MartyrUnknown

Martyr Hristo of Bulgaria

18th century (disputed; martyrdom reported 1748)

Also known as Christos

A martyr of Bulgaria commemorated by the Church, of whom no detailed life survives.

November 28New Calendar

Feast Day

December 11Old Calendar

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyr Hristo of Bulgaria

Life

Hristo of Bulgaria is a martyr commemorated by the Orthodox Church on November 28. The Orthodox Church in America's Lives of the Saints carries the name as a commemorative placeholder, noting that no biographical information is presently available.

Several Orthodox calendar sources identify this November 28 commemoration with the New Martyr Christos the Gardener, martyred at Constantinople in 1748. Because that identification introduces tensions of origin and feast day with the received entry, it is presented here as a reported association rather than an established fact.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 2

(Podoben: “You sought the heights...”) You appeared as a bright star announcing Christ with your radiance,
which is repulsive to this world, O Martyr Hristo;
extinguishing the allure of false gods,
you enlighten the faithful,
always interceding for us all.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 3

Your holy martyr Hristo, O Lord,
through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God.
For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through his intercessions, save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline1 momentsReadHide

c. 1748 (reported)Martyrdom at ConstantinopleBy the account associated with Christos the Gardener, the saint was falsely accused of intending to convert to Islam, refused to renounce Christ, and was executed under Ottoman rule. The identification of this figure with the November 28 commemoration is reported rather than certain.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Commemoration

The saint is listed under November 28 as "Martyr Hristo of Bulgaria," of Bulgarian origin and of an era the received record leaves unspecified. The entry survives as a name preserved in the calendar; the Orthodox Church in America's account offers no accompanying life, stating that no information is available.

The commemoration appears across multiple Orthodox calendars, including those associated with the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, and the Orthodox Church in America.

A Reported Identification

The English-language Orthodox liturgical calendar for November 28 lists a "New Martyr Christos the Gardener of Albania, at Constantinople (1748)," and explicitly links that figure to the Orthodox Church in America's entry for Martyr Hristo, treating the two as the same saint.

According to a hagiographic summary drawn from the New Martyrology compiled by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, Christos was born in Albania and came to Constantinople around the age of forty, where he worked as a gardener and sold his produce in the marketplace. During a dispute over the price of apples, a customer is said to have falsely accused him of having expressed a wish to embrace Islam, bringing forward false witnesses before a judge. When examined, Christos is reported to have affirmed that he was a Christian, denied ever having said such a thing, and declared that he would not abandon the Orthodox faith whatever he might be made to suffer. He was condemned and put to death for refusing to apostatize, and is venerated among the New Martyrs who died under Ottoman rule.

Points of Uncertainty

The reported identification is not without difficulty. The received commemoration names the saint as of Bulgaria, whereas the New Martyr Christos the Gardener is described as Albanian, martyred at Constantinople.

There is also a discrepancy of feast day: the hagiographic summary of Christos the Gardener gives his commemoration as February 12, while the entry under discussion falls on November 28. It is not settled whether these refer to a single saint or to distinct figures. In the absence of a fuller surviving life, the November 28 commemoration is best treated as an honest stub whose further identification remains open.

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints