Cleonicus and Stratonicus

Saints Cleonicus and Stratonicus, Martyrs, were two Christians of Lentini in Sicily, in the third century, venerated as martyrs by the Catholic Church. They were arrested and subjected to terrible torments because they refused to renounce the faith. The sources do not agree in details, but it is held that they suffered after being present at the martyrdom of Saints Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus, when they cried out against the tyrant, accusing him of cruelty. Tertullus had them arrested, had their tongues torn out and thrown into wells.

In a variant regarded as more reliable, Cleonicus and Stratonicus, together with Talleleus, fled the persecution and hid in a cave in the countryside of Tecla, after the martyrdom of their fellow believer Epiphania. Talleleus died of a fever. Cleonicus and Stratonicus then decided to return to the city and present themselves voluntarily to the governor to confess their faith openly. Alexander, another companion, later known as a bishop under the name Neophytus, was stopped before he could reach them. Before Tertullus they accused the worshippers of the pagan gods of idolatry, and the governor, furious, ordered them to receive the same punishment as Saint Alphius: their tongues were torn out and they were thrown into a pit. Their bodies were later found and buried in the Crypt of the Saints by Bishop Neophytus.