In the wake of the recent persecutions of Christians, a long-term tradition established itself in the Roman empire for the faithful to ransom the relicts of the martyrs for the Christian faith and bury their relics in secret places. When the dark times ended, some of these burial places were discovered. That was exactly what happened at the dawn of the seventh century outside the Eugenios Gate in Constantinople. The names of most of these martyrs were not known, but Christians believe that they are written in the Lord’s book of life.
The relics were incorrupt and fragrant. Under the leadership of a church hierarch (whose name was not found in the annals of history), the faithful placed the relics in a church with great honour. Soon afterwards, the relics worked multiple miracles, including surprise healings of the sick and the driving out of the demons from the possessed.
One night, a good priest from Constantinople, Nicholas the Calligrapher, had a vision that made known to him the names of two of the martyrs at Eugenios Gate – Apostle Andronicus of the Seventy and his helper Julia. Both were mentioned by Apostle Paul in the Book of Romans (16:7). From that time onwards, this day has been celebrated as the feast of the discovery of the relics of Sts. Andronicus and Julia.
