Abercius and Helena are

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s of the

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. They are said to have been the children of

Alphaeus Alphaeus (from Greek: Ἀλφαῖος) is a man mentioned in the ''New Testament'' as the father of two of the Twelve Apostles, namely: * Matthew the EvangelistMark 2:14 * James, son of Alphaeus He is implied to be the father of: * Joseph or ...

the Apostle, although this has been challenged by some parties. Both of them are known to have been

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s: Abercius by being exposed naked to

bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

, and Helena by

stoning Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. The Torah and Ta ...

. They are commemorated with a

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

on May 20. They are commemorated in the Orthodox Church on May 26.

References

Sources

* Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924. 1st-century Christian martyrs 1st-century Christian female saints Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era {{saint-stub

See also

References

Sources