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The Church celebrates the martyrdom of St Justina
and St Ceprianus the Bishop of Cartagena on 21 st Tot - 1st October at the year 258 AD.
Ceprianous was African by birth and was highly educated. He excelled in magic works and was
living impure worldly life. He went to Antioch to practice his work as a magician where people
marvelled at the works he used to do. One day he was approached by a young man named Aghlidus
seeking his help to get married to a virgin girl whom he liked and proposed to her but she
declined his proposals. This was Justina who had believed and was baptised in the name of the
Lord and all her family. She lived a pure good Christian life and longed to preserve her
virginity for the Lord and started to spend long hours in retreat praying a fasting. She told
her parents that she has vowed to be a bride of Christ. Aghlidus tried several times to
persuade her but she refused. He went to Ceprianus to help him who found it a good chance to
prove his powers. He started to perform his devilish tricks but they all failed as every time
the devils tried to approach her to deviate her thoughts they found her praying. She was like a
fortress strengthened by prayers, spiritual practices and fasting and used to sign her self by
the Cross all the time and regularly partake of the Holy Communion. Ceprianus was astonished
how his magic failed to affect Justina and he challenged the devils to show him their strength
rebuking them for failing to affect this young woman. The devil not wishing to be defeated by
Justina, took on the appearance of Justina in order to please the young man named Aghlidus. When
Aghlidus saw that Justina had come to him he greeted her by her name and the devil could not bear
even hearing the blessed name of Justina, and departed from Aghlidus. Aghlidus told Ceprianous about
this incident, and Ceprianous became convinced that the power of the Christians was greater than
that of the demons. And so Ceprianous came to be batised as a true christian believer, after a few
more years as a christian he was ordained as a bishop and later on under the persecution of christians
he and St Justina received the crowns of martyrdom. Many miracles have occured through the prayers and
intersessions of these great saints and martyrs till this day.
May their prayers be with us all, and glory be to
God forever. Amen.
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