Holy Martyr Diomedes the Physician (+298)

The holy Martyr Diomedes was born in Tarsus in Cilicia. He was a Christian deeply learned in medicine and healed illnesses of both body and soul without payment. The Church venerates him as a healer and asks his intercession in the celebration of the Mystery of Holy Unction.

The saint travelled a great deal preaching the Gospel. When Diomedes came to the city of Nicaea, the Emperor Diocletian (284–305) sent soldiers to seize him. By God’s providence Saint Diomedes, on his way to Nicomedia, died on the road during prayer. To prove that they had truly carried out their task, the soldiers cut off the blessed one’s head, but for this sacrilege they lost their sight. When Diocletian saw the frightened and blinded soldiers, he ordered them to take the martyr’s head back again. The soldiers obeyed the order and their sight was restored, after which they believed in the true God.