Leontius of Tripolis

Holy Martyr Leontius of Tripolis was, according to tradition, a commander in the Roman army at Tripolis in Phoenicia, in the time of Emperor Vespasian (69-79). A martyr of the early Christian centuries, he is commemorated on 18 June (new style), together with Hypatius and Theodulus.

Leontius, a Greek by birth, was famed for courage and wisdom, and the soldiers and the people of Tripolis esteemed him. The senator Adrian, sent as governor to Phoenicia with power to pursue Christians, learned on the way that Leontius had turned many from idols and sent the tribune Hypatius with soldiers to seize him. Hypatius fell gravely ill on the road and an angel appeared to him in a dream: if he wished to be healed, he should cry out three times with the soldiers, “God of Leontius, help me.” He recovered, believed in Christ and came to honour Leontius. The account says that the saint received at table the soldiers who had come to take him. With Hypatius and Theodulus he was then brought before Adrian, stood firm and received the crown of martyrdom by the sword.