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Saint Eustathius Placidas

Martyr
Roman Empire
Feast day: September 20

Icon: Eustathius Placidas, Theopistus, Agapius and Theopista.
Icon: Eustathius Placidas, Theopistus, Agapius and Theopista. Image source: Romanian Patriarchate calendar

A life of faith

Eustathius was a Roman general originally named Placidas. His received life recounts a vision during a hunt that led him to baptism with his wife Theopista and their sons Agapius and Theopistus. After a long separation, the family was reunited. When Hadrian demanded pagan sacrifice, Eustathius refused and confessed Christ. The family suffered martyrdom together.

The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers saints in prayer and commemoration. Their lives offer examples for Christians learning to live their faith.

A reflection

Eustathius recalls preserving faith through upheaval without measuring that faith by worldly success.

Read the Orthodox source

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