Juventinus the Guardsman

When did Juventinus die?

Juventinus the Guardsman is dated d. AD 363 (executed under Julian) in the archive, which places Juventinus in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).

Which early sources mention Juventinus?

Juventinus the Guardsman is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from John Chrysostom and Theodoret of Cyrus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Juventinus from?

The archive associates Juventinus the Guardsman with Antioch.

Who were Juventinus’ contemporaries?

The archive links Juventinus the Guardsman to 2 other figures, including Emperor Julian the Apostate and Maximinus the Guardsman. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

[Chrysostom preaches at the Antioch shrine of the two guardsmen executed under Julian for speaking against the emperor at table.]

One of John Chrysostom's occasional homilies for the feasts of the martyrs, preached at Antioch or Constantinople between c. AD 386 and 400. These are not in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Greek: Migne, Patrologia Graeca 50. English translations by Wendy Mayer and Bronwen Neil, St John Chrysostom: The Cult of the Saints (St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2006); no public-domain English exists.

Juventinus and Maximinus, officers of the household troops, bewailed at a feast the abomination of the times… Julian stripped them of their rank; and when they persisted, by night he had them slain — for he grudged them the name of martyrs, and gained it for them.