The Holy Hieromartyr Timothy and His Companions of Tiberiopolis
Life
Saint Timothy and his companions were a group of clergy and monastics martyred at Tiberiopolis in Macedonia during the reign of the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Their company, commonly numbered as fifteen, is traditionally led by the bishops Timothy and Theodore and is venerated together as the Holy Hieromartyrs of Tiberiopolis. Arrested for refusing to abandon Christ and to sacrifice to the pagan gods, they were put to death by the sword. They are commemorated as a single named group on November 28.
Timeline3 momentsReadHide
c. 361Persecution under Julian the ApostateDuring the reign of Julian the Apostate, a renewed persecution of Christians spread through the Roman Empire. Proclamations demanded that Christians either renounce their faith or face torture and death, prompting a number of believers to flee.
before the martyrdomRefuge at TiberiopolisSeveral of the company traveled by way of Thessalonica to Tiberiopolis, a city in Macedonia north of Thessalonica near the Illyrian border (later identified with Strumica). There Timothy served as bishop and labored to establish the Christian faith among the local population.
Nov 28, c. 361-362Arrest and martyrdomThe saints were arrested and ordered to sacrifice to the pagan gods. When they refused, the whole company was condemned and put to death by the sword. They are remembered together on the day of their martyrdom.
Contributions & Legacy
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The company of martyrs
Tradition records the company as fifteen in number, gathering bishops, priests, deacons, and monks into one commemoration. The leaders were the bishops Timothy and Theodore; the priests included Peter, John, Sergius, Theodore, and Nikephoros; the deacons Basil and Thomas; and the monks Hierotheos, Daniel, Chariton, Socrates, Komasios, and Eusebius, together with Etimasios. Because they suffered as one body for the same confession, the Church honors them under the single feast of the Hieromartyrs of Tiberiopolis.
Veneration and relics
The account of the martyrs is preserved by Saint Theophylact of Ohrid and was later translated by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite. Their relics at Tiberiopolis (Strumica) became a place of pilgrimage, and an early Christian basilica was raised over their tombs. The veneration of the martyrs spread widely in the medieval Balkans.
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