St Deiniol, St Protus and St Hyacinth

St Deiniol

Bishop and monk. This sixth century saint is said to have come from the family of Coel Godebog, a Celtic chieftain from Strathclyde. He was called 'of the Bangors' because he founded the monasteries of Bangor Fawr, on the Menai straights and Bangor Iscoed, (Clwyd) on the River Dee. Bede said this was the most famous monastery of British Christianity. It had more than 2,000 monks. Many of them were massacred by Ethlefrith of Northumbria in 615.

A few churches are dedicated to St Deiniol including Bangor, Marchwiail and Worthenbury and Llanfor near Bala.

and St Protus and St Hyacinth

Martyrs. St Hyacinth is notable among Roman martyrs because his grave and epitaph were found intact in recent times, with his charred remains. The discovery was made in 1845 in the cemetery of the Basilla on the old Salarian Way in Rome. Part of the tomb of Protus was also discovered - confirming ancient legends which said that the saints died together.

It is said that the pair were servants of Eugenia, the Christian daughter of a prefect of Egypt. She fled with them from Egypt to Rome, but they were all captured and put to death by fire during the reign of the Emperor Valerian.