The life of 45 Martyrs of Nikopolis in Armenia
Thrown into prison, they spent the night singing psalms, and near midnight, the accounts say, an angel appeared to them in a blaze of light and told them their trial was nearly finished. Watching this, two of their own prison guards were so moved that they believed in Christ and joined the prisoners in their confession. In the morning, ordered once more to sacrifice to the pagan gods, all of them together declared themselves Christians and would not be moved. Enraged, the governor had their hands and feet cut off and their bodies burned, and afterward their bones were thrown into a river. Once the persecution ended and the Church was given peace, a church was raised on the spot where they died, in honor of the forty five martyrs of Nikopolis.
