Martyr Domninus of Thessalonica

Domninus of Thessalonica was an early Christian of that Macedonian city who was put to death for his faith during the persecutions of the late third and early fourth centuries. He is numbered among the martyrs and is commemorated on October 1. The surviving record of his life is sparse: the synaxarion and reference works preserve little more than his name, his city, his identification as a martyr, and an approximate dating to the period of the Diocletianic persecution.

According to the tradition recorded in the synaxarion, Domninus was arrested under Maximian Galerius for openly preaching Christ. He is said to have endured torture before being put to death, sealing his confession by martyrdom. His witness belongs to the wave of persecution that intensified after the imperial edict of 304, by which Maximian, acting in concert with Galerius, made the profession of Christianity a capital offense.

Beyond these outlines little can be asserted with confidence. Western reference works record name variants such as Donninus, Donnino, and Donino, and note that a Domninus also appears among a group of Christians martyred together at Thessalonica around the year 304, though it is uncertain whether these notices refer to the same person. The Eastern commemoration is kept on October 1, while some Western martyrologies place a saint of this name on March 30.