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Polyeuctus
Roman Armenian martyr and saint (died 259)
SaintFull write-upAncient RomePre-congregation
Feast: 7 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
250
Died
259
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
At Melitene in ancient Armenia, Saint Polyeuctus, martyr: a soldier, compelled by the edict of Emperor Decius to sacrifice to the gods, he smashed their statues to pieces and for this suffered many torments, until he was beheaded and baptised in his own 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 7 January as a soldier martyred at Melitene under Decius.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 7 January (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q942861 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Polyeuctus (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.