Reviewed entry
Hieromartyr4th century

Hieromartyr Philippicus and Martyr Barsimos

A priest and his companion beheaded for confessing Christ.

January 24New Calendar
Feast Day
February 6Old Calendar
Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Philippicus the Presbyter and the Holy Martyr Barsimos

Life

The Hieromartyr Philippicus the Presbyter and the Martyr Barsimos are early Christian martyrs commemorated together in the Orthodox Church on January 24. According to the synaxarion notices that preserve their memory, Philippicus was a presbyter (priest), while Barsimos was from Syria and suffered together with his two brothers. The surviving accounts are brief and report only that they were put to death for their confession of faith in Christ.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 4

Your holy martyrs Philippicus and Barsimos, O Lord,
through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God.
For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through their intercessions, save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Contributions & Legacy

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Martyrdom

The Orthodox synaxarion records that Philippicus the Presbyter and Barsimos, together with two brothers, were beheaded for confessing their faith in Christ. In the listing of the day's commemorations Barsimos is described as being of Syria and as having suffered by the sword in Persia, together with his two brothers. The sources that transmit their memory are short feast-day notices rather than a developed life, and they preserve no further detail of the circumstances, the persecutor, or the year of their death.

Sources and Identity

These martyrs are known almost entirely from their entry in the calendar of saints for January 24. The presbyter's name appears in the forms Philippicus, Philippikos, and Philip. Barsimos of Syria, commemorated on this day with his two brothers, is to be distinguished from the bishop and martyr Barsimaeus (Barsamya) of Edessa, who is commemorated on a different day.

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Jan 24