Martyrdom
The synaxarion relates that Charalampos was arrested when Lucian served as proconsul of Magnesia, after his Christian preaching drew the attention of the authorities. Despite his advanced age, he steadfastly refused to sacrifice to the idols.
The account describes severe torment: his body was lacerated with iron hooks and the skin scraped from him; his beard was twisted into a rope to drag him, and an iron nail was driven through his body. The vita relates that he received this suffering with spiritual composure, welcoming it as preparation for eternal life.
According to tradition the emperor Septimius Severus ordered intensified torments at Antioch, including torture by fire. The synaxarion states that, by the mercy of God, the saint died before he could be executed; an alternate account has the emperor sentence him to beheading. Before his death the vita relates a vision in which the heavens opened and the saint saw the Savior amid a multitude of angels, and he petitioned Christ to protect his burial site from famine and disease.
Companions in Martyrdom
The synaxarion relates that two soldiers named Porphyrius and Baptus openly confessed Christ upon witnessing the bishop's endurance and were beheaded. Three women who likewise glorified Christ as they observed his sufferings were martyred alongside him.
By tradition the military commander Lucius, who personally tortured the saint, had his forearms severed as if by a sword, while the proconsul Lucian's head turned backward after he spat at the saint; both were said to be healed through Charalampos's prayers, leading to Lucius's conversion. The account also names Galina, identified as the emperor's daughter, who converted, twice destroyed pagan idols, and gave the saint's body proper burial.
Miracles
The vita attributes a number of miracles to the saint during his trial, drawing many to faith: among them the raising of a deceased youth and the healing of a man who had been possessed for thirty-five years.
Relics & Shrines
The saint's skull is preserved at the Monastery of Saint Stephen in Meteora, Greece, and relic fragments are venerated throughout Greece.
Veneration & Customs
His feast is celebrated on February 10 (February 23 on the Old Calendar). He is a popular protector against epidemics and contagious disease.
By tradition, on some Greek islands bulls are ritually sacrificed on his feast day as a customary honor.
