He was a priest in Laodicea during the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
The SPC and Orthodox believers commemorate the holy priest-martyr Artemon of Laodicea today.
He was a priest in Laodicea during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. In front of the torturer judge, he said about himself like this: “My name is Artemon, a slave of Christ my God; I was a reader and read books in the church of my God for 16 years; I was a deacon for 28 years and read the Holy Gospel; I filled 33 years as a presbyter teaching people and continuing them on the way to salvation with the help of Christ”.
The judge took him to the temple of Aesculapius, where the priests especially cared for large snakes, dedicated to that “god”. Everyone thought that snakes would bite Artemon. But he crossed himself and with the power of the cross he pinned all the snakes to the ground so that they could not fight. Then he took them all out into the courtyard, blew on them and killed them all at once.
Everyone was in great horror. And the chief priest of that temple, Vitalius, seeing this miracle, fell on his knees before Artemon and cried: “Great is the Christian God!” And the martyr baptized him with some of his other friends.
But the evil judge remained persistent in his malice and tortured the old man Artemon with various tortures. Once they wanted to throw him into hot pitch, but he threw himself into it from his horse and got burned. Two eagles were seen falling on him, lifted him from his horse and threw him into the pitch. Saint Artemon remained free for some time and walked, always accompanied by two of his favorite deer, and taught the people. However, he was caught again and beheaded in 303. And his soul moved to the Kingdom of Christ our God, whom Saint Artemon faithfully served.
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