A priest of Amphipolis in Macedonia who preached against idolatry and, after enduring fierce torments unharmed, was beheaded under Diocletian; the city of Constantinople later honored him greatly.
Feast Day
May 11
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Mocius (Mokios) was a priest of Amphipolis in Macedonia at the end of the third century, of Roman descent. He preached openly against idolatry and, after enduring fierce torments from which the synaxarion relates he emerged unharmed, was beheaded under the emperor Diocletian. The Church commemorates him on May 11.
His memory came to be held in particular honor at Constantinople, where a church was dedicated to him; the great cistern of Mocius likewise bore his name. He stands among the priest-martyrs of the early persecutions, remembered for confronting the pagan festivals of his city head-on.
Timeline 4 moments
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late 3rd centuryPriest of AmphipolisMocius served as a Christian priest, of Roman ancestry, in Amphipolis in Macedonia.
284-305Preaching against the feast of DionysusHe exhorted the pagans gathered for the festival of Dionysus to abandon its customs, and by tradition cast down a statue of the god in the temple.
284-305Trial and tormentsUnder the persecution of Diocletian he was brought before the governor and subjected to torture; the synaxarion relates that he was preserved unharmed amid the flames of a heated furnace and that wild beasts would not touch him.
284-305Martyrdom by beheadingHe was taken to Byzantium, where he was put to death by beheading.
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A priest against the festivals of the city
The account of Mocius places him in Amphipolis at the height of the late Roman persecutions, where the public worship of the gods centered on civic festivals. Rather than withdraw, he is remembered for confronting one such celebration directly, calling those assembled for the feast of Dionysus to give up its customs and, by tradition, destroying an idol of the god.
Arrested under Diocletian and brought before the governor, he endured a sequence of torments. The synaxarion relates that he was unharmed in a heated furnace and that beasts loosed against him would not attack, before he was finally taken to Byzantium and beheaded.
Honored at Constantinople
Mocius came to be greatly venerated in Constantinople. By tradition the emperor Constantine built a church in his honor and translated his relics into it, and the large cistern of Mocius, which helped supply the capital with water, carried his name. His feast is kept on May 11.
