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[German Version] A 5th-century Syriac tradition tells of an anonymous Roman patrician who renounces marriage on his wedding day and flees to Edessa, where he lives as an ascetic hermit until his death. The somewhat altered and expanded Greek account (first identifiable in the work of Joseph the Hymnographer, died 883) calls him Alexius and has him desert …

[German Version] was bishop of Sebaste (Armenia) and a martyr, perhaps during the persecution under Licinius (308 – 324). Many legends, primarily folk legends, are associated with his figure, which made him one of the ¶ 14 auxiliary saints in the Roman Church (for throat ailments, against wild animals, etc.). He is supposed to have suffered martyrdom by decapitation after having been whipped, flayed with iron rakes, and nearly drowned in a pond. His feast day is Feb 11 in the East and Feb 3 in the West. Jürgen Dummer Bibliography Greek texts catalogued in BHG 276f., Latin in BHL 1370–1380.

[German Version] bishop, was beheaded in 302/303 in the Diocletian persecution (Eus. Hist. eccl. VIII 6.6; 13.1). The fragments Περὶ τῆς ἁγίας ἐκκλησίας/ Peri tēs hagias ekklēsias circulating under his name probably stem from Marcellus of Ancyra or from his circle of disciples. Procopius, De aedificiis I 6 documents the construction of an Anthimus church near Constantinople by Justin. His feast day is Sep 3 in the East and Apr 27 in the West. Jürgen Dummer Bibliography CPG 2, 2802 M. Richard, “Une opuscule méconnu de Marcel évêque d'Ancyre,” MSR 6, 1949, 5–28.

[German Version] are the heroes of an edifying Greek novel from the mid-Byzantine period that narrates the conversion of prince Joasaph, son of the Indian king Abenner, by the hermit Barlaam. Joasaph also becomes a hermit, converts his father, and distinguishes himself by performing various miracles. The path by which this originally Indian fable came to be attributed to …

[German Version] (or of Constantia, Cyprus). Born the son of Christian parents in Besandûk near Palestinian Eleutheropolis between 310 and 320, he then lived in a monastic milieu; after early contacts with Egyptian monasticism, at about 20 years of age, he founded a monastery in his home town. In 367, Epiphanius attained the episcopal see of Constantia. He died in 404 returning t…

[German Version] a Christian from a prominent family in Catania, where she is still venerated as the patron of the city. She suffered martyrdom, probably in the persecution under Decius (251?). The Eparch Quintian wanted to alienate her from her faith and committed her for this purpose to a brothel-keeper named Aphrodisias; Agatha remained firm. After they cut…

[German Version] Potamiaena, martyr in Alexandria under Septimius Severus (193–211, per Eusebius of Caesarea) or Maximinus Daia (305–313, per Palladius of Helenopolis). After successfully defending her virginity, she and her mother Marcella were both covered with hot tar and burned. There is no hagiographic tradition specific to her except the account by Palladius in Historia Lausiaca 3. Eusebius ( Hist. eccl. VI 5.1–6) embeds her story in an account of a soldier named Basilides, whom she converted as he was supposed to take her to be executed. After her…

[German Version] was martyred in Rome with five companions under Claudius according to Greek tradition, and under Diocletian-Maximinian according to Latin (Persecutions of Christians: I). The chronographies of 354 first refer to him on Aug 8 with information concerning his burial in the Via Ostiensis. The Latin hagiography indicates the same date, the Greek cites Jan 30 as his memorial day. Whether the titular church of Cyriacus near the Diocletian Baths relates to thi…

[German Version] (Corona: Gk Stephanis), martyrs (II) under Antoninus Pius in Egypt or Syria. Victor, a soldier from Cilicia, was beheaded after a series of tortures. Corona, who had given him moral support, was then tied to two bent palm trees that tore her apart when they were released. The legend recording their martyrdom is also transmitted for each separately. Their feast day is Nov 11 in the East, May 14 in the West; there are also separate feast days for each. Jürgen Dummer Bibliography ActaSS, Feb 3, 1865, 176; Apr 3, 1866, 267, 1004; May 3, 1866, 266ff.; Sep 5, 1866, 756 BHG3 1864–1865; …

[German Version] According to the Passio, the Forty Martyrs were soldiers from Cappadocia who, under Licinius (Syrian Decius), were condemned to death ¶ by freezing on an ice-covered lake in Sebastia because they refused to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. The possibly genuine Testament of the Forty Martyrs (preserved in Greek and Old Slavonic) forbade the dispersal of their relics and decreed that they be buried together at Sareim. In the East, their feast is on Mar 9, and in the West, on Mar 10. Jürgen Dummer Bibliography BHG3 1201–1208n BHL and BHL Novum Supplementum 7537–7542 BHO 712–71…

[German Version] (died 305 ce), bishop of Benevento, was a martyr in the Diocletian persecution (Persecutions of Christians: I), beheaded along with his companions (Sosius, Festus, Proculus, Desiderius, Eutychius, Acutius) in Puteoli. It is unlikely that he is identical with the participant in the Council of Sardica in 342/343 (Homoeans) of the same name. The local bishop, John I (died 432), transferred his remains to Naples, where they were finally deposited in 1494 after two additional translation…

[German Version] martyr in Chalcedon (died 303? or 307?). The tradition mentions that she was beheaded, burned to death, and slain in the arena after torture and so demonstrates the difficulty in determining what is historical. Her veneration is connected primarily with the Church of St. Euphemia in Chalcedon (with a blood miracle), where the council convened in 451. The cult grew largely in proportion …

[German Version] Patristic tradition, especially hagiography, records three women by this name; their vitae converge to varying extents. 1. A virgin and martyr in Antioch, probably martyred under Numerian (283/284; possibly Diocletian); she is relatively reliably attested. To escape her pursuers and preserve her virginity, she leapt from the roof of a house. Her primary feast days are Oct 8 and May 5 and 8; tradition: BHG 1477–1477d. 2. A virgin in Jerusalem. Her legend tells of the conversion of a prostitute in Antioch (date uncertain: 4th or 5th cent.?) named M…