Martyr Papas of Lycaonia

Papas was a Christian of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor, martyred during the reign of the emperor Maximian, at the turn of the fourth century. By tradition he came from the city of Laranda, where he is said to have brought many of the surrounding inhabitants to the Christian faith before he was arrested and brought to trial. He is commemorated in the Orthodox calendar on both March 16 and September 14.

According to the synaxarion he was subjected to prolonged and severe tortures for confessing Christ. The accounts relate that his feet were forced into boots, or iron shoes, fitted with sharp nails, and that he was made to walk and run between cities while wearing them. He was taken from Laranda to Diocaesarea, and then to Seleucia in Isauria, to be tried, his punishment continuing along the way.

Tradition holds that Papas died bound to a withered, barren tree, which at his death put forth leaves, flowers, and fruit. His relics were afterward venerated by the Christians of Lycaonia as a source of miracles. The two commemorations preserve nearly the same account, except that the September 14 entry does not mention the tree; commentators have suggested either a single martyr honored on two days or a duplication arising from local devotion.