1,003 Martyrs at Nicomedia
Commemorated on February 7
The 1,003 Martyrs at Nicomedia were servants of four dignitaries, Bassos, Eusebius, Eutychius and Basilides, who suffered for Christ with their wives (January 5) in the year 303 during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305).
After the martyric death of their masters, the servants decided to follow their example, and confessed themselves as Christians before Diocletian. Swayed neither by persuasion nor promises nor rewards, 1,003 men, women, and children were cut down by soldiers who formed a tight circle around them so that none of them remained alive.
By permission of the Orthodox Church in America (www.oca.org)