Nearchus or Nearch (also written Neärchus or Neärch) was a third-century AD
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
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 ...
and
saint. He was a
Roman army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
officer and friend of
Polyeuctus
Saint Polyeuctus (also Polyeuctes, Polyeuktos, Greek: Πολύευκτος) of Melitene (died 10 January 259) was an ancient Roman saint. Christian tradition states that he was a wealthy Roman army officer who was the first martyr in Melit ...
, whom he had converted to the
Christian faith. Nearchus was later burned alive. His feast day is on April 22.
Saints Nearchus and Polyeuctus
Saints Nearchus and
Polyeuctus
Saint Polyeuctus (also Polyeuctes, Polyeuktos, Greek: Πολύευκτος) of Melitene (died 10 January 259) was an ancient Roman saint. Christian tradition states that he was a wealthy Roman army officer who was the first martyr in Melit ...
were third-century
Roman army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
officers in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
. Their
saints’ story is told in ''
Menalogion of
Metaphrastes''. Nearchus was
Christian, but
Polyeuctus
Saint Polyeuctus (also Polyeuctes, Polyeuktos, Greek: Πολύευκτος) of Melitene (died 10 January 259) was an ancient Roman saint. Christian tradition states that he was a wealthy Roman army officer who was the first martyr in Melit ...
was not. The men had a strong desire to spend eternity together, so
Polyeuctus
Saint Polyeuctus (also Polyeuctes, Polyeuktos, Greek: Πολύευκτος) of Melitene (died 10 January 259) was an ancient Roman saint. Christian tradition states that he was a wealthy Roman army officer who was the first martyr in Melit ...
converted from
paganism to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. With a convert’s zeal he attacked a
pagan procession. He was
beheaded
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...
for his crime. Shortly before he was executed, he spoke his
last words
Last words are the final utterances before death. The meaning is sometimes expanded to somewhat earlier utterances.
Last words of famous or infamous people are sometimes recorded (although not always accurately) which became a historical and liter ...
to Nearchus: “Remember our secret vow.” Nearchus was later burned alive.
References
3rd-century Christian martyrs
Military saints
Year of birth unknown
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