Picture: AnonymousUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Methodius of Olympus
Christian bishop and martyr
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 20 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
260
Died
311
verified
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Methodius, Bishop of Olympus in Lycia, was a learned theologian and the first scholarly opponent of Origen's errors.
According to St Jerome he died a martyr at the end of the last persecution, probably in 311.
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
A scholar-bishop who died a martyr.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Methodius of Olympus
- Wikidata Q518300 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Methodius of Olympus (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.