Already by 377, there is a church in Melitene in Armenia dedicated to the memory of Polyeuctus. He came from a Greek family and was an officer in the Roman army. He was converted to faith in Christ by a Christian friend. Subsequently, the two were arrested, tortured, and condemned to death, possibly during the persecution of Decius, emperor from 249 to 251, or, as more generally accepted, in the year 259 under the emperor Valerian. In a way akin to Saint Job in the Old Testament, the Acts of Polyeuctus include entreaties from his wife (and son) for him to give up and give in to the torture, i.e. to renounce Christ, in order to escape martyrdom. But it is said that the more they did so, the more he urged his wife to abandon her idols and cling to Christ. Polyeuctus was eventually beheaded for his faith.
Catholic Jonesboro 