The Church commemorates the Translation of the relics of the Hieromartyr Ignatius the Godbearer (Theoforos), who was the second bishop of Antioch and the disciple of Saint John the Evangelist. The Church also commemorates Martyrs Philotheus, Hyperechius, Abibus, Julian, Romanus, James and Paregorius at Samosata.
Saint Ignatius was thrown to the lions in Rome at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. His holy relics were gathered up and transferred by devout Christians to Antioch for the faithful to venerate, who had been deprived of their shepherd. This feast is very old, as is shown by Saint Ioannis Chrysostomos.
The honor accorded by the Orthodox Church to the sacred relics is not irrelevant to the doctrine of resurrection and eternal life, since the Second Council of Nicaea, based on the words of St. John of Damascus, proclaimed that we must venerate the Holy Cross, the sacred relics and the holy icons as much as we venerate the Holy Bible. The reason is obvious, and it is related to the truth that Christ sanctified the matter and made it incorruptible.
Source: Church of Cyprus
