On August 25, the Church commemorates St. Barses, St. Eulogius, and St. Protogenes, confessors who suffered during the Arian persecution of the fourth century.

Emperor Valens, determined to spread the Arian heresy, removed St. Barses from the episcopal throne of Edessa and repeatedly exiled him farther from his flock. Everywhere he went, however, the faithful received him with honor.

An Arian bishop was then imposed upon Edessa. The clergy and laity refused to worship in the church seized by the Arians and instead gathered outside the city for Divine Services.

Valens ordered them killed.

When the official Modestus went with soldiers to carry out the command, he encountered a woman hurrying toward the gathering with her small child because she did not want him deprived of the crown of martyrdom.

Shaken by their faith, Modestus returned to the emperor and persuaded him not to massacre the entire congregation.

The persecution then fell upon the clergy. Eighty were chained, imprisoned, and eventually scattered into exile.

Among them were Eulogius and Protogenes, who used their exile in Egypt to preach Christ, convert pagans, and baptize new Christians.

After Valens died and Emperor Theodosius restored the exiled confessors, Eulogius became Bishop of Edessa and Protogenes Bishop of Carrhae.

Their witness reminds us that defending the true Faith sometimes means refusing compromise even when rulers, institutions, and the surrounding culture demand it.

Holy Confessors Barses, Eulogius, and Protogenes, pray for us!

00:00 Confessors Barses, Eulogius & Protogenes
00:24 The Arian Persecution
00:33 Emperor Valens Spreads Arianism
00:40 St. Barses Removed From Edessa
00:48 The Bishop Is Sent Into Exile
00:57 The Faithful Honor the Exiled Saint
01:04 His Final Exile and Death
01:11 An Arian Bishop Seizes Edessa
01:18 Catholics Refuse the Arian Church
01:27 Worship Outside the City
01:35 The Emperor Orders a Massacre
01:43 Christians Go Willingly Toward Martyrdom
01:57 A Mother Hurries With Her Child
02:05 The Official Refuses to Massacre Them
02:13 Persecution Turns Against the Clergy
02:22 Refusing Communion With the Arian Bishop
02:29 Eighty Clergymen Chained and Imprisoned
02:36 The Faithful Honor the Confessors
02:45 Eulogius & Protogenes Exiled to Egypt
02:53 Pagans Converted and Baptized
03:02 Emperor Theodosius Restores the Confessors
03:09 Return to Edessa
03:17 Eulogius & Protogenes Become Bishops
03:25 Their Final Years

https://www.oca.org/saints/lives

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