Saint Felipe de Alejandría

Hieromartyr Philip of Alexandria is a Christian saint and early Christian martyr. He was the father of Saint Eugenia of Rome. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Commodus, Philip was appointed eparch of all Egypt. By order of the emperor, Philip expelled Christians from the city of Alexandria, but allowed them to live outside the city and freely practice their faith. A wealthy woman, unaware that Eugenia was a woman, sought to have sexual relations with her while she was living in a male monastery disguised as a monk. After being firmly rejected, the woman sought revenge by going to the eparch and slandering Eugenia. The eparch ordered all the monks to be shackled and imprisoned. When brought to trial, Saint Eugenia revealed herself to her father as his daughter. Philip was then baptized along with his entire family. Shortly after his baptism, Philip sent a letter to Emperor Severus and his son Antoninus, arguing that it was not beneficial for the Roman Empire to expel Christians from its cities. He received approval to allow Christians in Egyptian cities to return to their properties and freely profess their faith. However, the Roman nobility soon rebelled, and Philip received an order to expel the Christians once again. As he was a Christian himself, he sold his property and resigned from his position as eparch. He was then chosen as Bishop of Alexandria. Terentius, who succeeded him as eparch, hired assassins to kill him. The assassins murdered him while he was at prayer, striking him down with swords. Philip was buried within the city at a place called Isium, in a church he had built himself. He was very popular in Alexandria. The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates him on December 24 according to the church calendar, which corresponds to January 6 in the Gregorian calendar.