hermias with a potion. The poisonous drink did the saint no harm. A second goblet with even stronger poison also failed to kill the saint. The sorcerer believed in Christ the Savior, and was immediately beheaded. Saint Marus was baptized in his own blood, and received a martyr’s crown.
Saint Hermias was subjected to even more terrible tortures. They raked his body with sharp instruments, threw him in boiling oil, and gouged out his eyes, but he gave thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they suspended the martyr head downward. For three days he hung in this position.
People sent by the governor to verify his death found him alive. Struck by the miracle, they were blinded with fright and began to call out to the saint to help them. The holy martyr ordered the blind to approach him, and healed them in the Name of Jesus Christ.
In anger the governor ordered the skin flayed from the saint’s body, but he remained alive. Then the crazed Sebastian beheaded him with his own sword. Christians secretly buried the body of the martyr Hermias, whose relics bestowed numerous healings.
According to some, this Martyr strove in contest during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, also called Antoninus (161-180); according to others, it was in the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161). Already an old man, the Saint was brought before Sebastian, Proconsul in Comana of Cappadocia, and because he would not renounce his confession of Christ, his tormentors showing no reverence to his grey hairs, broke his jaw, tore the flesh from his face, pierced his eyes with a sharp instrument, subjected him to many other torments, and finally, after three days of such torture, beheaded him.
Hermeas served as an imperial soldier until old age, at which time he suffered for Christ the King. Since the evil judge tried in vain to dissuade him from following the Faith of Christ and failed to convince him to offer sacrifices to the idols, the judge then gave orders that Hermeas’s teeth be knocked out with a stone and the skin peeled from his face with a knife. After that they threw him into a fiery furnace, but the grace of God saved him, and he stood up. Then, by order of the judge, he drank a bitter poison that was given to him by a magician, but the poison did him no harm. Witnessing this, the magician was so amazed that he openly confessed Christ, for which he was immediately beheaded.
Afterward, they gouged out both of Hermeas’s eyes, but he did not grieve. Instead he cried out to the judge: “Take for yourself these bodily eyes that gaze upon the vanity of the world. I have eyes in the heart, by which I clearly see the light of the truth.” He was then hung upside down by the feet, and those who did this to him were blinded and staggered around him. St. Hermeas beckoned them to come to him, laid his hands on them and restored their sight by prayer to the Lord. Witnessing all of this, the judge became as enraged as a lion, drew a knife and severed the head of this godly man. Christians secretly removed the body of Hermeas and honorably buried it. His relics gave healing to all the sick and afflicted. St. Hermeas suffered in the year 166 A.D., during the reign of Emperor Antoninus.
Source: oca.org / goarch.org / westserbdio.org
