Saint Ahmed (3 May)

On May 3, 1682 Ahmed, the secretary to the Deutardare, the one called Patsourounis, was martyred in Constantinople. His martyrdom was written by an anonymous person.

From the New Martyrologion of Saint Nicodemos

He (Ahmed) had a Russian slave woman with whom he had relations. However, he would allow her to go to the church of the Christians on feast days. Seeing as he sensed a pleasant fragrance emanating from her mouth every time she returned from Church, he asked her what she ate to smell this way. She told him that she ate prosphora and drank holy water. Having heard this, he summoned a priest of the Great Church and told him to prepare a space for him to go there when the Patriarch officiated. And when this had been done – oh what a miracle! When the Patriarch blessed the people, rays would emanate from the trikerion and from his fingers and fall on the heads of all the Christians, but not his. As soon as he saw this wonder, he called for the priest and was baptized a Christian, and for a long time he was a secret Christian. However, at a meeting where the nobles were discussing who was the most powerful, they asked him, and he shouted as loud as he could, “The faith of the Christians has the greatest power of all.” He then confessed himself to be a Christian and having preached with courage the testimony of the mystery of the incarnate Christ, he received the blessed end of martyrdom.

Source: Synaxarion Neomartyron (Book of the New Martyrs)
Publication: Orthodox Kypseli