Isidore of Chios was an Egyptian Christian soldier martyred on the island of

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

in 251 during the

persecutions Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

ordered by the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

emperor

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...

. His feast day is commemorated on

May 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1027 – Robert II of France Robert II ( 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious () or the Wise (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Juni ...

Life and martyrdom

His life is the subject of several versions, mainly with hagiographic aims. An

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

officer in the

Roman navy The naval forces of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman state () were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a primarily land ...

, Isidore confessed himself as a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

to the commander of the fleet while they were on the Aegean island of

. Because he was unwilling to repent and worship the gods of the state, he was tormented and beheaded, and his body cast into a cistern. According to one legend, at this point all the trees on the south side of the island shed tears for Isidore, and this was the origin of the mastic that is still collected regularly on the island.Victoria Finlay, Color According to tradition, his friends Ammonius and Myrope, both destined to martyrdom, would have retrieved the body and interred it properly. Later Myrope was buried beside Isidore, and on their grave miraculous recoveries were reported. There was built a chapel, and in the 5th century a church, thanking Saint Marcian. This church could be that of which a few ruins can now be admired in Chios town. St Isidore's veneration spread in all the Mediterranean sea and he became a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

s’ protector. In 1125, his remains were brought from Chios to the Venetian Basilica of St. Mark, which contains a small chapel containing the sarchophogus.

References

3. The Basiica of St. Mark in Venice, edited by Etore Vio. (1999)

External links and sources

* http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/html/saints/may/14th.cfm * https://web.archive.org/web/20040620135010/http://saintgeorge.org/news_and_events/church_calendar/saint_of_the_day/05may/may_14_saint_isidore_of_chios.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Isidore of Chios 251 deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Romans Ancient Roman military personnel Saints from Roman Egypt Egyptian sailors Year of birth unknown