MARTYR PLATO OF ANCYRA

The holy martyr Plato of Ancyra suffered for Christ at the beginning of the 4th century during the Great Persecution of Diocletian (284-305). According to his life, he was arrested for preaching Christianity within the ancient historical region of Galatia, the main city of which was Ancyra, the capital of modern Turkey, Ankara.

The name “Plato” speaks both of the pagan origin of the saint and of the fact that in his parental home they showed interest in philosophy and science. This is also evidenced by the fact that the saint’s brother was the martyr Antiochus the Physician (July 16 (29)), who suffered for Christ for the gospel while healing.

Like many Christian preachers of his time, Plato used philosophical knowledge to lead people to Christ. The combination of secular knowledge and the foolishness of preaching (cf. 1 Cor. 1:21), about which the Apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Corinthians, caused particular indignation of the local ruler named Agrippinus, who acted as a judge over the martyr.

Named after the 1st-century Stoic philosopher Pachomius Agrippinus, who was unjustly expelled from Italy by the authorities, he, like many members of the ruling elite of the time, was apparently himself raised in the Greek philosophical tradition, and therefore hesitated to pronounce the death sentence on a man named Plato. The life tells of lengthy persuasion and promises on the part of the judge, then speaks of the torture and torment that the saint endured.

The patience of the martyr encouraged Agrippinus to continue persuasion, but the smile that suddenly lit his face became truly unbearable for the pagan, and therefore the judge pronounced the death sentence. The autumn celebration in honor of Saint Plato is associated with the transfer of his relics from Ancyra to Constantinople. The Acts of the VII Ecumenical Council (787) mention miracles from the relics of the martyr.