In the third century the Romans made Christians suffer terribly for their faith. Today's saints were martyred when Decius was Emperor of Rome.

Many Christians who lived in Egypt were driven out into the desert. There they died or were killed because of hunger, thirst, extreme cold, wild animals or by bad men.

And if the Christians tried to return to their homes, they were killed. The young, healthy Christians were sold as slaves.

St. Chaeremon was a priest and bishop of Nilopolis. He was very old when the torture of Christians became extreme. The elderly bishop and his friend went for shelter to the mountains of Arabia. They were never seen again, nor were their bodies ever found.

St. Ischyrion worked for an official in an Egyptian city and his boss wanted him to offer sacrifice to false gods. Ischyrion refused because this was against God's first commandment. This made his boss very angry and insulted and he ordered Ischyrion to be killed.

Many other martyrs like Chaeremon and Ischyrion gave their lives for Jesus at this time in Egypt.

Today, there are still many people who suffer for their faith in Jesus. Let us pray for them, that they will have the courage they need to be faithful to the Gospel.