April 22nd St Epipodius and St Alexander

[Denise]

St Epipodius and St Alexander were from the French city of Lyons (near the French Italian border), which suffered intensely under the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. These two young men had been friends since childhood and fled together to a small town in hopes of escaping arrest, which they didn’t. So, in the prime of life and with the brightest of futures before them, they were brought to trial. The governor invited them to denounce their Christian faith; they preferred to forfeit all their worldly hopes and pleasures and suffer torture rather than betray the Lord. The governor separated them and tried to entice the younger Epipodius to save himself. When that failed, he resorted to less civilized means: he stretched the youth on the rack and tore his sides with iron claws. When even that didn’t work, Epipodius was beheaded. A couple of days later, Alexander had his chance to embrace a life of ease and privilege if only he would put his faith on the back burner, but he preferred to follow the example of his friend. He was scourged and crucified.