By Aristeides Theodoropoulos, Educator
Among the numerous martyrs, who sacrificed themselves for their steadfast and unshakable faith in the Savior and Redeemer Christ, is the young martyr of Christ, Saint Orestes, who is honored on November 10, and who came from Tyana in Cappadocia and, according to some sources, was a physician by profession.
Saint Orestes was born, lived and was martyred during the time when the emperor of Rome was the cruel and paranoid Diocletian, who had unleashed a relentless persecution against the Christians in 303 AD. The young Orestes boldly proclaimed that the only true God is our Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus Christ. His fiery preaching motivated many to embrace Christianity and abandon the false religion of idols. When the ruler of the region Maximinus was informed that Orestes was preaching the faith in Jesus Christ, he ordered to arrest him and bring him before him. Maximinus tried with promises and rich gifts to convince him to abandon the blameless Christian faith and then worship lifeless idols. But the efforts of the ruler were fruitless and a series of horrible tortures awaited the young Orestes. First they stripped him and whipped him mercilessly. They then threw him in jail for seven days without food in the hope that he would change his mind. In prison the unshakable faith of the young confessor of the Lord's name grew so much that it enraged Maximinus even more. Then he gave the order for him to be led before a pagan temple to participate in sacrifices to false gods. But the invincible and glorious martyr of Christ remained steadfast in his faith and, praying, completely crushed the lifeless idols.
