This saint was born in Damascus at the beginning of the fifteenth century AD. He was a direct clerk in the office of the Emir of Tripoli (the Mamluk) called Azdamer. Rizq Allah was beloved by the Emir and was his confidant. The Emir trusted him and relied on him. Therefore, he was keen to convert him from his faith in Christ to Islam. He followed a gentle and kind approach to this. However, his attempt failed after Rizq Allah refused to give up his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ under any circumstances. The Emir felt humiliated and became angry, and ordered Rizq Allah to be thrown into prison, hoping to achieve his goal with force after he had failed with gentleness.
The governor waited for a few days, then sent some of his entourage to Rizq Allah, hoping that he would relent and yield. They came to him and offered him valuable gifts, but he did not listen to them nor was he tempted by their gifts. Instead, he openly proclaimed the name of the Lord Jesus Christ before them, not caring about them, affirming that his faith was not for sale. Rizq Allah’s refusal increased the prince’s insistence and determination to get what he wanted from him, no matter the cost. Was he not the prince, and the word of a prince is not rejected?! So he began to threaten him and describe the types of punishments he would inflict on him if he remained stubborn. Rizq Allah’s answer was: “This world and its honor are nothing to me. It is like a passing shadow. I despise your punishments, torments, and threats, but I do not care about them because the love of my God and Savior Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, obliges me.” When he saw that he remained steadfast in his opinion and did not waver in his faith, he ordered his head to be struck.
The soldiers took Rizk Allah out of the city to a place called Tel al-Mashtaha. There he asked the executioner to give him some time to pray, and he got what he wanted. Rizk Allah stood facing east, then prostrated himself on the ground and prayed, saying: “O Lord Jesus Christ, my God, in your name I accept martyrdom, so help me at this hour. Accept me as a pure offering this night. Into your hands I commit my spirit.” After praying, he was beheaded.
Then the prince's companions gathered a lot of wood and wanted to burn Rizq Allah's body. As soon as they threw his body into the fire, the Lord God sent down heavy rain on the place. Those present dispersed in alarm and the flames of the fire died down without harming the body.
The believers came at night, took the body of the martyr and went with it to Cyprus, where he was buried in one of the churches.
The martyrdom of Saint Rizk Allah was on Saturday afternoon, the first of February, in the year 1477 AD.
Through the intercession of Saint Rizk Allah, O Christ God, have mercy on us and save us.
