Hieromartyr Cornutus Bishop of Iconium

Cornutus, also recorded as Coronatus and in Greek as Kournoutos, was a bishop in Asia Minor who was put to death for his Christian confession during the persecution of the emperors Decius and Valerian, which the tradition dates to the years 253-259. He is commemorated on September 12. The synaxarion places his episcopal see at Iconium, the principal city of Lycaonia, though some sources instead style him bishop of Nicomedia, and the accounts of his origin differ accordingly.

According to the tradition, when the imperial persecution drove the Christians of the region into hiding, Cornutus did not flee. He came forward of his own accord before Perennius, the governor of Iconium, and openly proclaimed himself a Christian. Several accounts describe him as already very old at the time of his arrest. One recension relates that he was seized while teaching the faith in a village before being brought to the governor.

After he confessed Christ before the governor, his tormentors bound his legs tightly with thin cords and led him through the city, so that the cords cut into his flesh and his blood flowed from the wounds. Following these sufferings he was beheaded, receiving the crown of martyrdom. The early Church preserved his memory among the hieromartyrs, the bishops and priests who sealed their pastoral office with a martyr's death.