Saint

Gemellus
Martyrdom of St. Gemellus. From the Menologion of Basil II.
Martyr
Died362 AD
Ancyra or Edessa
FeastDecember 10

Saint Gemellus of Ancyra (Greek: Γέμελλος) 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.
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