Martyr
Martyr Polyeuctus of Melitene
† 259
Martyr Polyeuctus of Melitene — a pagan Roman soldier converted to Christ by his friend Nearchus after a vision, who openly cast down pagan idols and was beheaded under Emperor Valerian in 259.
Saint Polyeuctus was a Roman soldier in Melitene (Lesser Armenia), a close friend of the devout Christian Nearchus (already documented in our database as a separate entry, martyr_nearkh), while himself remaining a pagan. As the persecution of Christians intensified, Nearchus grieved that their friendship would soon be broken by his own arrest, while Polyeuctus remained a pagan.
That same night, Christ appeared to Polyeuctus in a dream: He removed his old garment and clothed him in a new, radiant one — after which Polyeuctus declared himself ready to serve Christ alone. He immediately went to the city square, tore down the imperial edict demanding universal sacrifice to idols, and knocked idols from the hands of pagan priests in the street. His own father-in-law Felix, the official responsible for enforcing the edict, was horrified; his wife and father-in-law pleaded with him in vain to recant.
Polyeuctus was martyred by the sword in 259. He is venerated in both East and West as patron of oaths and covenants; a church was later built in his honor at Melitene after the victory of Constantine the Great, with which numerous miracles came to be associated.
His feast is kept on January 9/22, alongside the feast of his friend and spiritual "godfather" Martyr Nearchus (April 22/May 5).