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St. Leonides of Alexandria ( Greek: ) was a Greek
''Lives of the Saints: St. Leonides, Martyr
accessed 23 December 2016
St. Leonides of Alexandria ( Greek: ) was a Greek early Christian
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...
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 ...
who lived in the second and early third centuries AD.
Biography
According to the Christian historianEusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...
, Leonides' son was the early Church father Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and the ...
.Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...
Pamphilius, ''Church History'', Book VI, Chapter I Eusebius also says that he was of Greek nationality. In the same passage Eusebius tells us that Leonides was martyred during the persecution of the Roman emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
in the year 202 AD.
Condemned to death by the Egyptian prefect Lactus, he was beheaded, and his property seized.
Family
The name of Leonides' wife is unknown, but she bore at least six children after Origen. Porphyry, a Neoplatonist, claims Origen's parents werepagans Pagans may refer to:
* Paganism, a group of pre-Christian religions practiced in the Roman Empire
* Modern Paganism, a group of contemporary religious practices
* Order of the Vine, a druidic faction in the ''Thief'' video game series
* Pagan's M ...
.
Leonides catechized his children well. Origen attempted to follow his father in martyrdom, but he was detained by his mother - it is said that she hid his clothes so that Origen could not leave the house.
Feast
The Catholic feast of Leonides is celebrated on April 22.Butler, A.''Lives of the Saints: St. Leonides, Martyr
accessed 23 December 2016
See also
*Chronological list of saints in the 3rd century
A list of people, who died during the 3rd century, who have received recognition as Saints (through canonization) from the Catholic Church:
See also
*Christianity in the 3rd century
* List of Church Fathers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Century, Chrono ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonides Executed Egyptian people 3rd-century Christian martyrs 2nd-century births 202 deaths