Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra

Hieromartyr Hypatius the Wonderworker, Bishop of Gangra.

St. Hypatius was Bishop of Gangra in Paphlagonia in the fourth century and a father of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, where the divinity of Christ was confessed against Arius. A wonderworker famed for his prayers, he shepherded his flock with zeal against every heresy.

Tradition relates that he was ambushed by heretics on a mountain road and mortally wounded, dying with prayer for his attackers, so that the Church honors him as both hierarch and martyr. He is commemorated on March 31.

Feast day

On the New Calendar, Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra is commemorated on March 31. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on April 13 of the civil calendar.

Who celebrates a name day

People with these names keep their name day on this feast:

Hypatios, Ypatios

Also commemorated on March 31

• Akakios of Melitene

  Hierarch, Ακάκιος ο Ομολογητής

  Saint Akakios the Confessor, Bishop of Melitene.

  Name days: Akakios, Acacius

• Abdas and Benjamin

  Hierarch, Αυδάς και Βενιαμίν

  Hieromartyr Abdas, Bishop of Persia, and Martyr Benjamin the Deacon.

  Name days: Veniamin, Benjamin, Beniamin

• Theophilos of Crete

  Martyr, Θεόφιλος ο εν Κρήτη

  Holy Martyr Theophilos and those who suffered with him in Crete.

• Menandros the Martyr

  Martyr, Μένανδρος

  Holy Martyr Menandros.

  Name days: Menandros, Menander

• Blasios of Amorion

  Venerable, Βλάσιος ο εξ Αμορίου

  Venerable Blasios of Amorion, monk of Studion and Mount Athos.

• Innocent of Alaska

  Hierarch, Ιννοκέντιος Αλάσκας

  Saint Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, enlightener of Alaska and apostle to America.

Icon: public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.