18th–19th century
Saint Luke of Adrianople
A young man from Adrianople who converted to Islam out of childhood fear, repented as a monk on Mount Athos, and was martyred in Mytilene in 1802.
Biography
Luke was born in Adrianople in Thrace and was orphaned of his father at six. As a young servant to a merchant in Constantinople, after a quarrel with a Turkish boy he said in fear that he would convert to Islam, and this was then carried out.
Tormented by remorse, he managed to escape, reached Mount Athos and became a monk at the Stavronikita Monastery. In 1802 he went to Mytilene, where he publicly confessed Christ before the Turkish judge and, despite pressure, remained steadfast; he was hanged on 23 March 1802.