Elijah Jeremiah, Isaiah Samuel and Daniel

Biography

That day, at the gates of Caesarea of Palestine where the Roman governor resided, five young Egyptians presented themselves. They were returning from Türkiye where they had accompanied their Christian compatriots who were doing forced labor in the mines. The guards considered them suspicious and took them before Governor Firmiliano. «-Who are you? -he asked them. -Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel and Daniel -Elijah responded on behalf of everyone. They were names unknown in the empire; They had received them in baptism but Firmilian did not read the Old Testament. -Where are you from? -he insisted. -We are from Upper Jerusalem. -Where is that? -asked the governor. -It is located towards the east, because the sun rises in the east and Jesus is for us the sun of justice, the Light that shines in the darkness (Jn 1, S). -And what is your profession? Firmilian, who did not understand any of that language, was trying to know if he should consider them as enemies of Rome coming from the east. -We are Christians; "We profess to be in Christ in whom we have placed our hope and our love." At last the governor understood everything; so much so that he had them beheaded. Evidently it was what they were looking for: how could they not want to change this world for a better one, if they thought about their friends, their brothers, treated worse than beasts of burden in the mines of Turkey.