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Cyprian was a bishop of Carthage and a notable early Christian writer of Berber descent, many of whose Latin works are extant. He is recognized as a saint in the Western and Eastern churches.
Saint Afra was martyred during the Diocletian persecution. Along with Saint Ulrich, she is a patron saint of Augsburg. Her feast day is August 7. Afra was dedicated to the service of the goddess, Venus, by her mother, Hilaria. Through his teachings, Bishop Narcissus converted Afra and her family to Christianity. When it was learned that Afra was a Christian, she was brought before Diocletian and ordered to sacrifice to the pagan gods. She refused, and was condemned to death by fire.
September 16 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - September 18
The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutory laws were nullified by different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius' Edict of Milan (313) has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.
Saint Pantaleon, counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletianic Persecution of 305 AD.
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Saint Romanus of Caesarea is venerated as a martyr. In 303 or 304, at the beginning of the Diocletianic Persecution, a deacon called Romanus of Caesarea in Palestine suffered martyrdom at Antioch. He was taken prisoner, was condemned to death by fire, and was bound to the stake; however, as Emperor Galerius was then in Antioch, Romanus was brought before him. At the emperor's command Romanus' tongue was cut out. Tortured in various ways in prison he was finally strangled.
Elias and four companions, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Samuel were Egyptian martyrs. Their feast day is February 16.
Saint Colluthus is a Coptic saint and martyr of the 3rd century AD said to be from Antinoöpolis.
Saints Marcellinus and Peter are venerated within the Christian churches as martyrs who were beheaded. Hagiographies place them in 4th century Rome. They are generally represented as men in middle age, with tonsures and palms of martyrdom; sometimes they hold a crown each.
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.
Saint Theodosia of Tyre, according to the historian of the early Christian church Eusebius, was a seventeen-year-old girl who deliberately sought to be executed as a martyr to Christianity in the city of Caesarea in 307 AD. She was tortured, urged to reject Christianity, and, when she refused, thrown into the sea. She is commemorated on April 2.
Saint Peleus was an early Christian martyr. An Egyptian bishop, Peleus was one of four Christians who led Mass for the persecuted Christians condemned to work in the Palestinian quarries in the wake of the Diocletianic Persecution. When the Roman emperor Galerius learned of this, he had Peleus burned alive along with the other leaders, and the Christians dispersed to mines in Cyprus and Lebanon. He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church.
Nilus of Palestine was an early Christian martyr. An Egyptian bishop, Nilus was one of four Christians who led Mass for the persecuted Christians condemned to work in the Palestinian quarries in the wake of the Diocletianic Persecution. When the Roman emperor Galerius learned of this, he had Nilus burned alive along with the other leaders, and the Christians dispersed to mines in Cyprus and Lebanon. He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church.
Elias of Palestine was an early Christian martyr. A priest, Elias was one of four Christians who led Mass for the persecuted Christians condemned to work in the Palestinian quarries in the wake of the Diocletianic Persecution. When the Roman emperor Galerius learned of this, he had Elias burned alive along with the other leaders, and the Christians dispersed to mines in Cyprus and Lebanon. He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church.
Saint Severianus was bishop of Scythopolis in Palestine. He was martyred and is considered a saint. His feast day is 21 February.
The Martyrs of Sigum were a group of Nicomedians who were arrested and worked to death around 257 in the marble quarries of Sigum, Numidia, during the persecution of the Christians initiated by the Roman emperor Valerian. They were recognized as saints, with a feast day of 10 September.
The Martyrs of Carthage under Valerian were a group of Christians including Montanus, Lucius, Flavian, Julian, Victoricus, Primolus, Rhenus, and Donatian who were executed during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Valerian in 259 AD. Their feast day is 24 February.
Saint Nemesion was an Egyptian martyr in Alexandria, Egypt during the persecutions of Christians by the Roman emperor Decius. A group of other Christians were martyred at the same time. His feast day is 19 December, or 10 September in some calendars.
Saint Ulphianus was a Christian martyr in Palestine. His feast day is 3 April.
References
- 1 2 Butler 1866, p. 244.
