Martyr 3rd century

Martyr Paramon and 370 Martyrs of Bithynia

died c. 250

Also known as Paramon

Paramon rebuked the torture of 370 imprisoned Christians under Decius, and he and the prisoners were martyred for Christ.

Feast Day

November 29

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Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyr Paramon and the 370 Martyrs in Bithynia

Life

Paramon and the 370 Martyrs of Bithynia are commemorated together as a group that suffered for the Christian faith in Asia Minor in the year 250, during the persecution under the emperor Decius (reigned 249-251). Their account is preserved in the synaxarial tradition and is kept as a single commemoration named for Paramon, the layman whose intervention is the focus of the narrative.

According to the tradition, the governor of the region had imprisoned 370 Christians and pressed them to renounce Christ and offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. When all refused, Paramon, a respected local man, publicly denounced the governor; he was put to death first, and the 370 were beheaded after him. They are commemorated on November 29.

Timeline 3 moments Read Hide

c. 250 The 370 Christians imprisoned During the Decian persecution, the governor of the Eastern regions seized 370 Christians in Bithynia and demanded that they abjure Christ and sacrifice to idols. The Prologue of Ohrid places the demand at a pagan temple of Poseidon; none of the captives submitted, despite beatings and the threat of death.
c. 250 Paramon's public confession and death Paramon, a respected local inhabitant, openly denounced the governor and confessed his faith in Christ. The synaxarion relates that the governor's servants seized him, pierced his tongue, stripped him, and stabbed his body; the OCA account records that he was beheaded after fierce tortures.
c. 250 Martyrdom of the 370 After Paramon's death the 370 Christians were beheaded for refusing to worship the idols.

Contributions & Legacy

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Historical Context

The commemoration is set in the persecution of the emperor Decius (reigned 249-251), under whom an empire-wide demand to sacrifice to the gods fell heavily on Christians. The events are placed in Bithynia, a region of Asia Minor, in the year 250.

The governor responsible is named in the sources, though the spelling varies between recensions: the OCA and Romanian Patriarchate calendars give Aquianus, while the Prologue of Ohrid gives Aquilinus. He is described as governor of the Eastern regions.

Account of the Martyrdom

The governor had imprisoned 370 Christians and tried, by beatings and the threat of death, to make them renounce Christ and sacrifice to idols, but not one of them submitted. The Prologue of Ohrid relates that they were bound at a place where there stood an idolatrous temple of the god Poseidon.

Paramon, described as a respected local man, passed by, learned what was happening, and cried out against the governor for desiring to slaughter the innocent because they would not worship dead and mute idols. The governor sent servants who, by the Prologue's account, pierced his tongue with a thorn, stripped him, and stabbed his whole body; the OCA records that he was beheaded after fierce tortures. The 370 were then beheaded.

Notes

Named numerical group kept as one row.

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