During the reign of Emperor Antoninus, he served as the Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia. Almost all the inhabitants of this city were pagans, and Saint Avercius prayed fervently to God to enlighten them. During a pagan festival, he entered their temple and smashed all the idols. Three frenzied young men—foaming at the mouth and howling—rushed toward him. The Saint cast the demons out of them, and they became calm. Witnessing this miracle, the pagans turned their anger into wonder; 500 of them were baptized immediately, and soon the entire city followed. Saint Avercius restored the sight of the blind mother of Publius, the *anthypatos* (proconsul) of the region, leading both of them to be baptized. In his old age, while in Rome, he healed the Emperor’s daughter, who had lost her sanity. The Lord appeared to him on several occasions. He fell asleep in the Lord at a very advanced age in Hierapolis, toward the end of the 2nd century.

Venerable Lot. Commemoration of the miraculous deliverance of Moscow from the Lithuanians.