The life of St Athanasius of Attalia
The sources differ on the exact occasion, but agree that something he said, whether repeating an Islamic profession to make a rhetorical point or simply speaking too boldly in a dispute, was seized upon by his accusers as proof that he had converted to Islam and then recanted. Brought before a judge and pressed to confirm the conversion and embrace Islam, Athanasius refused, declaring that he would rather die many times over than deny Christ.
He was condemned and beheaded in Smyrna in the year 1700. Church tradition adds that his body was left exposed for three days yet remained untouched, a sign his fellow Christians took as an honor to his memory; they were then permitted to gather his relics, which they buried in the Church of Saint Paraskeva.
