POTAMIONE, VESCOVO DI ERACLEA, SANTO

POTAMIONE, bishop of Heraclea, saint. — In the Martyrologium Hieronymianum he is commemorated on 18 May as a martyr of the pagan persecutions and is called a priest. In the Roman Martyrology, however, on the same date he is called a bishop and perished during the strife aroused by the Arian controversy under Constantius II.
This second notice is more reliable because it is supported by other sources. P. was in fact already bishop of Heraclea in 325, since in that year he took part in the Council of Nicaea. He was also present at the Synod of Tyre (335), convened by the Arians against St. Athanasius, and on that occasion with holy boldness he spoke out against Eusebius of Nicomedia, the organizer and guiding spirit of the Synod, reproaching him not only for his incompetence to judge St. Athanasius but also for his suspect conduct during the persecution of Maximinus, from which he had emerged unscathed despite having been imprisoned. At that same time P. had been mutilated in one foot and had lost an eye. The Arians persecuted him bitterly, and when they succeeded in capturing him they flogged him so severely that he was left nearly dead. He was aided and cared for by the faithful but died shortly afterwards from the blows he had received.