Bishop
Saint Euphemios lived during the reign of Constantine and Irene and became renowned for his piety, being granted the episcopal office. He attended the Second Nicene Council, where he fought against the heretics. Under Nicephorus, the saint was exiled to Patalaea for denouncing the lawless king. After twenty-nine years of imprisonment, under the reign of Leo, he was summoned and interrogated about the veneration of icons, for which he was exiled again to Ass. Under Michael the Stammerer, the saint was forced to renounce the veneration of icons, but boldly declared: “Whoever does not venerate the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His humanity, we anathematize.” For this, he was cruelly tortured and imprisoned on Crete, where he passed away. The relics of the saint are in Anchialus and work miracles.
