Romanus of Caesarea (also known as Romanus of Antioch) is venerated as a

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 ...

. A deacon of Caesarea, he was martyred at Antioch.

Life

In 303 or 304, at the beginning of the

Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rig ...

, a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

called Romanus, served in Caesarea in Palestine. He was living in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

where in the midst of the persecutions, he encouraged the Christians to stand firm."Martyr Romanus the Deacon of Caesarea", Orthodox Church in America
/ref> During a pagan festival, he upbraided the participants for worshiping idols. Taken prisoner, he was condemned to death by fire, and was bound to the stake. When rain extinguished the flames, Romanus was brought before Emperor Galerius who was then in Antioch. At the emperor's command Romanus'

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste ...

was cut out. Tortured in various ways in prison he was finally strangled.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Sts. Romanus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 18 November 2021

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

speaks of his martyrdom in ''De martyribus Palaestinae''.

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ti ...

relates other details and gives Romanus a companion in martyrdom, a Christian by name Barulas. On this account several historians, among them

Baronius Cesare Baronio (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiastical Annals"), whi ...

, consider that there were two martyrs named Romanus at Antioch, though more likely there was but the one whom Eusebius mentions. Prudentius has introduced legendary features into his account, and his connection of the martyrdom of Barulas with that of Romanus is probably arbitrary. The feast day of Saint Romanus is observed on 18 November. The church of San Román in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

is dedicated to Romanus. Prudentius wrote a 1140 line hymn to Romanus, the ''Romane Christi fortis'', the tenth hymn in his ''Peristephanon''.

Barulas

Barulas (died 303) was a seven year old boy who was

ed along with Romanus of Caesarea by Emperor Galerius by being whipped and beheaded for their Christian beliefs. Barulas, like Quiricus, is venerated as a child-martyr. His feast day is on November 18.Lives of all saints commemorated on November 18
/ref> Barulas was a child in the crowd of people who witnessed the torture of Romanus. Romanus told the Eparch Asclypiades that the boy was wiser than he was, because he knew the true God while the Eparch did not. Asclypiades asked the boy what gods he worshiped, and he replied that he worshiped

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. “Your gods are demons,” the child stated, “and they have not created anything.” With these and other words, the young child put the idolaters to shame. Seeing that he could not convince Barulas to worship the false gods, he had the boy tortured. His mother stood by, encouraging him to remain faithful to his Saviour. After the child was executed, his mother took his body and buried it, rejoicing because he had shed his blood for Christ.

References

Sources

Martyr Romanus the Deacon of Caesarea and child-martyr Barulas of Antioch (303)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romanus Of Caesarea 3rd-century births 303 deaths Saints from the Holy Land Syrian Christian saints 4th-century Christian martyrs 4th-century Romans Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian