Picture: Adriaen Collaert · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Peter Apselamus
third-century Christian martyr
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 3 January (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
201
Died
309
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
At Caesarea in Palestine, Saint Peter, called Apselamus or Balsamus, martyr: under Emperor Maximinus, repeatedly urged by the governor and by all present to spare his youth, he paid no heed to their exhortations and in the fire, like the purest gold, bore witness with fortitude to his faith in Christ.
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 11 January as a young martyr burned at Caesarea in Palestine under Maximinus.
Connected on this site
- Peter of Atroa Saint“Peter Abselamus (also known as Peter Absalon, Peter Balsamus, and Peter of Atroa), also called "the Standard Bearer", was a third-century Christian martyr.” — Wikipedia
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 11 January (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q2577177 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Peter Apselamus (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.