السيرة
Lives of the Saints and Martyrs in the Coptic Orthodox Church
English: Saints Eustace, Eustachius, Eustathius / Saints Eustachius and his Companions.
For many long centuries the Church in both East and West celebrated the feast of the martyrdom of St. Eustachius, also called Eustathius or Eustace.
He was called Placidas or Placidus, and he was one of the ministers of the Roman empire and a valiant commander in the days of the Emperor Trajan. He had no knowledge of God, yet he was deeply compassionate toward the poor, gentle with all the pagans, and devout in his conduct. As he was hunting in the mountains according to his custom, he saw from afar the likeness of a cross raised on high between the horns of a stag, with the Lord Christ crucified upon it, and he heard a voice calling him: "Placidas, why do you persecute Me?" The minister was at once bewildered, and he asked about the One whom he was persecuting; and the voice came to him: "I am Jesus Christ."
The man returned to his house, recounting to his wife and his two sons what had happened to him; then he met the bishop of Rome, who taught him the faith, baptized him, and called him "Eustachius" — the very name by which the voice had asked him to be called, meaning "the successful" or "the steadfast." His wife Theopista (she who trusts in God) was likewise baptized.
And his two sons were Agapius (beloved) and Theopistus (he who trusts in God).
Successive calamities befell the man: he lost his servants, his herds, and his wealth; and indeed, when he left Rome because of poverty, the boatmen took his wife from him because of his inability to pay the fare. The story tells that he carried one of his two sons to bring him across a river, and came back to find that the other had been carried off, then returned to find the first one gone as well; and he remained alone, working as a keeper of a garden, living in the fear of God in a spirit of piety.
The years passed and the two boys grew up, and they met one another during one of the wars and recognized each other; and this recognition came to pass in a garden in which their mother was working, so the three were reunited together with great joy.
When King Hadrian came to the throne, he heard of Eustachius and what had befallen him, so he appointed him a commander in Rome, and he returned to his wealth and began once more, according to his custom, to show tenderness to the poor. His wife heard of his case, so she took her two sons, and all of them were reunited in Rome, and they lived in peace.
After that, when King Hadrian learned that Eustachius and his family were Christians, he commanded them to offer incense to the idols, but they refused. And as he wished to make an example of them before all Rome, he brought them to the arena of martyrdom and let loose upon them the savage, hungry beasts; but the beasts did them no harm, becoming instead calm and gentle, growing tame before them. The emperor was enraged, and he began to torture them, and at last he placed them in a brazen bull and kindled the fire beneath them, until they gave up their souls and enjoyed the crown of martyrdom.
The Western Church commemorates them on the 20th of September, and the Coptic Church on the 27th of the month of Tut.
It is a wondrous story concerning God's revelation of Himself to one who loves the poor and longs for the life of piety... He carries him along with Himself to the cross, that He may grant him fellowship in the glories of eternity!