Saint Hermias

Last updated
Saint Hermias
Martyr
Died 160
Comana, Cappadocia
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized Pre-congregation
Feast 31 May

The Saint and Martyr Hermias of Comana ( /hɜːrˈmaɪəs/ ; Greek : Ἑρμείας) is an early martyr commemorated in the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. [1] He lived in the 2nd century and was a soldier in the Roman army until he confessed Christ and was tortured. His feast day is 31 May.

Greek language language spoken in Greece, Cyprus and Southern Albania

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning more than 3000 years of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems.

Eastern Orthodox Church Christian Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 200–260 million members. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, and the Near East. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops in local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the Pope of Rome, but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by all as primus inter pares of the bishops.

Catholic Church Christian church led by the Bishop of Rome

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2016. As the world's "oldest continuously functioning international institution", it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope. Its central administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, an enclave within the city of Rome in Italy.

Contents

Life

The Saint and Martyr Hermias was a soldier who had spent long years in the Roman army, in Comana in Pontus. [2] Completing his service under the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161), he refused any pay and confessed his faith to Christ. He was arrested and brought before Sebastian, Proconsul in Comana, who summoned him to renounce his confession to show his loyalty towards the Roman emperor. As Hermias refused vigorously, he was sent to be tortured. His tormentors broke his jaws, and then tore off the skin of his face. He was then thrown in a burning furnace, from which he left unscathed after three days. Sebastian then decided to resort to a sorcerer Marus, who concocted a strong poison with the intention of killing the Saint. Hermias blessed the poison with the sign of the cross and drank it with no harm. Having seen Saint Hermias drink with no effect a second stronger poison that he had prepared for him, Marus himself confessed the divine power of Christ and was immediately beheaded. Saint Marus was baptized in his own blood, and was made a martyr. Hermias was then subjected to new torments: he was plunged in boiling oil, his eyes were gouged out, and he was then suspended upside down for three days, but he kept giving thanks to Christ. Finally, the crazed Sebastian beheaded him with his own sword. Christians secretly buried the body of the martyr Hermias, whose relics bestowed numerous healings.

Comana Pontica, was an ancient city located in modern Turkey.

Kingdom of Pontus

The Kingdom of Pontus or Pontic Empire was a state founded by the Persian Mithridatic dynasty, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great and the Achaemenid dynasty. The kingdom was proclaimed by Mithridates I in 281 BCE and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BCE. It reached its largest extent under Mithridates VI the Great, who conquered Colchis, Cappadocia, Bithynia, the Greek colonies of the Tauric Chersonesos, and for a brief time the Roman province of Asia. After a long struggle with Rome in the Mithridatic Wars, Pontus was defeated; part of it was incorporated into the Roman Republic as the province Bithynia et Pontus, and the eastern half survived as a client kingdom.

Antoninus Pius Emperor of Ancient Rome

Antoninus Pius, also known as Antoninus, was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was one of the Five Good Emperors in the Nerva–Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii.

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Footnotes

  1. ↑ Although few reference of him can be found in catholic sources, the site Catholic.org mentions St. Hermias
  2. ↑ As opposed to Comana in Cappadocia


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