Saint Nicomedes was a

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 ...

of unknown era, whose feast is observed 15 September. He was buried in a catacomb on the

Via Nomentana Via Nomentana is an ancient road of Italy, leading North-East from Rome to Nomentum (modern Mentana), a distance of . It originally bore the name "Via Ficulensis", from the old Latin village of Ficulea, about from Rome. It was subsequently exte ...

near the gate of that name.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "St. Nicomedes." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 19 November 2021 The '' Roman Martyrologium'' and the historical Martyrologies of Bede and his imitators place the feast on this date. The

Gregorian Sacramentary The Gregorian Sacramentary is a 10th-century illuminated Latin manuscript containing a sacramentary. Since the 16th century it has been in the Vatican Library, shelfmarVat. Lat. 3806 Description It is made up of 307 leaves written in Carolingian mi ...

contains under the same date the orations for his Mass. The name does not appear in the three oldest and most important Manuscripts of the ''

Martyrologium Hieronymianum The ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (meaning "martyrology of Jerome") or ''Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi'' (meaning "martyrology of Saint Jerome") is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used a ...

'', but was inserted in later recensions. The saint is without doubt a martyr of the Roman Church. He was buried in a catacomb on the

near the gate of that name. Three seventh century Itineraries make explicit reference to his grave, and

Pope Adrian I Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman. Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...

restored the church built over it (De Rossi, ''Roma Sotterranea'', I, 178–79). A titular church of Rome, mentioned in the fifth century, was dedicated to him (''titulus S. Nicomedis''). The feast of the dedication of his church on 1 June alongside the 15 September feast of his martyrdom were included in the Sarum Rite calendars, but only the 1 June feast day was carried over into the Anglican

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

as a 'lesser holy day' or 'black-letter day

See also: http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdsep.htm

Legend

Nothing is known of the circumstances of his death. The legend of the martyrdom of

Saints Nereus and Achilleus Nereus and Achilleus are two Roman martyr saints. In the present General Roman Calendar, revised in 1969, Nereus and Achilleus (together) are celebrated (optional memorials) on 12 May. The Tridentine Calendar had on 12 May a joint feast (semid ...

introduces him as a

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning a ...

and places his death at the end of the first century. Butler says he "...was apprehended in the persecution of Domitian for his assiduity in assisting the martyrs in their conflicts, and for interring their bodies."Butler, Alban. "Saint Nicomedes, Martyr". ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints''
1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 September 2013 Other recensions of the martyrdom of St. Nicomedes ascribe the sentence of death to the Emperor Maximianus (beginning of the fourth century).

References

* Saint Nicomedes, patron saint archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicomedes Ante-Nicene Christian martyrs Italian saints