Biography
Nilus of Palestine
About Nilus of Palestine
Nilus was an Egyptian bishop remembered among Christians condemned to labor in the Palestinian mines during the early fourth-century persecution. His episcopal see is unknown. A. N. Kryukova’s study places his death around 310 and distinguishes the surviving early account from later expansions of the martyr group.
Eusebius’s longer account names Nilus with Peleus, Patermuthius and Elias as four Egyptians put to death by fire.
Kryukova explains that the authorities had dispersed the confessors among different places of forced labor. Four respected men were selected and sent to a military commander, who ordered their execution after they refused sacrifice. The longer recension locates their death at Phaeno.
Later calendars joined their names to larger groups of martyrs and preserved different dates of commemoration. The names, numbers and offices do not agree in every version.
The Orthodox Church in America commemorates Nilus with Peleus and their companions on 17 September. Its received notice names the two Egyptian bishops within the group of 156 martyrs and recalls the severe persecution suffered by the prisoners.
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