Polyeuctus

Polyeuctus

Infobox Saint
name= Saint Polyeuctus
birth_date=
death_date= January 10, 259 AD
feast_day= February 13 (Catholic Church); January 9 (Eastern Orthodox Church)
venerated_in= Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church


imagesize= 200px
caption=
birth_place=
death_place=Melitene, Armenia
titles=
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=
patronage=vows and treaty agreements
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
issues=

Saint Polyeuctus (Polyeuctes, Polyeuktos) of Melitene (d. January 10, 259) is an ancient Roman saint. Christian tradition states that he was a wealthy Roman army officer who was martyred at Melitene, Armenia, under Valerian.

Symeon Metaphrastes writes that, moved by the zeal of his friend Saint Nearchus, Polyeuctus had openly converted to Christianity. "Enflamed with zeal, St Polyeuctus went to the city square, and tore up the edict of Decius which required everyone to worship idols. A few moments later, he met a procession carrying twelve idols through the streets of the city. He dashed the idols to the ground and trampled them underfoot." [http://www.oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=1&D=9]

He was tortured by the authorities and ignored the tears and protestations of his wife Paulina, his children, and his father-in-law Felix. He was beheaded.

Veneration

He was buried at Melitene, and a church was dedicated to him there. Christian tradition states that the parents of Euthymius the Great prayed for a son at the church of St. Polyeuctus in Melitene. [http://www.oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=1&D=9]

A massive church dedicated to him was built at Constantinople by Anicia Juliana in 524-527. The excavations undertaken in the 1960s revealed that, at the time of Justinian's ascension to the throne, the basilica was the largest in Constantinople and that it featured some remarkably ostentatious display of wealth, such as gilded reliefs of peacocks, as well as much oriental detail. His feast day is February 13 in the Catholic calendar. In the Eastern Orthodox liturgics, his feast falls on January 9. His feast day was January 7 in the ancient Armenian calendars. Polyektus is the patron saint of vows and treaty agreements. [http://www.oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=1&D=9]

Cultural references

Pierre Corneille, inspired by the account of Polyeuctus' martyrdom, used elements from the saint's story in his tragedy "Polyeucte" (1642). In 1878 it was adapted into an opera by Charles Gounod, with the assistance of the librettist Jules Barbier. Other works based on the play include a ballet by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1679), and the opera Poliuto (1838) by Donizetti (adapted with Scribe as Les martyrs). Paul Dukas wrote "The Polyeucte Overture", which premiered in January 1892.

External links

* [http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0213.htm#poly Saints of February 13: Saint Polyeuctus]
* [http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5536 Catholic Online: Saint Polyeuctus]
* [http://www.oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=1&D=9 Martyr Polyeuctus of Melitene, in Armenia]


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  • Polyeuctus, S. (3) — 3S. Polyeuctus (13. Febr. al. 7., 9. u. 10. Jan.). Dieser hl. Martyrer zu Melitene in Kleinarmenien (Cappadocien) war Hauptmann in der kaiserl. Armee und obwohl Heide mit einem eifrigen Christen, mit Namen Nearchus, befreundet. Als der Letztere… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Polyeuctus, S. (2) — 2S. Polyeuctus, Patr. (5. Febr. al. 29. Jan.). Dieser heil. Polyeuctus, zu Deutsch: der »sehr Erwünschte«, war vom J. 956 bis z. J. 970 Patriarch von Konstantinopel. Im Jahre vor seiner Erhebung hatte die verwittwete Großfürstin Olga von Rußland… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Polyeuctus, SS. (4) — 4SS. Polyeuctus et Soc. M. M. (21. Mai al. 19. Dec.). Die hhl. Polyeuctus, Victorius, Donatus59, Quintus und Lucusa3 litten den Martertod zu Cäsarea in Cappadocien. Die drei Erstgenannten stehen auch im Mart. Rom. Näheres ist nicht bekannt. Bei… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Polyeuctus, S. (1) — 1S. Polyeuctus (Euctus) (8. Jan.), ein Martyrer in Griechenland. S. S. Timotheus. (I. 473.) …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Patriarch Polyeuctus of Constantinople — Polyeuctus was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (956 70), From being a simple monk, Polyeuctus was raised to the Patriarchate in 956, as successor to the imperial prince Theophylactus Lecapenus, and remained on the patriarchal throne in… …   Wikipedia

  • Patriarch Polyeuctus — Polyeuctus was the Patriarch of Constantinople during the 10th Century.Polyeuctus was a eunuch and a monk prior to his appointment by Constantine as Patriarch of Constantinople in 956. He replaced Theophylact Lecapenus in this office.Although he… …   Wikipedia

  • Church of St. Polyeuctus — Marble bust of Anicia Juliana, from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Church of St. Polyeuctus (Greek: Ἅγιος Πολύευκτος, Hagios Polyeuktos) was an ancient Byzantine church in Constantinople (now Istanbul …   Wikipedia

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  • Theophano (10th century) — Theophano was a Byzantine empress. She was the daughter in law of Constantine VII; wife of Romanos II; wife of Nikephoros II Phokas; lover of John I Tzimiskes; the mother of Basil II, Constantine VIII and the princess Anna Porphyrogenita, who… …   Wikipedia

  • Полиевкт — (др. греч. Πολύευκτος) греческое Род: муж. Этимологическое значение: «многожеланный», «долгожданный» Отчество: Полиевктович Полиевктовна …   Википедия

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