Martyr & Witness of the Passion
Holy Martyr Longinus the Centurion
The Roman centurion remembered for his confession at the Cross, witness to the Resurrection and martyrdom in Cappadocia.
Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — Martyr Longinus the Centurion, Orthodox Synaxarion — Saint Longinus the Centurion and liturgical texts. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.
Life and Witness
The Centurion at Golgotha
Saint Longinus is remembered by the Orthodox Church as the Roman centurion who stood beneath the Cross of Christ. He served in Judea under Pontius Pilate. His life belongs to the Church’s remembrance of the Passion and the first witnesses to the Resurrection.
The Gospels record a centurion’s confession after the extraordinary events surrounding the Lord’s death. They do not give his name. The identification of that centurion as Longinus comes from Orthodox Tradition, and this distinction is preserved throughout his biography.
The Wounded Side of Christ
The Gospel according to John describes a soldier piercing Christ’s side, from which blood and water came forth. Church Tradition associates this soldier with Longinus. His received Life further recounts that the blood and water brought healing to an affliction of his eyes.
The confession at the Cross and the healing are remembered as the beginning of his conversion. The soldier who had served at an execution came to acknowledge the crucified Lord as the Son of God.
Witness to the Resurrection
The Orthodox Life places Longinus and his companions among the guards at Christ’s tomb. After the Resurrection, he and two fellow soldiers refused payment to spread the claim that the disciples had stolen the Lord’s body.
Having received Baptism, they left military service. Their new allegiance was expressed through their unwillingness to deny what they believed they had witnessed. These details belong to the Church’s received Life rather than to a named biographical account in the Gospels.
Preaching in Cappadocia
Longinus returned to Cappadocia, his homeland, accompanied by the two soldiers who shared his faith. There he proclaimed Christ. His testimony brought the events of Golgotha and the empty tomb to people far from Jerusalem.
The account describes this preaching as a source of danger for the former centurion. Soldiers were eventually sent to find and kill him and his companions. The man who had once carried out military orders would himself become the object of such an order.
Hospitality toward Those Sent to Kill Him
When the soldiers arrived, Longinus welcomed them into his home and offered them a meal. They did not initially know that their host was the man they sought. After they explained their mission, he disclosed his identity.
The soldiers were reluctant to harm him and urged him to escape. Longinus and his companions remained steadfast. The Greek Synaxarion also remembers his preparation for burial. The episode joins courage with hospitality toward the men who had come to take his life.
Martyrdom and the Healing of the Widow
Longinus and his two companions were beheaded. Their bodies were buried, while his head was sent to Pilate. The longer Orthodox account preserves a later miracle involving a blind widow from Cappadocia who had traveled to Jerusalem with her son.
After her son’s death, the widow received consolation through an appearance of the saint. Following his guidance, she found his head and received her sight. She returned to Cappadocia with the relic and her son’s body, burying them reverently. The Church receives this narrative as part of the saint’s hagiographical tradition.
Commemoration on October 16
The Orthodox Church honors Longinus the Centurion on October 16. His transformation is remembered through his confession of Christ, witness to the Resurrection, preaching and martyrdom.
He should not be confused with the later monastic saints named Longinus. His Life leads from the foot of the Cross to personal discipleship and the offering of his own life. Holy Martyr Longinus, pray to God for us.
Biographical information on this page is based exclusively on the Orthodox ecclesiastical sources listed below.
Orthodox Church in America — Martyr Longinus the CenturionOrthodox Synaxarion — Saint Longinus the Centurion and liturgical texts