Nicomedes

About Nicomedes

Nicomedes is remembered as a Roman martyr, but no trustworthy account of his lifetime survives. The strongest evidence concerns the place where later Christians honored him. A medieval guide to Rome describes the route from the Nomentana Gate toward the Forum and names the catacomb of St Nicomedes outside the walls. The guide survives in the Einsiedeln manuscript, and modern scholarship dates composition of this itinerary to between 757 and 855. It shows that Nicomedes' shrine was a recognized destination for pilgrims in the early medieval period. It does not tell when he lived or how he died.The Roman Martyrology lists Nicomedes on September 15 as a priest and martyr at Rome on the Nomentan road. This records his received ecclesiastical commemoration, not a securely established death date. The Martyrology's more detailed story of torture is part of a later passion tradition. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the circumstances and era of his death are unknown, and that later Acts disagree about the persecutor and period. For that reason, this account does not assign Nicomedes to a particular emperor or repeat a detailed execution story as established history.The inherited June 13 date belongs to Felicula, whose Roman Martyrology entry says that Nicomedes buried her body. That episode comes from a hagiographic narrative and does not make June 13 his feast. Historical liturgical sources also mention a separate June 1 commemoration for the dedication of a church associated with Nicomedes. The two dates therefore refer to different traditions: June 1 to a church dedication, June 13 to Felicula's commemoration, and September 15 to Nicomedes' martyr memorial. The surviving records establish a durable Roman cult and its place in pilgrimage, while leaving the saint's personal history uncertain.