Aedesius of Alexandria

Holy Martyr Aedesius of Alexandria died as a martyr in 306, in the time of the emperor Galerius Maximian. He was the brother of Saint Amphian. He is commemorated on 2 April in the Orthodox Church, on 8 April in the Roman Catholic Church, and our calendar gives 9 April; the days do not agree. The two traditions, Western and Eastern, tell the story with differences.

According to the Martyrology, he publicly rebuked a judge who had been forcing Christian virgins to work in brothels in order to break their faith, and for this he was tortured and drowned. The historian Eusebius of Caesarea relates that Aedesius, like his brother, was a philosopher converted to Christianity. Perhaps because of his standing among the educated, he did not fear to profess his faith before magistrates, for which he was imprisoned several times and sentenced to work in the mines of Palestine. After his release he sought solitude in Egypt, but found the persecution there harsher under Hierocles. Aedesius was outraged by the enslavement of virgins consecrated to God, forced to work in brothels, and presented himself before the governor, whereupon he was seized by soldiers, tortured and drowned. His acts are preserved in a Chaldaic text. The story is probably confused, and perhaps mixed with that of the contemporary Neoplatonist philosopher Aedesius.

According to the account of the Eastern Church, Aedesius and his brother were born at Patara of high-⁠standing pagan parents. The brothers converted while studying at Beirut, secretly fled to Caesarea to be taught by Pamphilus of Caesarea. It is reported that Amphianus gave himself up to martyrdom, having "a twenty-⁠year-⁠old body but the understanding and greatness of soul of a centenarian". Having tried to stop the pagan governor of the area from sacrificing to idols, he was tortured: his legs were wrapped in cotton and burned, and he was thrown into the sea with a stone around his neck. Aedesius was punished by being sent to a copper mine in Palestine, and then to Egypt. At Alexandria he spoke out against Hierocles, who had been forcing Christian "nuns, virgins and pious women" to work alongside prostitutes in brothels. The account says Aedesius struck the governor, for which he was tortured and drowned in the sea like his brother.

In art, Aedesius is shown shipwrecked with his brother; the mention of a depiction showing his legs wrapped in oiled linen before he is burned to death is probably a reflection of the Eastern story of his brother's martyrdom.