Holy Martyr Criskent

The case of Criskent: in the worlds executed the elder who refused to worship idols

The provincial authorities of Lycia completed the consideration of a resonant case, the defendant of which was a local aristocrat of old age Criskent. The indictment led to a brutal execution, but the events that accompanied it have already generated a lot of interpretations among the citizens.

According to the materials of the investigation, the detention occurred during a raid to identify persons ignoring the imperial edict on the veneration of official cults. A pensioner belonging to the city elite was twisted and sent to the administrative building. During the interrogation of the viceroy, he did not hesitate to confirm his commitment to Christianity, and the statues of traditional deities called empty works of artisans who are unable to help anyone who asks.

Such statements were followed by a series of physical influences. First weave, then hanging on a pole with tearing the skin with metal hooks. Those present recorded that the elderly man did not groan, his face expressed peace, and his lips whispered appeals to Christ.

The critical episode of the proceedings came when the executors moved to cauterization with torches. According to the testimony of a few witnesses, a glow appeared in the room and four figures appeared, who entered into a dialogue with the defendant. Shocked executioners threw their guns and spoke of the superiority of the Christian God. The governor, in order to stop the fermentation, immediately ordered to drown these performers, and to isolate Criskent for the night.

The final act took place this morning. The convict was pushed inside the furnace, heated to the limit. Being in the tongues of fire, he raised his hands and offered up a prayer in which he asked for the completion of the earthly path in this fire and mentioned the biblical episode of salvation from the furnace of Babylon. After that, according to eyewitnesses, the heat immediately changed to cold, and the messenger descended from heaven announced that the soul of the executed would be taken into the host of the righteous.

When the body was removed, no traces of burns were found on it. The remains were planned to be dumped in an animal dump, but the local Christian community smuggled them out and buried them in a hidden place. From the burial since then, cases of healing have been recorded, which attracts more and more people to it.