GREAT MARTYR MERCURIUS OF CAESAREA

Saint Mercury is one of the very few saints called “great martyrs” by the Church. This name itself has nothing to do with the severity of the suffering endured, but it suggests that the testimony of these saints in the pagan world of the Roman Empire was especially great. Great martyrs usually became those who suffered for Christ, being of royal family or of very noble origin.

In the case of Mercurius we are apparently dealing with a very famous warrior. The saint suffered for Christ during the reign of the Roman emperors Decius (249–251) or Valerian (253–259). According to his life, the saint was a Roman officer and was personally known to the emperor. His name clearly indicates a pagan origin. During one of the “barbarian wars” waged by the Empire, Mercurius saw a cross in a vision on the eve of the battle. Perhaps this was the same war with the Goths that Decius fought and eventually fell in, thus becoming the first of the Roman emperors to fall in an external war. In the battle that followed the vision of the cross, Mercurius emerged victorious and remained unharmed.

Soon the emperor led a ceremony of sacrifice to the gods in gratitude for the victory they supposedly granted. Mercurius, remembering the promise of his victory in the heavenly vision, refused to take part in it. The emperor himself repeatedly tried to persuade or force him to yield. Without receiving consent, and, apparently, not wanting to personally execute a soldier loyal to him personally, the ruler sent Mercurius to execution in Caesarea of Cappadocia, where he came from. It is possible that, in this way, he hoped to arouse reverence for the paternal deities in the saint. In Caesarea the saint remained firm and was beheaded for his faith in Christ

The words heard by Mercurius in the vision that determined the divine predestination about him, “Thou shalt not forget the Lord thy God when thou hast conquered,” sound like a commandment. They teach to remember God not only in sorrow, but also in moments of success and triumph (cf. Rom. 12:15).