Martyrs Zacchaeus the Deacon, and Alphaeus, of Caesarea in Palestine
Martyrs
In Caesarea Palestina, during the persecutions of Christians under Emperor Diocletian, the deacon of the Gadara church, Zacchaeus, was captured. He boldly confessed Christ and underwent severe tortures: he was beaten with rods, torn with claws, and imprisoned. Along with him, the reader Alpheus, a relative of Zacchaeus, was also captured. Seeing the apostasy of many Christians, he tried to turn them away from idolatrous sacrifices. Alpheus also suffered torture and was shackled in the same stocks as Zacchaeus. Both martyrs, enduring many sufferings, continued to confess Christ and were beheaded in the year 303.
