Saint of the Day, March 16
On March 16, the Church celebrates St. Julian of Antioch, a 4th-century Christian martyr from modern-day Turkey. St. Julian was executed by being cast into the sea in a bag filled with sand, vipers, and scorpions.
March 16 - Saint Julian of Antioch
Born: 231
Died: 305
Nationality: Turkish
Vocation: lay
Canonization: pre-congregation
St. Julian was born in Anazarbus, Cilicia, modern-day Turkey. Not much is known of his life but he is believed to have been a senator during Diocletian’s persecution of Christians.
Julian was arrested and tried for his Christian faith. It is said that he was publicly paraded through the land and tortured daily for a year, in the hope of breaking his remarkable resilience. Julian remained steadfast, and he was eventually executed by being cast into the sea in a bag of sand, vipers, and scorpions.
St. John Chrysostom later preached a homily on St. Julian’s heroic witness in Antioch, where the martyr’s relics came to rest.
St. Julian of Antioch, pray for us.
