Saint of the Day – 21 January – St Publius of Athens (2nd Century) Bishop of Athens and Martyr. Died around 112. (Not to be confused with St Publius of Malta who is remembered on 22 January).
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Athens, the birthday of St Publius, Bishop, who as successor of St Denis (Dionysius) the Areopagite, nobly governed the Church at Athens. No less celebrated for the lustre of his virtues than for the brilliance of his learning, he was gloriously crowned for having borne testimony to Christ.”
St Eusebius of Caesarea, speaking of Bishop Dionysius (Denis) of Corinth, recalls the letters he sent to various Christian communities. Regarding the one sent to the Christianity of Athens, he tells us that Dionysius blamed the Athenians for having become somewhat lukewarm in the profession of faith “after their leader, Publius had been Martyred during the persecutions of those times” and recalled that “after the Martyrdom of Publius, Quadratus had been elected their Bishop.”
Publius was, therefore, the Bishop of Athens during the 2nd Century and suffered Martyrdom in one of the persecutions of that time, probably at the beginning of the empire of Marus Aurelius, between 161 and 170.
AnaStpaul 