Anthony, John, and Eustathius

Anthony, John, and Eustathius (Eustathios, Eustace; Russian: Антоний, Иоанн and Евстафий, Lithuanian: Antanas, Jonas ir Eustachijus; Martyrs of Vilnius, Russian: Виленские мученики, Lithuanian: Vilniaus kankiniai) are saints and martyrs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Their feast day is celebrated on 14 April in the horologion. They are also commemorated in the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius each year on 13 July.^[1] They are commemorated with the 4th Tone Troparion and 3rd Tone Kontakion in Eastern Orthodoxy.^[2]

Saints Anthony, John, and Eustathius of Vilnius
A medieval Orthodox icon of the Martyrs of Vilnius
Martyrs
Died	1347 Vilnius, Lithuania
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church
Feast	14 April
Patronage	Vilnius

Covered bodies of the martyrs on display in the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius

Another view of the relics of the martyrs

Life

Originally named Kumetis, Nežilas, and Krulis, the three martyrs were Lithuanian converts to Christianity from Baltic paganism who served in the court of Algirdas, the pagan Grand Duke of Lithuania. Kumetis and Nežilas were brothers, while Krulis was their cousin.

Algirdas had been wed to the Orthodox princess, Maria of Vitebsk, who brought with her an Orthodox priest named Nestor. Maria requested an Orthodox church to be built, and it was in this church that the converts were baptized by Nestor, who gave them the names Anthony (for Kumetis), John (for Nežilas), and Eustathius (for Krulis).^[3] After the death of Maria, Algirdas again openly supported paganism, including priests who were persecuting Christians.^[4]

John and Anthony did not participate in the pagan worship, were seen observing Orthodox fasting, and did not cut their hair or beards like the pagans did. Algirdas became suspicious of John and Anthony, so he decided to interrogate them. When they were ordered to eat meat, they refused because it was during Great Lent, when Orthodox Christians refrain from eating meat.

At their refusal, they were tortured and put in prison. On April 14, 1347, Anthony was hanged on an oak tree sacred to the pagans. John, who was in prison, was later swarmed by a large crowd of people and strangled to death. His body was hung on the same one as Anthony on April 24, 1347. Both of their bodies were buried by Christians in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Vilnius.^[4]

Eustathius was beaten with iron rods. Algirdas gave orders to strip him naked, take him to the streets and pour ice water in his mouth. Later, his ankle bones were broken, his hair and skin ripped from his head, and his nose and ears cut off. Eustathius was then sentenced to death and hanged on December 13, 1347, on the same oak tree on which his two cousins were killed. For three days, the bodies were not allowed to be taken down. A church was later built where the martyrs died and an altar table was built from the stump of the tree.^[4]

Veneration

Their bodies were in a glass reliquary in the crypt chapel under the altar of the cathedral in the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1915, during the invasion of the Germans, these relics were then taken to Moscow. Their relics, said to be incorruptible, have since been moved to the main sanctuary of the cathedral.

They have also been recognised as saints in the Roman Catholic Church, after having been added to the General Roman Calendar by Pope Paul VI in 1969.^[5]