The Church commemorates the eight Martyrs Peter, Dionysus, Paul, Andrew, Benedimus, Paulinus, Heraclius, and Christina.
Martyr Peter came from Lampsacus. When ordered by Emperor Decius to perform a sacrifice to the goddess Aphrodite, he refused to betray his faith in Christ. Therefore, he was brutally tortured and received the immortal crown of martyrdom.
Paul and Andrew came from Mesopotamia. They were soldiers and traveled to Athens along with Decius. In Athens, they arrested two Christians, Dionysius, and Christina, and took them to prison. Paul and Andrew sought to humiliate Christina. However, with faith in God’s will, patience, and endurance, but also goodness, Christina taught them faith in the Resurrection and Jesus Christ the Redeemer. As a result of the confession of their faith in Christ, Dionysius, Paul, and Andrew were stoned and Christina was beheaded.
Heraclius, Pauline, and Benedict came from Athens and preached the Holy Gospel to persuade the pagans to turn away from the illusion of the idols. For this reason, they were arrested, tortured, and forcibly put into a furnace. Because the grace of God kept them unharmed, they beheaded them.
The saints, who make up the eight-member municipality, as said in their apolytikion, came from different parts of the world, but, through the confession of their faith in God and their martyrdom, they became fellow citizens in the heavenly state.
These Saints acted in difficult times for the Church, due to persecutions and in different times. Burning furnaces, stoning, swords, chains, beatings, and other horrible tortures were not able to distract them from the mission work and make them deny the risen Christ. Their martyrdom made them heirs of the only real and eternal life.
Source: Church of Cyprus
