The new martyr Christodoulos was born in a village of Kassandra, called Valta. At a young age he came to Thessaloniki, where he made a profession as a tailor. When he was informed that a Christian Bulgarian was about to deny Christ, he procured a small cross and went to the café where the denier was to be circumcised. He passed through the crowd of gentiles, and while the drums were beating, he approached the denier, presented the cross and said to him: “Brother what is the matter with you, here is our faith, here is Christ, who was crucified for our love, why do you leave Christ your saviour and become a Turk?” Enraged, the Turks rushed in and arrested Christodoulos and with blows led him to the judge, where they demanded his death. To the judge’s exhortation to deny Christ, the martyr boldly replied, “… and you too leave the Islam and become a Christian.” Thus, proving his firm faith, he surrendered to the executioners, who hanged him near the church of St. Minas in Thessaloniki. The body of the saint, with the cross nailed to his back, remained hanging naked for two days. Then the Christians bought his body for 600 turkish coins and buried it with honors.
Translated by Dr. Nick Stergiou
