20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia | |
---|---|
Martyrs | |
Died | c. 4th century Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern-day İzmit, Turkey) |
Venerated in | |
Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
Feast | 28 December (Eastern) 23 June (Western) |
Attributes | Crown of martyrdom Martyr's palm |
Patronage | Persecuted Christians |
The 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia refers to victims of persecution of Christians in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey) by the Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian in the early 4th century AD.
According to various martyrologies and menologion, the persecution included the burning of a church that held numerous Christians on Christmas Day.
This event took place when the emperor Maximian (284-305) returned with victory over Ethiopians in 304 AD. It happened after they had refused to sacrifice to idols during Christmas Mass in order to thank gods for the victory he had acquired. [1] Later Maximian and his soldiers entered the church and told the Christians they could escape punishment if they renounced Christ. The Christian priest Glycerius answered that the Christians would never "renounce their faith, even under the threat of torture". Maximian ordered him to be burned to death. Those who had not been burned in the church were captured and tortured to death. The bishop Anthimos who had escaped burning in the church was captured and beheaded.
In the Catholic Church, the number 20,000 is considered to be apocryphal. [2] However, the martyrs of Nicomedia continue to be honored with feast days: [2] they are commemorated on 28 December in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and by the Byzantine Catholic Churches. [3] In the Roman Martyrology of the Catholic Church, there are separate entries for groups of martyrs of Nicomedia. The martyrdom of Anthimus of Nicomedia and companions is commemorated on 24 April and "the commemoration of many holy martyrs of Nicomedia" on June 23.
Adrian of Nicomedia or Saint Adrian was a Herculian Guard of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. After becoming a convert to Christianity with his wife Natalia (Ναταλία), Adrian was martyred at Nicomedia in Asia-Minor (Turkey). Hadrian was the chief military saint of Northern Europe for many ages, second only to Saint George, and is much revered in Flanders, Germany and the north of France.
Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in Western Christianity, on 17 July by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and on Epip 23 and Hathor 23 in the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Saint Juliana of Nicomedia is said to have suffered Christian martyrdom during the Diocletianic persecution in 304. She was popular in the Middle Ages, especially in the Netherlands, as the patron saint of sickness.
Saint Pantaleon, counted in Western Christianity as among the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Late Middle Ages, and in Eastern Christianity as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletianic Persecution of 305 AD.
Ten thousand martyrs may refer to the ten thousand martyred Fathers of the deserts and caves of Scete by Theophilus of Alexandria or to the ten thousand martyrs of Mount Ararat who were, according to a medieval legend, Roman soldiers who, led by Saint Acacius, converted to Christianity and were crucified on Mount Ararat by order of the Roman emperor. The story is attributed to the ninth century scholar Anastasius Bibliothecarius.
Gorgonius or Gorgon was a Christian who was martyred in AD 304 alongside Peter Cubicularius and a certain Dorotheus at Nicomedia during the Diocletianic Persecution.
Saint Kyriaki, also known as Saint Kyriaki the Great Martyr, is a Christian saint, who was martyred under the emperor Diocletian.
Saints Cyprian and Justina are honored in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy as Christians of Antioch, who in 304, during the Diocletianic Persecution, suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia on September 26. According to Roman Catholic sources, no Bishop of Antioch bore the name of Cyprian.
Symphorosa is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. According to tradition, she was martyred with her seven sons at Tibur toward the end of the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117–38).
This page is an index of lists of people considered martyrs. A martyr is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a belief or cause as demanded by an external party. This refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of the martyr by the oppressor.
Saint Urpasian is a 4th-century saint and martyr. He was a dignitary of Roman Emperor Galerius (293–311).
Alexander of Bergamo is the patron saint of Bergamo, as well as Capriate San Gervasio and Cervignano d'Adda. Alexander may have been a Roman soldier or resident of Bergamo who was tortured and killed for not renouncing his Christian faith. Details of his life are uncertain, but subsequent Christian stories consider him a centurion of the Theban Legion commanded by Maurice.
Rictius Varus was a Vicarius in Roman Gaul at the end of the 3rd century, around the time of the Diocletianic Persecution. The Roman Martyrology contains many references to the prefect Rixius Varus, who is said to have persecuted hundreds of Christians. In Christian hagiography he later repented and became a Christian martyr himself, and is regarded a Saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, with his feast day on July 6.
Saint Aedesius of Alexandria was an early Christian martyred under Galerius Maximianus. He was the brother of Saint Aphian. According to the martyrology, he publicly rebuked a judge who had been forcing Christian virgins to work in brothels in order to break them of their faith, so he was tortured and drowned.
Astius is a 2nd-century Christian martyr venerated by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. He was the bishop of Dyrrhachium.
August 21 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 23
August 25 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 27
Andrew Stratelates, also known as Andrew the Tribune or Andrew the Commander is a 3rd-century Roman soldier who is commemorated with his 2,593 soldiers as martyrs by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church on 19 August.
December 9 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - December 11
Basiliscus of Comana, also known as Basiliscus of Pontus, was a Greek martyr. His feast day is 22 May, or 30 July in the Greek calendar.
Encyclopedia of Saints, Second Edition (2014). Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor; 2nd ed. edition (July 2, 2014), ISBN 1612787169