CHRISTIANS worldwide are remembering the martyrdom of Saint Pancake of Antioch.

Saint Pancake, who was born in rural Turkey around 500AD, was a leading figure in the Byzantine church and gained a reputation for charity and wisdom.

But it is the manner of his execution – after defying the Emperor Justinian – for which he is best remembered. Today his death agonies will be re-enacted by millions worldwide.

Church historian Stephen Malley said: “He was beaten and battered, then stuffed with a large quantity of cheese. Some historians differ on this point, and insist it was spinach and ham.

“Either way Saint Pancake was subsequently fried, on both sides.”

Malley added: “He was then tossed repeatedly into the air, in a cruel mockery of his belief that he might one day ascend to heaven or, as Saint Pancake described it in his text De Recipus, ‘the righteously-made shalt adhere to the celestial ceiling’.”

As a final indignity, Saint Pancake’s body was smothered in lemon juice.