Holy Martyr Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia

Life

The grandson of Saint Ludmila. Even as a king he practiced asceticism in the faith like the great ascetics and strengthened the Orthodox faith among his people. He strictly ensured that no innocent person suffered in the courts. By his zeal for the faith of Christ and by his love for his neighbor, holy Wenceslaus would purchase pagan children who were sold as slaves, and immediately baptize them and raise them as Christians. He translated the Gospel of John into the Czech language. He transferred the relics of Saint Vitus and of Saint Ludmila, his grandmother, to Prague. His brother Boleslav invited him as a guest and murdered him in his court. Immediately afterward Boleslav began bringing in Germans as priests and introducing the Latin-language service. Holy Wenceslaus suffered in the year 935. His relics rest in Prague.