Saint Colluthus is a

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

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 ...

and martyr of the 3rd century AD said to be from

Antinoöpolis Antinoöpolis (also Antinoopolis, Antinoë, Antinopolis; grc, Ἀντινόου πόλις; cop, ⲁⲛⲧⲓⲛⲱⲟⲩ ''Antinow''; ar, الشيخ عبادة, modern ''Sheikh 'Ibada'' or ''Sheik Abāda'') was a city founded at an older Egyp ...

. According to his Hagiography, Colluthus' father was the governor of the Upper Egyptian city of Ansena. His parents were both Christians. He lived a celibate, although his sister was married to Arianus, who became Ansena's governor after the departure of Colluthus' father. Colluthus was a physician who did not charge money for his services. When Roman emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

began his persecutions of Christians, Arianus apostatized in order to keep his position as a governor. When Colluthus rebuked Arianus for persecuting the Christians, Arianus sent him to the governor of

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus (; grc-gre, Ὀξύρρυγχος, Oxýrrhynchos, sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian ''Pr-Medjed''; cop, or , ''Pemdje''; ar, البهنسا, ''Al-Bahnasa'') is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo ...

who threw him in prison for three years. Colluthus' sister unsuccessfully mediated for his release. After three years, a different governor of Oxyrhynchus took Colluthus out of prison, tortured him, and eventually cut his head off on 25 Pashons. The emperor Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution with the Edict of Serdica in 311. After Christianity was

declared In the sport of cricket, a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture occurs when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings without batting. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 15 of the ''Laws of ...

one of the Empire's legal religions by the emperor

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...

, a church was built for Saint Colluthus, where his relics were placed.

Sources

Coptic Synexarion
Saints from Roman Egypt 3rd-century deaths 3rd-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian {{saint-stub