ISIDORO of CHIOS, saint, martyr. – A soldier belonging to the fleet of Alexandria during the reign of the emperor Decius, with the rank of assistant (optio) responsible for the distribution of provisions. Shortly after his ship had docked at the island of Chios, he was denounced as a Christian by the centurion Giulio and put to death by the prefect of the troops, Numeriano. Thus the Passio, which is not a genuine document (BHL, 4478–80; Supplementum, p. 179; BHG, 960–61, cf. also Anal. Boll., 32 [1913], p. 468; 54 [1936], p. 396).
It is not impossible that he was a victim of Diocletian rather than of Decius. In any case, the cult of s. I. of Chios, owing to the renown of his shrine, known