Saint Eleutherius was born and lived in the second half of the II century in Rome in the family of wealthy parents.

Then the emperors were the corrupt Commodus and the treacherous Septimius Severus, who organized persecutions against Christians, writes BTA.

Orphaned by his father, Eleutherius was raised and educated in the Christian faith and morality by his pious and virtuous mother Antia.

Antia herself became a Christian after listening to the sermons of the disciples of Saint Paul the Apostle in Rome.

Eleutherius received an excellent education and the Roman bishop Anicita, appreciating his reading, ardent faith and pure life, ordained him successively as deacon, priest and bishop.

For years, Eleutherius diligently worked for the education of his flock, supported the poor and the weak with works of charity.

As a bishop, he was sent to the region of Illyricum, today's Albania, with his seat in the city of Avlona.

The ancient fathers, when they speak of the rapid rise of Eleutherius, point out that it happened by the will of God because of the rare virtue and wisdom of Eleutherius, with which he attracted the heathen to faith in Christ the Savior.

The sweetness of his speech was accompanied by wisdom of thought and persuasiveness of argument.

All this made the deluded pagans embrace the Christian truth.

We celebrate the memory of Venerable Daniil Stulpnik

When Septimius Severus began to persecute the believers in Jesus Christ and learned about the Christian activities of Eleutherius, he ordered his capture.

After much torture, Eleutherius was condemned to death and taken by the soldiers to the arena to be torn apart by the wild animals.

To everyone's surprise, the beasts did not touch him, so he was beheaded along with his mother Antia.

Together with them, two of the soldiers who believed in Jesus Christ during the torture of Eleutherius and declared in front of everyone that they were Christians were also cut with a sword.