1,003 Martyrs of Nicomedia

Commemorated on February 7.

1003 Martyrs at Nicomedia, were servants of the four dignitaries Bassos, Eusebius, Eutychius and Basilides, who suffered for Christ with their wives (January 5) in the year 303 during the reign of the emperor Diocletian (284-305).

After the martyric death of their masters, the servants decided to follow their example, and they also confessed themselves Christians before Diocletian. Swayed neither by persuasion nor promises nor rewards, 1003 men, women, and small children were cut down by soldiers who formed a tight circle around them so that none of them remained alive.

Troparion

Your holy martyrs O Lord,
through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God.
For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through their intercessions, save our souls!