Timothy of Mauretania

Holy Hieromartyr Timothy of Mauretania, a deacon, preached the faith in Christ with success in Mauretania, a Roman coastal province in the north of Africa. For this he was given over to many heavy sufferings: he was thrown into prison and tormented by hunger and thirst, and when he was brought out and urged in vain to sacrifice to the idols, he climbed up in prayer onto the pyre prepared for him and gave his spirit into the hands of God. The faithful laid his relics with honour in the land of Mauretania.

These events are said to have taken place at the beginning of the fourth century. Saint Timothy is commemorated on 1 January, in the new style, on the same day as the Holy Martyr Polyeuctus, who had preached the Gospel in Caesarea of Cappadocia and was put to death by torture for his faith.