They all suffered from Christ during the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
HYMN OF PRAISE
THE HOLY MARTYRS AT NICOMEDIA
The city of Nicomedia, as a star, shines,
As Venus, the star; the eastern throne.
But, one day, by the will of Duclianus,
Four courtiers were beheaded,
Eusebius, Vasa, Eutychius, Courageous
And wonderful Basilides, by glory unfaded,
For the Name of Christ, were beheaded
And by this, Nicomedia was darkened.
Those four heads, the end of the horror were not
But only the first blossoms of the mown grass:
A thousand slaves; servants, obedient ones,
The four martyrs, that faithfully served,
A thousand as one and, three more,
Created a clamor, as though they drank wine.
No, not wine did they drink, but the truth intoxicated them,
And the Blood and the victory of the Son of God.
O emperor ungodly; we, also, are Christians,
We also are Christians, do whatever you will!
And to go there, we desire
Where our Blessed Master went
O wonderful daring! O wonderful fidelity!
But, the emperor's cruelty, this did not abate,
And a thousand souls departed the earth,
To them opened wide the Gates of Paradise.
We confidently recommend our web service provider, Orthodox Internet Services: excellent personal customer service, a fast and reliable server, excellent spam filtering, and an easy to use comprehensive control panel.