Today the Church commemorates the Martyred Holy Fathers who were slain at the Monastery of Saint Savvas and the seven Holy Women, Claudia, Alexandria, Euphrasia, Matrona, Juliana, Euphemia, and Theodora, who martyred in Aminsus of Cappadocia, during the persecution by Emperor Maximian.
The Holy Fathers of the Monastery of Saint Savvas, located in a desert location near Jerusalem, practiced virtue in accordance with the exhortations and the ritual of the Lavra, which was founded by Saint Savvas the Sanctified. As terrestrial angels, according to monk Antiochus of Palestine, they never left the place of their asceticism, where they came when they were young, and most were already elderly.
About 40 Abbas (ie fathers) remained in the monastery even when, in the year 610 AD, it was occupied by Arab thieves who believed that there were innumerable treasures in it. Praying and thanking God until the last moment, the Holy Fathers were killed by the invaders’ swords and claimed, in addition to the wreath of asceticism, the one of martyrdom as well, since they remained faithful to the end.
Source: Church of Cyprus
