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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Name

Leontios, martyr of Tripolis (Phoenicia)

Saint ID

S00216

Number in BH

BHG 986-987

Reported Death Not Before

300

Reported Death Not After

323

Gender
Male
Type of Saint
Martyrs, Soldiers, Groups and pairs of saints
Related Evidence Records
IDTitle
E00411The Piacenza Pilgrim mentions the tomb of *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, S00216), in the record of his visit to Tripolis (Phoenicia) during his journey to the Holy Land. Account of an anonymous pilgrim, written in Latin, probably in Placentia (northern Italy), c. 560.
E00596Mosaic in the Rotunda of Thessalonike (south Balkans/Greece), of the 5th/6th c., depicting a soldier saint, *Leon (S00387), perhaps the soldier martyr *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), with an inscription describing him as a soldier, and indicating June as the month of his festival.
E01462Greek inscriptions from so-called Basilica B in Rusafa/Sergioupolis (north-east Syria/Euphratesia), one just possibly referring to the cult of *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), and one to that of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Probably 6th c.
E01739A Coptic list of holy books belonging to the monastery of Apa *Elijah/Elias (probably the Old Testament prophet, S00217) 'on the mountain', presumably at Aphroditopolis/Atfih (Middle Egypt), lists a papyrus manuscript containing the Martyrdom of *Leontios (probably the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216); list datable to the 7th/8th century.
E02001The Life of *Melania the Younger (aristocratic ascetic in Jerusalem, ob. 439, S01134), by Gerontius, a monk at her monastery, recounts that she stayed at the martyrion of *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis S00216) in Tripolis (Roman province of Phoenice), when travelling to Constantinople in 436; the martyr helps her obtain the draft animals she needs to pursue her journey. Written in Greek or in Latin, probably in Jerusalem, c. 450.
E02161Coptic acknowledgement from the area of Hermopolis/Antinoopolis (Middle Egypt), issued by an institution dedicated to *Leontios (possibly the martyr of Tripolis in Phoenicia, S00216); datable to the 7th century.
E02172Greek inscription invoking the help of *Leontios (probably the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216) for a village. Found at Saura (modern Ṣūr al-Lejā) between Aere and Bostra (northwest Roman province of Arabia). Dated, 458/459 or 558/559.
E02234Greek building inscription for the possible cathedral church (naos) of Bostra, dedicated to *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023), *Bakchos (soldier and martyr of Barbalissos, S00079), and *Leontios (probably the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216). Found at Bostra (Roman province of Arabia). Dated 512/513.
E02252Greek inscription for a church (naos) dedicated to *Leontios (probably the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), built by a father and son. Found at Dūr/ancient Doroa, to the north of Bostra (Roman province of Arabia). Dated 565/566.
E02625Coptic text, probably an oracle question, of unknown Egyptian provenance, but possibly from Hermopolis (Middle Egypt), addressing *Leontios (possibly the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), concerning safe labour and childbirth, datable to the 7th century.
E03429The early seventh-century Georgian version of the Lectionary of Jerusalem commemorates on 14 November *Leontios (probably the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), the deposition of the relics of *John the Baptist (S00020), *Elisha (Old Testament prophet, S00239), and the Archangels *Michael (S00181) and *Gabriel (S00192).
E03501Theodoret of Cyrrhus in his Cure for Greek Maladies refers to the veneration of relics, the dedication of offerings for healing, the naming of children after martyrs, the replacement of pagan temples by shrines of martyrs, and the festivals of the Apostles *Peter (S00036), *Paul (S00008), and *Thomas (S00199), and of the martyrs *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023), *Markellos (martyr of Apameia on the Orontes, S01456), *Leontios (probably the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), *Antoninos, and *Maurikios (martyr of Apameia, S01437). Written in Greek in the 420s, at the monastery of Nikerte near Apamea on the Orontes or in Cyrrhus (both north Syria).
E03566Coptic fragments from the Life of *Severos (bishop of Antioch, ob.538, S00262), relating Severos’ vision of the martyr *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), urging him to become a monk, and his decision to visit the martyr shrine of Leontios in Tripolis; written probably in the 6th/7th c.
E03577Coptic fragment from the Miracles of *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216) taking place at his martyr shrine in Tripolis, involving the settlement of a legal battle between two business partners; written most likely in the 6th/7th century.
E03926The Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, compiled in Georgian in the 10th c., based however on 5th-7th c. prototypes from Palestine, commemorates on 14 November *Leontios (probably the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), *Agapios (martyr of Caesarea of Palestine, S00188), the deposition of the relics of *John the Baptist (S00020), *Elisha (Old Testament prophet, S00239), *Philip (the Apostle, S00109), and the Archangels *Michael (S00181) and *Gabriel (S00192).
E04316Greek list of districts/quarters from Arsinoe (Fayum) mentioning a quarter of *Thekla (probably the follower of the Apostle Paul, S00092), of *Leontios (probably the martyr of Tripolis , S00216), and of unnamed martyrs; datable to the 6th/7th century.
E04496Evagrius Scholasticus, in his Ecclesiastical History (3.33), reports that Severus of Antioch (459/465-538) received baptism at the shrine of *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216) in Tripolis. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria), 593/594.
E05063The 6th/7th c. recension of the Latin Martyrologium Hieronymianum, as transmitted in 8th c. manuscripts, records the feasts of a number of saints on 24 December.
E05099Procopius of Caesarea, in his On Buildings, reports that the emperor Justinian (r. 527-565) renovated a great number of monasteries in the region of Jerusalem (and elsewhere in the East), many of them dedicated to saints. Written in Greek at Constantinople, in the 550s.
E05730John Malalas, in his Chronographia (16.6), mentions the conversion of the synagogue of Daphne at Antioch into a shrine of *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), after a riot of the circus factions in 507. In the context of the same events, members of the Greens sought sanctuary in a church of *John (probably the Baptist, S00020) outside the walls of Antioch; the right of sanctuary was ignored by the authorities and one person was slain in the church. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria) or Constantinople, in the mid-6th c.
E05996Coptic ostracon from the region of Hermonthis (Upper Egypt) with a guarantee given to bishop Abraham,concerning the topos of Apa *Leontios (possibly the martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216); datable around the year 600.
E06874The Greek Martyrdom of *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), tells the tale of two soldiers, Hypatos and Theodoulos, who are converted by a Christian preacher, Leontios, in Tripoli, and martyred; Leontios is then martyred as well, after undergoing repeated torture. Written somewhere in the Greek-speaking world, possibly in the 7th-9th c.; appended to it is a story involving the saint and a pious married couple, Ioannia and Mauros, perhaps derived from a lost Greek Martyrdom of Leontios presumably written in Tripolis in the 5th c.