Euphebius of Naples

Saint Euphebius of Naples (Ephebus, in Naples also called Efrem) was bishop of Naples and is a patron of the city. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, where his commemoration is on 23 May; our sources mention no Orthodox veneration. At Naples he is also commemorated on 8 November, the day of the commemoration of the holy bishops of the Church of Naples.

The time of his episcopate cannot be fixed with certainty. Ferdinando Ughelli writes that the date cannot be determined. There is no Life of him. According to some of the sources, he was bishop of Naples at the end of the third century and the beginning of the fourth. Paulus Regius and Baronius thought that he died in the year 713, but John the Deacon counts him the eighth bishop of Naples, successor of Saint Eustasius, which would place his episcopate sometime in the second century.

From the few reports that remain it is known that, according to tradition, he was a good shepherd and a firm defender of his community. He is remembered as a wonderworker, and many miracles are linked with his name. He was buried in a cemetery in the surroundings, named after him the catacombs of Saint Ephebus. His relics were moved, probably in the ninth century, to the cathedral of Naples. According to popular tradition, they returned to the first place of burial, in the district of present-⁠day Sant'Efremo Vecchio in Naples, where his veneration is especially widespread. Since 1673 he has been honoured as one of the patrons of the city of Naples.