Saint Eugenios ( el, Άγιος Ευγένιος) or Eugene was martyred under

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

and a cult devoted to him developed in Trebizond. His feast day is 21 January. Eugenios along with the martyrs Candidus, Valerian and Aquila was persecuted during the reign of Diocletian (284-305) and

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

(305-311). The four hid in the mountains above Trebizond, but were eventually found and brought before the regimental commander Lycius. They were flogged, tortured with fire and eventually beheaded. Eugenios is credited with the destruction of the image on the "gray hill" overlooking the city, later known as the Mithratis.

Legacy

The Komnenian rulers of the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...

adopted the saint as the

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of their country. His alleged miracles include assisting Trebizond to repel a siege of the city by the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

in 1224. His image appears frequently on Trapezuntine coins. The cult and pilgrimage around this saint never really developed beyond Trebizond's borders, although

John Lazaropoulos John Lazaropoulos (c.1310 - 1369) was the Metropolitan of Trebizond (as Joseph) from 1364 to November 1367 and a religious writer. Life The first recorded event in John Lazaropoulos' life is a banquet at the Monastery of Saint Eugenios he atte ...

, Metropolitan of Trebizond in the name Joseph, collected the miracles of St. Eugenios into one book in the 14th century. A monastery dedicated to him existed in Trebizond: Rosenqvist identifies it consisted of a structure on Mount Minthrion with an associated church, and a ''

metochion A ''metochion'' or ''metochi'' ( gr, μετόχιον, metóchion or gr, μετόχι, metóchi; russian: подворье, podvorie) is an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is usually from one autocephalous or ...

'' inside the city walls. There is evidence that the monastery was in existence at least as early as the ninth century; a ''

typikon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; gr, , "that of the prescribed form"; Slavonic: Тvпико́нъ ''Typikonə'' or Оуставъ, ''ustavə'') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite of ...

'' composed in 1346 provides details of the monastic community's life.Jan Olof Rosenqvist, ''The Hagiographic Dossier of St Eugenios of Trebizond in Codex Athous Dionysiou 154'' (Uppsala: University Press, 1996), pp. 81-85 According to the

Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...

, his prayer is thus:

Legacy

References

Further reading