St. Romanus was a deacon of the Church of Caesarea in Palestine during the fierce persecution of Christians under the Emperor Diocletian (reigned 284–305). In 303 AD, Diocletian issued edicts commanding that all Christians must sacrifice to the pagan gods under penalty of death.
At Antioch, Romanus beheld a great crowd of Christians trembling before the governor, Asclepiades, and on the verge of offering sacrifice to idols for fear of torture. Moved by holy zeal, he stepped forward and loudly exhorted them to stand firm, reminding them of Christ’s words: “Fear not them that kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.” (Matthew 10:28)
His boldness enraged the governor, who ordered him seized. When questioned, Romanus proclaimed Christ as the only God and mocked the lifeless idols of stone and wood. His fearless confession only provoked harsher torment. He was scourged, beaten, and cast into prison.
The Child Witness
An extraordinary incident is recorded by Eusebius of Caesarea and later by St. Alphonsus Liguori in The Victories of the Martyrs. Romanus, during his trial, pointed to a little boy among the crowd and asked him whether it were better to worship one God or many. The child replied, with pure simplicity, that there is but one God, the Creator of heaven and earth.
The governor, in his cruelty, had the child whipped, but the boy confessed Christ even more firmly. Tradition names him Barulas (or Barallus), and the Church honors him as a child martyr, commemorated on August 29.
Final Torments and Death
Unable to break Romanus’ spirit, Asclepiades ordered his tongue cut out, thinking to silence him. Yet Romanus, miraculously, continued to speak and praise God without it, bearing witness to Christ in a manner beyond natural power. Eventually, the tyrant ordered him strangled in prison on November 18, 303 AD.
Veneration
The early Church quickly honored St. Romanus as a heroic witness to the Faith. His feast was inserted into the Roman Martyrology, which recalls:
“At Antioch, the birthday of the holy martyr Romanus, deacon of the church of Caesarea, who in the time of the emperor Galerius was condemned by the governor Asclepiades to be burned, but when the fire was extinguished by a shower of rain, was strangled in prison.”
In Christian art, St. Romanus is often depicted with a rope around his neck, or holding a palm branch (symbol of martyrdom), sometimes with a child at his side—recalling the testimony of young St. Barulas.