Hieromartyr 1st century

Hieromartyrs Nicander of Myra and Hermas

1st century

Also known as Nicander the Bishop · Hermas the Presbyter

Disciples of Saint Titus ordained for pastoral ministry in Lycia, who suffered martyrdom for preaching Christ.

Feast Day
November 4
Draft
Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.
Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyrs Nicander, Bishop of Myra, and Hermas the Presbyter

Come to them for
Missionary Work

Life

Nicander, Bishop of Myra, and Hermas the Presbyter were early Christian clergy of the apostolic age, commemorated together as hieromartyrs on November 4. By tradition they were disciples of the Apostle Titus of the Seventy, the companion of the Apostle Paul who became Bishop of Crete, and it was Titus who ordained them to the priesthood. Their ministry was set in Lycia, in the region of Myra in Asia Minor, where Nicander is remembered as a bishop and Hermas as a presbyter.

According to the synaxarion tradition, the two combined an ascetic manner of life with constant pastoral labors, and through their preaching they brought many pagans to faith in Christ. This success drew the hostility of the local authorities, and the saints were arrested and brought before the city prefect Libanius. When neither flattery nor threats could move them to renounce Christ, Libanius condemned them to torture.

The tradition records that they endured a series of severe torments before their deaths and were honored as martyrs for the faith. Because both held priestly orders, they are styled hieromartyrs. Sources placing them in the first century count them among the ante-Nicene saints of Asia Minor, though the surviving accounts of their lives are brief.

Timeline 3 moments Read Hide
  1. 1st century Ordained by the Apostle Titus By tradition Nicander and Hermas were ordained to the priesthood by Titus of the Seventy, disciple of the Apostle Paul.
  2. 1st century Pastoral ministry in Lycia They served at Myra, combining ascetic life with preaching that converted many pagans to Christ.
  3. 1st century Martyrdom under Libanius Brought before the prefect Libanius and, refusing to deny Christ, put to death after severe torments.

Contributions & Legacy

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Martyrdom

The synaxarion relates that, on the orders of the prefect Libanius, the two were subjected to a sequence of inhuman torments. By tradition they were tied to horses and dragged over stones, their bodies were raked with iron hooks, and they were cast into a heated oven. The accounts add that iron nails were finally driven into their heads and hearts, after which their bodies were buried in a pit. Steadfast through these sufferings, Nicander and Hermas are venerated together as hieromartyrs.

Notes

Named pair kept as one row.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints