Holy Martyr Victor Warrior of Damascus - History

About the time of the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius the Philosopher (161-180) (Antonin, 161-180) in the city of Damascus (Syria) served a christian, Victor, a native of Italy. When the emperor ordered the persecution of Christians, the voevoda Sevastian demanded from Victor that he renounce Christ and sacrifice to idols. Such an obligatory sacrifice was a test of the devotion of the warrior to the gods, the emperor and the fatherland. "You are the warrior of our king and must fulfill his orders," Sevastian said. "No! Now I am a warrior of the Heavenly King and I will serve Him only, and I despise the vile idols! "- Victor answered and refused to offer a sacrifice to the gods. Then Sevastian betrayed Victor to various torments. The executioners broke Victor's fingers and toes and twisted them out of their joints. During the torture, Saint Victor prayed to God and courageously endured suffering.

Then the executioners began to force Victor to swallow the meat poisoned by the sorcerer. Praying and crossed the meat, the martyr Victor swallowed him. In front of everyone there was a clear miracle: Victor was unhurt. It happened that the Lord once promised his disciples: "If something is lethal drink, it will not hurt them" (Mk.16, 18). The sorcerer, seeing that Victor did not suffer at all from his poison, believed in Christ. He understood better than others that no earthly force could neutralize his most terrible poison. So, by the power of prayer, Saint Victor defeated the sorcerer, who since then abandoned the sorceries and became a Christian.

Then St. Victor was subjected to even more serious torture. Stefanida, the wife of one of the warriors who tormented Victor, could no longer look at the heavy and utterly innocent suffering to which the martyr Christ was subjected, and interceded for him. Seeing the miracles revealed by the Lord through St. Victor, the young pious Stephanide openly glorified Christ. Distressed by the blood of the executioners, instead of stopping, they became embittered at Stefanida and saw in it their new victim. The holy martyr was betrayed by a cruel execution. Stefanida died while still very young: she was only 15 years old. After killing Stefanida, the torturers returned to Victor's tortures and beheaded him.

Before his death, the martyr Victor predicted the executioners that they would die in 12 days, and the governor would be captured in 24 days.