Gemellus of Ancyra

Saint Gemellus

Martyrdom of St. Gemellus. From the Menologion of Basil II.
Martyr
Died 362 AD
Ancyra or Edessa
Feast December 10

Saint Gemellus of Ancyra is venerated as a Christian martyr and saint. According to tradition, he was martyred by crucifixion at Ancyra (present-day Ankara), in Asia Minor, during the reign of Julian the Apostate.[1]

He was a native of Paphlagonia.[2]

He is said to be the last Christian martyr who was killed by crucifixion.[1] Hearing that the Emperor Julian was at Ancyra, Gemellus had traveled there to criticize the emperor for his apostasy,[2] and was tortured and killed at Ancyra[1] (or, according to one source, at Edessa[2]).

A church dedicated to Saint Gemellus was located at Sykeon, a village on the Siberis River in Asia Minor.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Michael Walsh, A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West (Liturgical Press, 2007), 222.
  2. ^ a b c Sir William Smith, A dictionary of christian biography, literature, sects and doctrines: being a continuation of "The dictionary of the Bible", Volume 1 (Little, Brown & Co., 1880), 623.
  3. ^ Sir William Mitchell Ramsay, The historical geography of Asia Minor (John Murray, 1890), 244.