St. Julius of Aqfahs
The Writer of the Biography of the Martyrs
The Story In Summary
Saint Julius
St. Julius was born in the 3rd century in Aqfahs, Beni Sueif, Egypt, but moved to Alexandria during the persecution that was incited by Emperor Diocletian and his comrades against the Copts of Egypt for their devotion to their faith in the Lord Christ, and their disobedience to the orders of the Emperor to worship the idols.
The Lord Christ appointed Julius to care for the bodies of the holy martyrs, shroud them, and send them to their hometown. At first, he ministered to the holy martyrs by himself. However, due to the level of persecution, he appointed 300 young men for this purpose.
Because Julius was rich, he supplied them with funds and delegated them to travel to different parts of the country. They wrote the biographies of the martyrs, shrouded them, and buried them.
The Lord distracted the governors so no one objected or captured them. Also, the Lord protected Julius from being forced to worship idols and kept him for his noble ministry to serve the saints and to write their biographies as a remembrance for future generations. Before their death, some martyrs whom he served told him that his time will come to witness for Christ and be counted as one of the saints.
The Lord Appears To Him
When the Lord Christ wished to fulfill what the martyrs had prophesied to St. Julius, and to relieve him from the toil of this world, He appeared to him in a vision at night. The Lord commanded him to go to the governor of Samanoud, and to confess the Lord Christ before him. St. Julius went there as the Lord commanded him and the governor severely tortured him with different kinds of tortures, but the Lord strengthened him.
The Power of His Prayers
The governor ordered him to worship idols. The Saint prayed and the earth was opened and swallowed up the 70 idols and the 40 priests who were serving them. When the governor witnessed the destruction of his idols and their priests, he believed in the Lord Christ. The governor went with St. Julius to the governor of Athribis, who tortured them for their faith.
Once, there was a feast for the idols and the temple was decorated with ornaments, lamps, statues and palm branches. The gates were closed until the following day for the celebration of the feast. The Saint prayed, and the Lord sent His angel who cut the heads of the idols, blackened their faces with ashes, and burnt up all the palms. The governor of Athribis and a large number of people believed in the Lord Christ that day.
His Martyrdom with His Two Sons and Many Others
The Saint then went to Iskandaros, who was the governor of the city of Towa, along with the governor of Samanoud and the governor of Athribis. First, Iskandaros refrained from torturing them, but later on he gave his order to cut off their heads.
Julius and his two sons (Tadros and Yunias), his companions, the governors of Samanoud and Athribis and 1500 people were martyred and received the crowns of martyrdom.
A Good Samaritan
Although St. Julius was known for documenting and detailing the stories of various martyrs whom he cared for during their sufferings and ministered to their wounds, his actions can be likened to those of “The Good Samaritan," introduced to us through Christ’s parables. This is evident when Christ describes the good Samaritan saying:
“So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him."