Picture: Authors of Menologion of Basil II (circa 985 AC, Constantinople), Byzantine manuscript illuminators[1]: Pantoleon with Georgios, Michael the Younger, Michael of · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Apollonius the Apologist

Christian martyr, apologist and saint

SaintFull write-upPre-congregation

Feast: 21 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)

Born

200

Died

185

Beatified

—

not needed: before formal processes

Canonised

By tradition

recognised before formal processes began

Who they were

At Rome, commemoration of Saint Apollonius, philosopher, martyr, who under the emperor Commodus defended the cause of the Christian faith with a refined oration before the governor Perennis and the Senate, confirming it afterwards, after being condemned to death, with the witness of his blood.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 21 April as a philosopher who defended the faith before the Roman Senate and died a martyr under Commodus.

Connected on this site

Apollonius of Rome Saint
“Apollonius the Apologist or Apollonius of Rome (Greek: Ἀπολλώνιος; died 21 April 185) was a 2nd-century Christian martyr and apologist who was martyred in 185 under the Emperor Commodus (161–192).” — Wikipedia

Sources

Roman Martyrology, 21 April (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
Wikidata Q619457 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
English Wikipedia — Apollonius the Apologist (CC BY-SA)

Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.