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Martyr4th century

Martyr Barulas the Youth of Caesarea

c. 296 – 303

Also known as Barulas

A young boy who confessed Christ while witnessing the torture of Saint Romanus and was killed for refusing idolatry.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyr Barulas the Youth of Caesarea

Life

Barulas was a young boy, remembered in the tradition as about seven years old, who was martyred at Caesarea in Palestine around 303, during the persecution of the emperor Diocletian. He is commemorated on November 18 together with the deacon-martyr Romanus of Caesarea, in whose passion the sources place him.

According to the account, Barulas was among a crowd witnessing the torture of Saint Romanus when the Eparch Asclypiades questioned the child about his faith. The boy confessed Christ and denounced the pagan gods, and when he would not renounce his confession he was tortured and beheaded. He is venerated as a child-martyr in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Apostolic churches.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide
KontakionTone 2

(Podoben: “You sought the heights...”) You appeared as a bright star announcing Christ with your radiance,
which is repulsive to this world, O Martyr Barulas;
extinguishing the allure of false gods,
you enlighten the faithful,
always interceding for us all.

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

TroparionTone 3

Your holy martyr Barulas, O Lord,
through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God.
For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through his intercessions, save our souls!

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

Timeline3 momentsReadHide
  1. c. 296BirthBy the tradition that reckons him about seven years old at his death, Barulas was born around 296 in Palestine.
  2. 303Confession before AsclypiadesWhile witnessing the torture of Saint Romanus at Caesarea, Barulas confessed Christ and denounced the pagan gods before the Eparch Asclypiades.
  3. 303MartyrdomRefusing to renounce his faith, Barulas was tortured and beheaded; his mother, who had encouraged him, buried his body.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

Confession and Martyrdom

The tradition recounts that Barulas was present in a crowd watching the torture of Saint Romanus of Caesarea when the Eparch Asclypiades turned to question the child about what he believed. Barulas declared that he worshiped Christ and condemned the idols, saying that the pagan gods were demons who had created nothing. His bold answers are said to have shamed the idolaters looking on.

Unable to persuade the boy to abandon his confession, Asclypiades ordered him tortured and then executed by beheading. The synaxarion relates that his mother stood by throughout his ordeal and encouraged him not to fear death, telling him that he would not die but live forever; after his execution she buried his body.

Historical Context

Barulas's death is set within the Diocletianic Persecution of 303–304, the last and most severe imperial campaign against Christians in the Roman world, which fell heavily on Palestine and its capital at Caesarea.

The sources connect him with Romanus of Caesarea, a deacon of Palestine who, during the same persecution, rebuked worshipers at a pagan festival and was seized, tortured, and finally strangled in prison. Both are commemorated on November 18. The Latin poet Prudentius linked the two martyrdoms in verse, presenting Barulas as Romanus's companion in death, and Eusebius of Caesarea recorded Romanus's passion in his work on the martyrs of Palestine.

Historical Uncertainty

Scholars have questioned whether Barulas and Romanus were in fact martyred together. Their pairing is preserved chiefly through the poetry of Prudentius, and some historians regard the association as a literary construction rather than a documented historical link, describing the connection as probably arbitrary and noting that legendary elements may have entered the account.

The core tradition of a child confessor put to death at Caesarea is retained across several churches, while the precise circumstances of his death and its relationship to the passion of Romanus remain uncertain.

Companions1 figureShowHide
The deacon of Caesarea at whose confession the boy was moved to confess Christ.
Martyr Romanusthe Deacon of Caesarea
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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints