Gundaecer of Dokkum

Holy Martyr Gundaecer of Dokkum was one of the companions of Saint Boniface, killed with him at Dokkum in Frisia in the year 754.

In the year 754 Saint Boniface, archbishop of Mainz, set out with his companions for Frisia, to bring the Frisians to the faith. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation near Dokkum, between Franeker and Groningen. Instead of the new converts, armed robbers came and killed the aged archbishop. The lives of the saint say that he urged his comrades to lay down their arms and not to repay evil with evil. The robbers killed the whole company and ransacked their baggage, in which they found not the treasure they hoped for but books and relics.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates on 5 June all those killed at Dokkum. The feast of Saint Boniface is kept on 5 June in the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Communion and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Gundaecer is honored as a martyr and a saint of the undivided Church; the sources say no more about his life.