Memorial Day of the Great Martyr Eustathius Placidus, his wife Theopistia and children Agapius and Theopist

On October 3, the Orthodox Church remembers Saint Eustathius, his wife and sons Before accepting Christianity, Eustathius bore the name Placidas He was a rich and noble Roman commander who led a godly life One day while hunting, a man was chasing a deer Suddenly, between the horns of the animal, Placidas saw the crucified Jesus Then he heard a voice calling him to join the Lord The amazed Placidas returned home and, after consulting with his wife, was baptized After the sacrament, he again had a vision in which the Lord warned him about the upcoming trials At first, Eustathius went bankrupt: all his animals and servants died Then the man decided to sail to Egypt On the way, the owner of the ship was seduced by the beauty of the governor’s wife and dropped him and both sons off Heartbroken, Eustathius set off on foot On the road, first a wolf and then a lion stole his children The man understood that all these misfortunes were sent to him to test his patience, and he humbly suffered He did not yet know that the peasants had saved his children from the clutches of wild animals, and the owner of the ship immediately after the crime had been committed became seriously ill and died Eustathius worked as an ordinary worker for 15 years At this time, a war began in Rome and Emperor Trajan urgently needed a skilled commander Remembering Eustathius, he sent people to search for him The former governor was found and returned to service with honors Two recruits appeared in Eustathius’s army The commander himself respected these young people for their ingenuity and dexterity One day, the warriors, having talked about their fate, realized that they were siblings, dragged away by wild animals Their conversation was accidentally overheard by a woman working not far from them This was their mother Theopistia, wife of Eustathius Theopistia decided to go to the commander to ask permission to go on a campaign with her sons Imagine her surprise when the woman recognized the governor as her husband! So the family endured much suffering and was reunited At this time, Emperor Trajan died and was replaced by Adrian, who hated pious people When he learned that his commander had returned victorious and his family had miraculously returned to him, he invited Eustathius to make a sacrifice to the pagan gods The governor refused, believing that the Lord helped him The angry emperor ordered the family to be thrown into a red-hot copper bull, where Eustathius, Theopistia and their children immediately gave up the ghost After 3 days, the emperor wanted to look at the ashes of the family he killed When the bull was opened, they saw that the bodies of Eustathius, Theopistia and their sons were not touched by fire Many people who saw this believed in Christ Christians buried the bodies of the martyrs with all honors Saint Eustathius is considered the patron saint of hunters The glorious commander and his family are an example of the fact that all trials are sent by the Lord to strengthen our spirit