Daily Calendar – October 20

The 294th day of the year; 72 days remain until the New Year.

Ecclesiastical Calendar

Commemoration of our Venerable Father Joseph the Priest, of the Khevi region, the Wonderworker (1763). The Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus (290–303); the Holy Martyrs Julian the Priest and Caesarius the Deacon (1st century); the Holy Martyr Pelagia of Tarsus (290); and the Holy Martyr Polychronius the Priest (4th century).

Emperor Maximian appointed the Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus to high-ranking positions in his army, unaware that they were Christians. Malicious individuals informed the Emperor that two of his commanders did not worship the pagan gods—an act considered a state crime within the Roman Empire at that time. The Emperor summoned Sergius and Bacchus and commanded them to offer sacrifices to the idols, but they refused. After enduring severe torture, they were beheaded.

The Holy Martyr Polychronius the Priest was the son of a farmer. From his earliest youth, he was raised in the fear of God. Upon reaching adulthood, Polychronius went to Constantinople, where he built a church; he was soon ordained as a priest. He was killed by heretics within the sanctuary of his own church.

The Holy Martyrs Julian the Priest and Caesarius the Deacon suffered for Christ in the 1st century. The relics of the martyr Caesarius are preserved in Rome.

Born:

1632 – Christopher Wren, English architect, mathematician, and astronomer; died in 1723.

1750 – Alexandre Amilakhvari, political figure and philosopher; died in 1802.

1854 – Arthur Jean Nicolas Rimbaud, French poet; died in 1891.

1780 – Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte; died in 1825.

1851 – Nikoloz Khizanishvili, scholar, jurist, historian, ethnographer, publicist, and literary critic; died in 1906.

1898 – Alexandre Kutateli, writer. Died in 1982.

1905 – Frederick Dannay, American writer, died in 1982.

1927 – Nazi Kilasonia, poet, died in 1994.

1964 – Zaza Papuashvili, actor.

Events:

1517 — Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Seville;