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The governor, infuriated at what had been done, would have executed some of the principal inhabitants of the city, had not the three men who had done the deed delivered themselves

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September 12 · —

Sts. Macedonius

Sts. Macedonius, Theodulus

The governor, infuriated at what had been done, would have executed some of the principal inhabitants of the city, had not the three men who had done the deed delivered themselves

Traditional feast

September 12
1914 / pre-1969 calendar, per Baring-Gould (1897)

Current feast

Not verified yet

Represents

Feast

Early life

The book says little or nothing about early life. This is how the account begins.

Thin entry · the 1897 book gives only 109 words. We have not filled the gap with invented detail.

The governor, infuriated at what had been done, would have executed some of the principal inhabitants of the city, had not the three men who had done the deed delivered themselves up. They were offered pardon if they would sacrifice; but on their refusal they were racked with a variety of torments, and lastly laid on gridirons, and slowly roasted over a charcoal fire. They are said by Socrates to have addressed the governor with the same taunt as that used by S. Lawrence,— “ If you wish to eat broiled flesh, Amachius, turn us on the other side also, lest we should appear but halfcooked to your taste.”

What they represent

How they teach us to live

Drawn from themes in the original account

Keep their day. Remember them on September 12 with a short prayer, and ask for their help.

Read more

The full original · 109 words

Read Baring-Gould’s full account

Baring-Gould’s sources: Greek Mensea and Menologies. Inserted in the Modern Roman Martyrology by Baronius. Authority: — Mention by Socrates, lib. iii. 15, Sozomen, v. ir, and Suidas, sub voc. Amachius. All these accounts agree, except that Suidas makes Amachius prefect of “a little city of Phrygia,” and the other two call him " prefect of the province." When Amachius, governor of Phrygia, heard that Constantius was dead, and that Julian was Emperor, and had renounced Christianity, and professed his resolve to reestablish paganism, with devotion to the rising star, he ordered the temple at Merus, a city of Phrygia, to be opened, and cleared of the filth that had accumulated in it, and that the statues of the gods should be repolished. This order so exasperated three Christians, Macedonius, Theodulus, and Tatian, that they rushed into the temple, and broke the images to pieces.

The governor, infuriated at what had been done, would have executed some of the principal inhabitants of the city, had not the three men who had done the deed delivered themselves up. They were offered pardon if they would sacrifice; but on their refusal they were racked with a variety of torments, and lastly laid on gridirons, and slowly roasted over a charcoal fire. They are said by Socrates to have addressed the governor with the same taunt as that used by S. Lawrence,— “ If you wish to eat broiled flesh, Amachius, turn us on the other side also, lest we should appear but halfcooked to your taste.”

Feast days

Feast: September 12

Nine days · Free

Pray the novena
with us.

One short email a day for nine days. The day's prayer, a line from Sts. Macedonius's story, and a nudge to keep going.

Also on September 12
N

St. Nicetas

September 12 · Martyr
St. Autonomus

St. Autonomus

September 12 · Martyr
A

St. Ailbe of Emly

September 12 · Bishop
← All 1726 saints in the library
Sources & notes

Feast-day sources

Sources

Credits

From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897–98); text from the Internet Archive scan (OCR, lightly cleaned; errors possible). Public domain.

From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897–98); text from the Internet Archive scan (OCR, lightly cleaned; errors possible). Public domain in the United States. Reproduced unedited, except for short bracketed notes in grey that we added to explain names and terms (“S.” is the old abbreviation for Saint). Some history and judgments reflect 19th-century scholarship.