Polyeuctus
Encyclopedia
Saint Polyeuctus of Melitene (died 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 torture
d by the authorities and ignored the tears and protestations of his wife Paulina, his children, and his father-in-law Felix. He was beheaded
.
prayed for a son at the church of St. Polyeuctus in Melitene.http://www.oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=1&D=9
The Church of St. Polyeuctus
was dedicated to him 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 calendar
s. Polyektus is the patron saint
of vows and treaty agreements.http://www.oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=1&D=9
, 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.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
tradition states that he was a wealthy Roman army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
officer who was martyred at Melitene, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, under Valerian
Valerian (emperor)
Valerian , also known as Valerian the Elder, was Roman Emperor from 253 to 260. He was taken captive by Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, resulting in wide-ranging instability across the Empire.-Origins and rise...
.
Symeon Metaphrastes
Symeon Metaphrastes
Symeon the Metaphrast was the author of the 10 volume medieval Greek menologion, or collection of saint's lives. He lived in the second half of the 10th century...
writes that, moved by the zeal of his friend Saint Nearchus
Saint Nearchus
Saint Nearchus or Nearch was an Armenian martyr and saint. He was a Roman army officer and friend of Saint Polyeuctus, whom he had converted to the Christian faith. Nearchus was later burned alive....
, 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 torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d by the authorities and ignored the tears and protestations of his wife Paulina, his children, and his father-in-law Felix. He was beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
.
Veneration
He was buried at Melitene, and a church was dedicated to him there. Christian tradition states that the parents of Euthymius the GreatEuthymius the Great
Saint Euthymius , often styled the Great, was an Abbot in Palestine.Venerated in both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.-Biography:He was born in Melitene in Lesser Armenia...
prayed for a son at the church of St. Polyeuctus in Melitene.http://www.oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=1&D=9
The Church of St. Polyeuctus
Church of St. Polyeuctus
The Church of St. Polyeuctus was an ancient Byzantine church in Constantinople built by the noblewoman Anicia Juliana and dedicated to Saint Polyeuctus. Intended as an assertion of Juliana's own imperial lineage, it was a lavishly decorated building, and the largest church of the city before the...
was dedicated to him at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
by Anicia Juliana
Anicia Juliana
Anicia Juliana was a Roman imperial princess, the daughter of the Western Roman Emperor Olybrius, of the Anicii, by Placidia the younger, daughter of Emperor Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia....
in 524-527. The excavations undertaken in the 1960s revealed that, at the time of Justinian's ascension to the throne, the basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
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
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
calendar. In the Eastern Orthodox liturgics, his feast falls on January 9
January 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Jan. 8 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - Jan. 10-Fixed commemorations:All fixed commemorations below are observed on January 22 by Old Calendarists.-Saints:*Martyr Polyeuctus of Melitene in Armenia...
. His feast day was January 7 in the ancient Armenian calendar
Armenian calendar
The Armenian calendar is the traditional calendar of Armenia. It is a solar calendar based on the same system as the ancient Egyptian model, having an invariant 365-day year with no leap year rule...
s. Polyektus is the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of vows and treaty agreements.http://www.oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=1&D=9
Cultural references
Pierre CorneillePierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
, inspired by the account of Polyeuctus' martyrdom, used elements from the saint's story in his tragedy Polyeucte
Polyeucte
Polyeucte martyr is a drama in five acts by French writer Pierre Corneille. It was finished in December 1642 and debuted in October 1643. It is based on the life of the martyr Saint Polyeuctus ....
(1642). In 1878 it was adapted into an opera
Polyeucte (opera)
Polyeucte is an opéra by Charles Gounod based on the play about Saint Polyeuctus by Pierre Corneille. The libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré is more faithful to its source than Les martyrs, Scribe's adaptation for Donizetti, and Gounod hoped to express "the unknown and irresistable...
by Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
, with the assistance of the librettist Jules Barbier
Jules Barbier
Paul Jules Barbier was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré...
. Other works based on the play include a ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, , was a French composer of the Baroque era.Exceptionally prolific and versatile, he produced compositions of the highest quality in several genres...
(1679), and the opera Poliuto
Poliuto
Poliuto is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Pierre Corneille's play Polyeucte . It was composed in 1838 and first performed on 30 November 1848 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples...
(1838) by Donizetti (adapted with Scribe
Scribe
A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
as Les martyrs). Paul Dukas
Paul Dukas
Paul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man, of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, and he abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions...
wrote The Polyeucte Overture, which premiered in January 1892.