On Bright Wednesday, the Church celebrates the memory of Martyr Alexandra and New Martyr Lazarus of Bulgaria.
Saint Alexandra was the wife of Emperor Diocletian. She witnessed the torture endured by Great Martyr George and the miraculous healing of his wounds. Convinced that the God in whom the martyr believed was the true God—the One who performs wondrous miracles for His followers—she confessed her faith in Jesus Christ publicly and expressed her desire to become a Christian.
When Diocletian learned of his wife’s unexpected conversion to Christianity—a faith he had long tried to eradicate—he was seized with great fury. Unable to contain his fury, the emperor immediately issued a death sentence: that his own wife be beheaded by sword. As she walked toward the place of execution, Empress Alexandra prayed fervently. Along the way, she knelt down and quietly gave her soul to God.
Saint Lazarus the New Martyr was born in the village of Debel Dyal, 14 kilometers from the town of Gabrovo. His father’s name was Nedko Enchov. Due to his family’s poverty, Lazarus left for Asia Minor as a young boy and found work as a shepherd for a wealthy Turkish landowner (aga) in the village of Soma, near the city of Pergamum (modern-day Bergama, in western Turkey).
As a devout Christian, his humility and diligence stirred envy and hostility among some locals, who began pressuring him to convert to Islam. He firmly rejected all attempts to persuade him to abandon his faith. His persecutors resorted to deceit, convincing a woman to falsely accuse Lazarus of improper behaviour and to complain that he was teasing her with bad intentions. False witnesses supported the fabricated story, and the innocent Bulgarian shepherd was arrested and subjected to brutal torture. He could have saved himself by renouncing his Christian faith—but Lazarus would not even entertain the thought of betraying the religion of his forefathers.
Ultimately, he was sentenced to death and hanged on April 23, 1802, at the age of 28.
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