Saints Leontius, Hypatius and Theodolus were

Roman soldiers This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats. *'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army. *'' Actuarius'' – A military who served food. *''Adiutor'' – A camp o ...

who, according to Christian tradition, were

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed for their faith. Leontius was

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

by origin, and served as an officer of the imperial army in the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n city of Tripoli during the reign of

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

(70-79). Leontius was distinguished for his bravery and good sense, and the people of Tripoli held him in deep respect because of his virtue. The emperor appointed the Roman senator

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the mai ...

as governor of the Phoenician district, with full powers to hunt out

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, and in case of their refusal to offer sacrifice to the

Roman gods The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin lite ...

, to give them over to torture and death. On his way to Phoenicia, Adrian received a report that Leontius had turned many away from worshipping the

pagan god Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...

s. The governor sent the

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

Hypatius with a detachment of soldiers to Tripoli so as to find and arrest the Christian Leontius. Along the way the tribune Hypatius fell seriously ill, and being near death, he saw in a dream an angel, which said: "If you wish to be healed, you and your soldiers should say three times: 'God of Leontius, help me.'". Opening his eyes Hypatius beheld the angel and said, "I was sent to arrest Leontius, how is it that I should appeal to his God?" At this moment the angel became invisible. Hypatius told his dream to the soldiers, among whom was his friend Theodolus, and all of them together asked for help from the God whom Leontius confessed. Hypatius was immediately healed, to the great joy of his soldiers, but only Theodolus sat aside, pondering the miracle. His soul was filled with love for God, and he told Hypatius to proceed twice as quickly to the city in search of St Leontius. Upon their arrival in the city, a stranger met them and invited them to his house, where he lavishly hosted the travelers. Learning that their hospitable host was St Leontius, they fell on their knees and asked him to enlighten them with faith in the True God. They were baptized there, and when Leontius prayed over them calling on the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, a luminous cloud overshadowed the newly baptized and poured forth rain. The remaining soldiers in search of their commander arrived in Tripoli, where the governor Adrian had also arrived. Learning what had happened, he order Leontius, Hypatius and Theodolus to be brought to him. After threatening them with torture and death, he demanded that they renounce Christ and offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. All three firmly confessed their faith in Christ. Hypatius was put under a column and raked with iron claws, and Theodolus was mercilessly beaten with rods. Seeing the steadfastness of these saints, they beheaded them. After torture, they sent Leontius to prison. In the morning he came before the governor. Adrian tried to entice him with honors and rewards, but accomplishing nothing, he gave him over to new tortures. Leontius was suspended head downwards from a pillar with a heavy stone about his neck, but nothing could make him renounce Christ. The governor gave orders to beat the sufferer with rods until he died. They then threw Leontius' body outside the city, but Christians reverently buried it near Tripoli. The deaths of these martyrs occurred between 70 and 79. The accusation against St. Leontius and his sufferings and death are recorded on tin tablets prepared by the court scribe (commentarisius). These tablets were placed at the grave.

Veneration

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

Bosra Bosra ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ, Buṣrā), also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially called Busra al-Sham ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Dara ...

was dedicated to Leontius and he was the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Syria.Saints of June 18
Leontius, Hypatius (Ipazio), and Theodolus
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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leontius, Hypatius And Theodolus 1st-century deaths Saints from Roman Greece Saints trios Angelic visionaries 1st-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Military saints