Orthodox · 3rd century
Martyr Urpasianus of Nicomedia
Commemorated: March 22 (March 9, Old Style)
Life
Urpasianus was an official at the court of the emperor Maximian in Nicomedia. When the emperor told his courtiers that any Christian among them should take off his belt, the sign of office, and leave the palace, Urpasianus stepped forward and threw down his cloak and belt before everyone, saying that from that day he served another King.
He was flogged and imprisoned, then hung in an iron cage and burned with torches until his body was reduced to ashes. The emperor had the earth where he died gathered up and thrown into the sea. He died c. 295.
Retold briefly in our own words from: the Lives of the Saints by St Dimitry of Rostov (1902–1916).
The commemorations of the day: Ponomar (ponomar.net), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Places and years: Wikidata (CC0), each saint matched by hand.