Speusippus of Langonia

Holy Martyr Speusippus of Langonia suffered in the second century, in Gaul (by another tradition, in Cappadocia), together with his brothers Eleusippus and Meleusippus, their grandmother Leonilla, and Neon, Turbo and Jovilla.

Leonilla received baptism in old age from a disciple of Saint Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and then brought her three grandsons to Christ. The brothers, set aflame with zeal for the Lord, smashed the idols and rebuked the pagans for their folly. The persecutors, summoning Leonilla to the place of execution, ordered her to urge her grandsons to renounce Christ, but she went to them and praised them for the courage and steadfastness of their faith. Then the martyrs were thrown into the fire, but the fire did them no harm. After the tortures and death of her grandsons, the holy Leonilla was put to the sword. With her suffered Jovilla, who, seeing the unshaken faith of the martyrs, confessed herself a Christian, leaving a husband and a small son; the tormentors hung her up by the hair, wounded her body and cut off her head. Neon saw the struggle of the brothers, wrote down their sufferings and gave the manuscript to Turbo, and himself openly confessed Christ, was cruelly beaten and died of the blows. Turbo, following the example of the sufferers, also ended his life as a martyr. The persecution of Marcus Aurelius (161-180) then reigned. The martyrs are especially honoured in Spain, where many churches are dedicated to them. Their relics were given by the Greek emperor Zeno to France, to the city of Langres.

Speusippus is commemorated on 29 January, in the new style.