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- Hieromartyr Clement of Ancyra, and Martyr Agathangelus (296)
- He was from
Ancyra in Galatia, son of a pagan father and a Christian mother named Euphrosyne.
His mother prophesied on her deathbed that he would suffer great torments for Christ
over many years. After her death he was adopted and reared by a pious woman named
Sophia. From the age of twelve, he began to fast and pray like the monks, so that he
was soon ordained a deacon, and became Bishop of Ancyra at the age of twenty. His
piety and zeal for the faith attracted the attention of the Imperial Governor of the
region, who had him arrested. Thus began Clement's twenty-eight years of almost
continuous suffering for the Faith. When he stood firm despite many tortures, he was
sent to the Emperor Diocletian in Rome. The Emperor showed him a table set with
costly vessels on one side, and another decked with instruments of torture on the other,
and bade Clement to make his choice. The Saint replied: "These precious vessels
remind how much more glorious must be the eternal good things of Paradise; and these
instruments of torture remind me of the everlasting punishments of hell that await
those who deny the Lord."
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The Saint was viciously tortured, then transported to Nicomedia, where a
converted pagan named Agathangelus ('good angel') became his companion. For many
years they endured unspeakable torments alternating with long imprisonments, but
nothing would move them to deny the precious Faith of Christ. After twenty-eight
years of suffering, Agathangelus was beheaded; but Clement was briefly paroled and
allowed to celebrate the services of Theophany and to give the holy Communion to his
fellow-Christians. A few days later, as he was again celebrating the Divine Liturgy,
some pagan soldiers burst into the church and beheaded him at the altar.
source:http://www.abbamoses.com
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