Remembered on December 21
Themistocles of Myra
- MartyrA saint who was killed for bearing witness to Christ.
All martyrs
Themistocles was a shepherd near Myra in Lycia during the third-century persecution under Decius. His traditional life tells how he protected a Christian whom the authorities were seeking and openly confessed his own faith. He is remembered as a martyr whose care for another person cost him his life. His story gives us a simple question to carry: how can we stand beside someone who is afraid?
How he died
Tradition holds that Themistocles died after being tortured and dragged over iron spikes.
- Feast day
- December 21
Parishes on the Old Calendar keep it on January 3. - Kind of saint
- Martyr
Life written by Simply Orthodox; quote freely with a link.