Terentian was a bishop of Todi (ancient Tuder) in Umbria who is venerated as a hieromartyr. According to tradition he was put to death during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, with his death conventionally dated to the year 118, though the historical accounts of his martyrdom survive only in later legendary form.
He is commemorated on September 1 and is honoured as a martyr in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions, a shared pre-schism veneration. The earliest witness to him, the Hieronymian Martyrology, records simply a martyred bishop of "Tudertina Tuscia," the see of Todi.
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118 (traditional)Arrest and martyrdomBy the received account Terentian was denounced during the persecution under the Emperor Hadrian and brought before the proconsul. He confessed his faith in the Trinity and refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. He was racked, scourged, had his tongue cut out, and was finally beheaded outside Todi.
Contributions & Legacy
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The Martyrdom Account
The Roman Martyrology presents Terentian as a bishop and martyr who suffered under the Emperor Hadrian by order of the proconsul Laetian (Letianus). The fuller legend names an urban prefect, Mariano, as his denouncer. After his arrest the bishop is said to have professed faith in the Trinity and to have refused to sacrifice to the gods of Rome.
The legendary narrative adds miraculous elements: the pagan statues were shattered and a pagan priest named Flaccus was struck blind, after which Terentian is said to have restored his sight and baptized him. By this account the two were beheaded together near the Tiber outside the city. These episodes belong to the developed hagiographic tradition rather than to any contemporary record.
Dating and the Sources
The traditional placement of Terentian in the 2nd century under Hadrian rests on the surviving legend, but the date is contested. The historian Francesco Lanzoni assigned him instead to the 4th century. Other scholars have observed that the legend's marked emphasis on the Trinity points to composition in the mid-6th to early 7th century, possibly for anti-Arian missionary purposes, which casts doubt on the early dating while leaving the underlying fact of an early bishop-martyr of Todi intact in the Hieronymian Martyrology.
Relics & Shrines
According to tradition the bodies of Terentian and his companion were buried at a place called Petroso, some eight Roman miles outside Todi. An oratory was raised over the burial site, and in the 11th century a double church dedicated to Saints Terenziano and Flacco (SS Terenziano e Flacco) was built above it.
In 1715 a sarcophagus recovered from beneath the altar of the lower church was formally recognized by Bishop Ludovico Anselmo Gualterio as containing the relics of Terentian.
