Marcian was born in Antiochia around the 1st century and was a martyred bishop, venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
According to local legend, Marcian was the first bishop of Syracuse, where he was sent by St. Peter to preach the Gospel and found the Christian community of Syracuse.
The sudden spread of the Christian religion alarmed the Senate and the Jews, who, worried about the conversion of many Jews to the “new religion”, had the bishop killed in 68 AD.
They tied him to a column and stoned him to death.
