Anthony, John, and Eustathius of Vilnius

Anthony, John, and Eustathius (Eustathios or Eustace) are 14th century martyrs (1347) of the Russian Orthodox Church.

They were attached to the Muscovite mission in the court of the pagan warlord, Algirdas (Olgierd) of Lithuania. Algirdas was married to a Russian Christian princess, and the missionaries were permitted only to minister to the religious needs of the princess and her retinue. All proselytising was strictly proscribed. The three youths were apprehended for preaching in public and brought before Algirdas, who ordered them to consume meat during a solemn fast. When they refused, he had them tortured and killed. Their incorrupt relics are entombed in a crypt below the altar of the cathedral church in the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius (Vilna), Lithuania.

Their feastday is celebrated on April 14.

External link

Icon of the three martyrs Anthony, John, and Eustathius of Vilna (OCA.org)