Picture: Authors of Menologion of Basil II (circa 985 AC, Constantinople), Byzantine manuscript illuminators[1]: Pantoleon with Georgios, Michael the Younger, Michael of · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Barlaam di Antiochia
SaintResearchedDate unknown
Feast: 19 November (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
—
unknown
Died
—
unknown
Beatified
—
not on record
Canonised
—
not on record
Who they were
At Antioch in Syria, Saint Barlaam, martyr, who, a peasant and illiterate but strong in the wisdom of Christ, forced to hold in his hand burning coals and incense to offer to the gods, resisted with unconquered faith and, through the cruelty of the tyrant, won the palm of martyrdom.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 19 November as an illiterate peasant of Antioch martyred after refusing to offer incense to the gods.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 19 November (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q9166504 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.