Martyrs Abercius and Helen

Family and Tradition

According to tradition the two were children of the Apostle Alphaeus, a figure associated with Capernaum in Galilee. The Gospels name an Alphaeus as father of the Apostle Matthew and of the Apostle James the Less, and some have further identified him with Cleopas, though the sources do not state these connections with certainty. The claim that Abercius and Helen were children of this Alphaeus has been questioned by some, and the relationship is not regarded as definitively established.

Little else of their lives is recorded. The two are remembered jointly as a named sibling pair, and the tradition concerning them centers on their confession of Christ and their martyrdom rather than on any extended biography.

Martyrdom

Each is said to have suffered a distinct death for the faith. Abercius, by tradition, was bound naked and exposed to bees, dying from their stings. Helen was put to death by stoning. Both were martyred for their confession of Christ, and the Orthodox Church commemorates them together on May 26.