Hieromartyr Priscus of Capua

Priscus is venerated as the first bishop of Capua in Campania, southern Italy, and is honored as a hieromartyr. By tradition he was a disciple of the Apostles, and several accounts hold that he was appointed to the see of Capua by the Apostle Peter himself, who is said to have established Christianity in the city through him. His commemoration falls on September 1.

According to the tradition received in the West, Priscus suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Nero, his death being placed in the apostolic age of the first century. The synaxarion and the Roman Martyrology preserve his memory as one of the earliest pastors of the Italian church, planting the faith at Capua in the generation that followed the Apostles.

The historical record concerning Priscus is uncertain, and the sources have been cast into doubt; even the century in which he lived is unclear in some accounts. One tradition recognizes him simply as a martyr who died at Capua, while a separate account makes a Priscus an exiled bishop from North Africa in the fifth century, an account generally considered unreliable. Because several saints bear the name Priscus, his figure has been subject to confusion in the surviving records.