The blessed Yulithi (Julietta) and her young son Kuriakose (Cyricus) are among the most beloved martyrs of the early Church, honored for their unwavering confession of the Christian faith in the face of the fiercest persecution. Yulithi was a noble and beautiful woman, a descendant of the Asian kings, born in Iconium in Asia Minor — the same city where Saint Paul and Barnabas had founded a church. She was known throughout her city for her devotion to prayer and her generous care for the poor.

When the Emperor Diocletian launched his brutal persecution of Christians, Yulithi’s only son Kuriakose was just three years old. His first spoken words had been “I am a Christian” — a declaration that would prove prophetic. Fleeing the persecution with two faithful maidservants, Yulithi took her son and journeyed first to Seleucia in Syria, and then onward to Tarsus, the birthplace of Saint Paul.

Capture and Martyrdom

In Tarsus, Yulithi and her son were captured and brought before Alexander, the provincial ruler. When he attempted to take the child from his mother’s arms, the young Kuriakose fought back, scratching the ruler’s face. Alexander was enraged and threw the boy to the ground. Kuriakose struck his head against the stone steps and died instantly — a crown of martyrdom received at the age of three.

When Yulithi saw her son’s death, she did not grieve as one without hope. Instead she prayed aloud, thanking God that her child had been found worthy of martyrdom. Hearing this, the enraged ruler ordered her to be beheaded. She was executed while repeatedly proclaiming: “I am a Christian, I am a Christian.” That night, her two maidservants retrieved the bodies and hid them in a cave near Tarsus.

Their Veneration

When Emperor Constantine came to power and the persecution of the Church ended, a church was built on the very place where mother and child were martyred. Parts of the relics of these two saints are preserved in the Syrian Saint Mary’s Monastery in the valley of Nitron. There is also a historical church bearing their names in Tahta. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church honors their memory on July 15 each year, celebrating a mother and child who refused to deny the faith even at the cost of their lives.