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Martyrs Heraclius Paulinus, and Benedimus

Also known as Heraclius · Paulinus · Benedimus

Teachers of the faith at Athens who preached boldly against idolatry and, with those they had brought to Christ, were given over to martyrdom.

May 18New Calendar
Feast Day
May 31Old Calendar
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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyrs Heraclius, Paulinus, and Benedimus of Athens

Life

Heraclius, Paulinus, and Benedimus (the name is also given as Venedimus or Benedim) are commemorated together as martyrs who suffered at Athens. The synaxarion records them as teachers of the Christian faith in that city who preached openly against the worship of idols and drew others to Christ before being put to death together with those they had converted.

Little firm biographical detail survives, and the sources do not fix a century for their martyrdom. They are remembered on May 18, on which day the calendars also commemorate a wider company of martyrs gathered from several lands.

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Your holy martyrs Heraclius, Paulinus, and Benedimus, O Lord,
through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God.
For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through their intercessions, save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

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  1. UncertainPreaching at AthensThe three taught the inhabitants of Athens about Christ and urged them to abandon the worship of idols, winning disciples to the faith.
  2. UncertainArrest and martyrdomThey were seized and tortured for their preaching and, with those they had brought to Christ, were given over to death. The accounts of their end vary, some relating that they perished in a fiery furnace and others that, preserved unharmed in the fire, they were beheaded.

Contributions & Legacy

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Witnesses at Athens

By the account preserved in the synaxarion, Heraclius, Paulinus, and Benedimus were teachers of the faith in Athens who confessed Christ boldly and called the pagans of the city away from the senseless worship of idols. Their preaching bore fruit, and they were brought to trial together with the disciples they had gained.

The sources are brief and do not agree on the manner of their death: one tradition relates that they were cast into a fiery oven and died there, while another holds that the grace of God preserved them unharmed in the flames and that they were therefore beheaded. The dating of their martyrdom is not recorded.

A shared commemoration

On May 18 the three are remembered alongside a larger company of martyrs drawn from different regions, among them Peter of Lampsacus, the soldiers Paul and Andrew, Dionysius, and Christina. Though they came from various lands, the calendars join them in a single commemoration as fellow citizens of the heavenly kingdom through their common confession and death for Christ.

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Commemorated together with them on May 18
Martyrs PeterDionysius, Andrew, Paul, and Christina
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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints