⛪ Saint of the Day : January 3
⛪ Memorial :
• 3 January
• 18 December on some calendars
• 4 January (Orthodox; Armenian,; Syrian)
Zosimus and Athanasius (d.303) + Martyrs in Cilicia (modern Turkey). They were executed during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305). Zosimus the Hermit was an ascetic who resided in the wilds of Cilicia in the third century AD. Zosimus was tortured during the persecution of the Church under Roman Emperor Diocletian but persevered in his Christian faith. After being tortured he was supposedly left miraculously unharmed.
The Holy martyr Athanasius the Superintendent of Prisoners, also Athanasius Komentarisios, was a prison warden. Athanasius witnessed the torture of the monk Zosimus from Cilicia who had been seized and subjected to fierce torture for his Faith. Seeing him unharmed after the torture, Athanasius came to believe in Christ and was baptized. After Zosimus was released, Athanasius joined with him and traveled into the wilderness. There, they found a crevice in a mountain in Cilicia that became their shelter and where they lived as hermits until their deaths. Saint Zosimus the Hermit and Saint Athanasius his disciple are commemorated on 3 January.
Saint Zosimus and Saint Athanasius, Pray for us !