Hieromartyr Damascene the New of Hilandar

Saint Hieromartyr Damaskin was born in the village of Gabrovo, in the Tarnovo Diocese, Bulgaria. Having accepted monasticism in the Hilandar Monastery, he was ordained a deacon, then a priest-monk, and elevated to the rank of abbot. Due to the needs of the monastery, he went to Bulgaria, where, demanding a debt from the Turks, he became a victim of slander. The Turks, accusing him of abducting a Turkish woman, seized him and brought him to trial, where the governor understood his innocence, but the crowd demanded execution. The saint, refusing to renounce Christ, was hanged after prayer. His murderers soon perished, drowning in the Danube, receiving punishment for the innocent blood. Saint Damaskin suffered on January 16, 1771.