Eleazar

Eleazar was a 90-year-old man who was one of the leading teachers of the law. He was a distinguished man with a strong bearing. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to power, he began a persecution of the Jews. Eleazar was forced to open his mouth and eat pork, but he spat it out and submitted to flogging. He was then privately permitted to eat meat that he could pretend was pork, but he refused and was flogged to death. Eleazar's death was a heroic example and a glorious memory. He is celebrated as one of the "Holy Maccabean Martyrs" by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.