Hieromartyr 1st century

Hieromartyr Marcian of Syracuse

Also known as Marcian, Bishop of Syracuse

A disciple of the Apostle Peter sent to Sicily to preach Christ, who served as Bishop of Syracuse and died a martyr.

Feast Day

October 30

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Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Marcian, Bishop of Syracuse

Come to them for

Missionary Work

Life

Marcian of Syracuse is venerated as a hieromartyr and, by tradition, the first bishop of Syracuse in Sicily. The synaxarion accounts him a disciple of the Apostle Peter who was sent to Sicily to preach the Gospel, where he gathered a Christian community and was eventually put to death for the faith. He is commemorated on October 30.

According to the tradition, Marcian settled in a cave near the city of Syracuse, from which he carried on his missionary work and spread the Christian faith through the surrounding region. Greek accounts place his dwelling in a part of the caves called Pelopie. By his preaching he baptized many and converted them to Christ, and his ministry was remembered as confirmed by signs and wonders.

The same tradition holds that Marcian was sent into the West while the Apostle Peter was still at Antioch, and on this basis he is sometimes called the first bishop of the West. The historical record, however, is debated: the surviving texts about him are late, and while tradition assigns him to the apostolic age, many scholars have dated the bishop to no earlier than the third century on the grounds of apparent anachronisms in the sources.

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Martyrdom and Relics

By the account of his encomiast, Marcian was put to death by members of the Jewish community of Syracuse, who are said to have felt threatened by the bishop's persuasive preaching. He is therefore honored as a martyr-bishop, a hieromartyr.

His relics were later removed from Sicily and brought to the Italian city of Gaeta, where they are kept in the Cathedral of Saints Erasmus and Marcianus, in an underground crypt; portions of his relics are also said to remain at Syracuse and Messina. One tradition relates that the relics were secretly transferred to Gaeta at the time of the Saracen invasions of Sicily.

Identity and Commemoration

Marcian is commemorated on October 30, and Orthodox usage also keeps a commemoration on February 9. Among the Latins, additional local feasts are observed at Gaeta (June 2) and in the archdiocese of Syracuse (June 14). The OCA synaxarion identifies the Hieromartyr Marcian with Saint Marcellus, Bishop of Sicily, commemorated on February 9 — the same date on which Marcian is grouped with other bishop-disciples of the Apostle Peter sent to evangelize Sicily.

Notes

Pre-schism Western saint.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints