“When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what was happening, they were terrified, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Mt. 27:54). That centurion was Longinus. He was the commander of the soldiers who were at Golgotha ​​when the Lord was crucified, and the commander of the guard that guarded the Holy Sepulcher. The Jewish leaders were unable to bribe him to say that Christ had not risen, but that his disciples had stolen him, so they wanted to kill him. Then Longinus was baptized, together with two of his soldiers, and went with them to Cappadocia, then to the village, to his father’s estate, where he spent time in fasting and prayer. Pilate sent soldiers to behead him. His head was taken to Pilate, and he gave it to the Jews, who buried it in a garbage dump.

Venerable Longinus the Laborious.