Mygdonius of Nicomedia

Holy Hieromartyr Mygdonius of Nicomedia was a deacon and is counted among the martyrs who suffered at Nicomedia in the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian (284-305), alongside Bishop Anthimus, the deacon Theophilus and the martyrs Dorotheus, Mardonius, Peter, Indes, Gorgonius, Zeno, the virgin Domna and Euthymius.

The persecution grew sharper after a fire broke out in the imperial palace at Nicomedia. The pagans accused the Christians of setting it on purpose and showed them unheard-⁠of cruelty: in Nicomedia alone, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, up to twenty thousand worshippers were burned in a church. The Christians were not terrified but confessed their faith and accepted a martyr's death. So died Dorotheus, Mardonius, Mygdonius, Peter, Indes and Gorgonius: some put to the sword, others burned, buried under earth or drowned in the sea. Zeno, a soldier, was stoned and then beheaded for his bold rebuke of Maximian. Domna, a former pagan priestess, and Euthymius, who saw to it that the bodies of the martyrs were buried, were killed by the pagans.

Bishop Anthimus, who governed the Church of Nicomedia, hid at the request of his flock in a village nearby, from which he wrote to the Christians to stand firm in the faith. One of his letters, sent by the deacon Theophilus, was intercepted. Theophilus was interrogated and died under torture without revealing the bishop's hiding place. Maximian nevertheless learned where Anthimus was and sent soldiers. The bishop met them on the road; they did not recognize him, and he invited them in, fed them and told them that he was the man they sought. The soldiers believed in Christ and were baptized, but the bishop made them carry out their orders. Before the emperor, Anthimus said that instruments of torture cannot frighten one who wishes to die for Christ. He was tortured and put to the sword, praising God to his last breath (around the year 302).

Mygdonius is commemorated on 10 January and on 16 September, in the new style.