Secundian, Marcellian and Verian

Who was Secundian, Marcellian and Verian?

Saints Secundian, Marcellian and Verian are venerated as Christian saints. They were martyred in 250 AD near Civitavecchia or Santa Marinella during the persecutions of Decius. Secundian was a senator or some sort of prominent official; Marcellian and Verian were scholars or students. Their feast day is August 9.

The names of these saints appear in Jerome's martyrology under August 9. The Codex Epternacense indicates that the place of their death was Tuscia; the Codex Wissemburgense lists the place of death as “Colonia”; and the Codex Bernense finally specifies the place of death as in Coloni Tusciae via miliario Aureliax XV. One scholar has identified this as Colonia Iulia Castrumnovurn, a town in Tuscia, situated on the Aurelian Way, situated near the present-day Santa Marinella.

According to one account, they were baptized by a priest named Timotheus and confirmed by Pope Sixtus II. By order of Decius, they were arrested by the prefect Valerian and decapitated at Civitavecchia and then their bodies were thrown into the sea. In a second account, the place of their martyrdom was appellatur Coloniacum, qui dicitur Colonia, which may be Colonia Iulia Castrumnovurn. Their bodies were collected by a man named Deodatus and buried in that place. According to a third account, their cult was localized in the basilica of San Pietro in Tuscania.