Leontine martyrs

The Leontine Martyrs were a group of people who were killed after a long period of captivity in Persia. They were executed by the order of King Yazdegerd II in 455, five years after the insurrection led by Vartan Mamikonian.

Martyrs

Leontius of Vanand

A priest.

Joseph of Armenia

A patriarch of Armenia.

Abraham of Arazd

Abraham of Arazd was an Armenian priest and a disciple of the Leontine martyrs. Like his teachers, he was subjected to prolonged torture, but unlike them, was eventually set free. He afterward left society to become a hermit, remaining one until his death in the 5th century.

He is regarded as a saint by the Armenian Church, with a feast day of December 20.

Veneration

The group is commemorated as saints. Their feast day is July 31. In the Armenian Orthodox Church, their office is celebrated on the Tuesday after the western Sexagesima, and they are regarded as the patron saints of the Armenian clergy.

References

• Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.