Saint Conon of Rome

Overview

Saint Conon of Rome, also called Quna, is identified in The Coptic Encyclopedia as a native of Rome who was martyred, with a feast day of 25 Amshir. The calendar gives the fuller designation “Quna (Conon) of Rome” and places his martyrdom alongside that of Menas of Cyprus.¹²

These notices provide three principal points of identification: his alternative names, his Roman origin, and his commemoration as a martyr. They do not supply a continuous narrative of his life or an account of the circumstances of his death.¹²

History and origins

The biographical entry describes Conon as “a native of Rome.” This supports identifying Rome as his place of origin, but the entry does not specify where he was martyred. The calendar likewise uses “of Rome” without adding a place of execution.¹²

Neither notice names an emperor, governor, or persecutor connected with his death, nor does either assign his martyrdom to a particular year or century. Consequently, the supplied evidence supports a brief identification rather than a dated biography.¹²

The distinction between origin and place of death is important here: the source explicitly connects Conon with Rome through his nativity, while its statement that he “was martyred” remains geographically and chronologically unspecified.¹

Liturgical commemoration

The feast on 25 Amshir

The biographical list expressly assigns Quna, or Conon, a feast day of 25 Amshir. The calendar independently confirms that commemoration by listing the “Martyrdom of Saints Quna (Conon) of Rome and Menas of Cyprus” on the corresponding day.¹²

In the calendar’s printed date sequence, this entry appears as “25—19,” before the transition to Baramhat, whose first day is paired with 25 February. Thus the table places the commemoration beside 19 February; that printed correspondence should be distinguished from a calendar conversion for any particular modern year.²⁵

Association with Menas of Cyprus

Conon and Menas of Cyprus share a single martyrdom entry in the calendar. This establishes their joint listing for commemoration, but the passage does not explain whether they knew one another, suffered together, or were connected in some other way.²

The biographical list treats Quna separately, identifying his Roman origin and feast without mentioning Menas. The two notices therefore complement one another: one supplies a concise personal identification, while the other preserves the associated calendar commemoration.¹²

Names, terminology, and reference entries

The encyclopedia explicitly equates Quna and Conon through the wording “Quna, or Conon.” Its calendar makes the same identification in the form “Quna (Conon) of Rome.” These are the name forms supplied for this martyr; the passages do not provide Coptic, Arabic, or Greek spellings in their original scripts.¹²

The index reinforces this identification by directing readers from “Conon” to “Quna (martyr).” Under Quna, it gives the reference “1558,” making Quna the indexed heading under which readers are directed to look for the martyr.³⁴

A separate calendar entry and an unresolved identification

The same calendar also lists “Saint Conon” on 9 Baramhat, paired in its printed sequence with 5 March. Unlike the entry for 25 Amshir, this notice includes neither the name Quna nor the designation “of Rome.”⁵

The passages do not explain the relationship between these entries. The explicit identification of the Roman martyr belongs to 25 Amshir; the less specific notice on 9 Baramhat cannot, on this evidence alone, establish a second feast for him or demonstrate a contradiction between the sources.¹²⁵