Skip to content
Thursday, November 12
Prophet Ahijah the Shilonite
Sinaxarion

Holy Martyrs

Valerius and Rufinus

Martyrs slain for Christ near Soissons in Gaul around 287.

Feast
June 14old style June 27
Reposed
2873rd century
Place
Soissons
Order
Martyrs

Life

The Holy Martyrs Valerius and Rufinus suffered around 287, near Soissons in Gaul. According to the legend, they were imperial tax collectors, pious Christians, and the praetorian prefect of Gaul, Rictius Varus, ordered their arrest. The two hid, according to tradition, in a cave in a forest near Soissons, but they were caught, tortured and beheaded on the high road leading to the city.

The statue of Rufinus is among the one hundred and forty saints that adorn the colonnade of Saint Peter's Square in Rome. They are commemorated on 14 June, as saints of the West before the Great Schism (saints of the undivided Church), by the New Calendar.

Commemorated the same day June 14