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Thyrsus of Apollonia
Christian martyr and saint
SaintFull write-upPre-congregation
Feast: 14 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
200
Died
251
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
At Apollonia in Bithynia, in present-day Turkey, Saints Thyrsus, Leucius, Callinicus and companions, martyrs, who, tradition says, suffered their passion in the time of the emperor Decius.
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 14 December as a martyr at Apollonia in Bithynia who, tradition says, suffered under the emperor Decius.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 14 December (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q38117964 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Saint Thyrsus (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.