St. Lucian of Antioch
St. Lucian of Antioch was a controversial priest during his lifetime and after. His teachings on literalism formed the basis of the Arian heresy, and he was even the teacher of Arius and several of the other leaders in the movement, though Lucius may not have been an Arian himself. He was also excommunicated for much of his life due to his connection to his bishop, who was a proponent of another heresy. However, even his critics during his life agreed that Lucian was a devout and holy man. His corrected mistranslations of Scripture were later used by St. John Chrysostom and St. Jerome, and he was renowned as a teacher, scholar, and piety. Lucian was eventually arrested by Roman officials for his faith, and starved and tortured for nine years, never recanting his faith. On Theophany, he wished desperately to receive holy communion, and some Christians snuck in the bread and wine for him to bless. He was so weak from his abuse and chained by his jailers that he had to bless the elements resting them on his chest, but he and the other Christians in prison were able to receive the Eucharist. The next day when his jailers came to see if he had perished yet, Lucian said three times, "I am a Christian" before finally succumbing to death. They threw his body into the sea to dispose of it, but 30 days later, dolphins brought it back to shore and he received a proper burial.
Region: Modern Turkey
