Melasippus of Langres

Holy Martyr Melasippus of Langres was one of the three brothers Speusippus, Eleusippus and Melasippus, grandsons of Saint Leonilla, who suffered in Gaul (according to another account, in Cappadocia) in the second century, in the persecution of Marcus Aurelius (161-180), together with Neon, Turbo and Jovilla.

Leonilla received Baptism in advanced age from a disciple of Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, and then brought her three grandsons to Christ. Inflamed with zeal for the Lord, the brothers broke the idols and rebuked the pagans for their folly. The tormentors summoned Leonilla to the place of execution and told her to urge her grandsons to renounce Christ, but she praised their courage and firmness in the faith. The martyrs were thrown into the fire, but it did them no harm. After the torments and death of her grandsons, Leonilla was beheaded.

With her suffered Jovilla, who saw the unshaken faith of the martyrs, declared herself a Christian, and left her husband and little son; she was hung by the hair, wounded in the body and beheaded. Neon saw the struggle of the brothers, wrote down their sufferings and gave the manuscript to Turbo, and himself confessed Christ, was cruelly beaten and died from the blows. Turbo, following the example of the sufferers, also ended his life as a martyr.

These martyrs are especially venerated in Spain, where many churches are dedicated to them. Their relics were sent to Langres in France by the Greek emperor Zeno. Melasippus is commemorated on 29 January, in the new style.