Orthodox saint
St Boniface of Tarsus
Holy Martyr Boniface of Tarsus (of Rome)
Άγιος Μάρτυς Βονιφάτιος · Свѧты́й мѹ́ченикъ Вонїфа́тїй · Мученик Вонифатий Тарсийский
St Boniface of Tarsus is remembered on 19 December (1 January on the Old Calendar). Orthodox Christians pray to St Boniface of Tarsus for deliverance from the passion of drunkenness, deliverance from the passion of wine-drinking for a husband, son or father and sincere repentance and a change of life.
Feast days
- Feast
- Martyrdom (with Righteous Aglaia of Rome)
- Kept on
- 19 December (1 January on the Old Calendar)
- Next, New Calendar
- Next, Old Calendar
The New Calendar is kept by the Greek, Antiochian, Romanian and Bulgarian churches, the OCA and most converts; the Old Calendar by the Russian, Serbian and Georgian churches, Jerusalem and Mount Athos, 13 days later on the civil calendar.
The life of St Boniface of Tarsus
St Boniface was the steward of Aglaia, a rich young woman of Rome, and lived with her in sin; by his own Life he spent his days in drunkenness and dissipation. Yet both felt the sting of conscience. Aglaia sent him east to bring back the relics of a martyr, and as he left Boniface joked, "What if I bring back my own?" On the road he fasted and prayed. At Tarsus he saw Christians being tortured, kissed their wounds, and confessed Christ himself. He endured boiling tar unharmed and was beheaded, and his companions — who first assumed he had gone off drinking — bought back his body and carried it to Rome, where Aglaia received it with reverence and spent her remaining years in repentance. Because Boniface knew the bondage of drink and was freed from it, Orthodox Christians, especially wives and mothers, pray to him for loved ones caught in drunkenness.
What the faithful ask of St Boniface of Tarsus
The faithful pray for
- deliverance from the passion of drunkenness
- deliverance from the passion of wine-drinking for a husband, son or father
- sincere repentance and a change of life
- the forgiveness of sins
- strength against temptation
- the return of a loved one to sobriety and to the Church
St Boniface of Tarsus protects
- from drunkenness
- from despair over a loved one's addiction
- from enemies visible and invisible
Patron of
- those suffering from drunkenness and alcoholism (Russian usage)
- families of those who drink
- repentant sinners
Miracles
When Boniface was beheaded at Tarsus, blood and a milky fluid flowed from his wounds, and about 550 onlookers came to believe in Christ.
Source: OCA — Martyr Boniface at Tarsus in Cilicia, and Righteous Aglaia of Rome
An angel bedewed him in a cauldron of boiling tar, which overflowed and burned his torturers instead.
Source: OCA — Martyr Boniface at Tarsus in Cilicia, and Righteous Aglaia of Rome
Through prayer to him, the Lord has many times delivered people from the passion of wine-drinking.
Where the traditions differ
Do not confuse him with St Boniface of Mainz, 'Apostle to the Germans' (c. 675–754, feast 5 June), the English missionary martyr venerated by Catholics, Anglicans and also by Orthodox as a pre-schism Western saint; most US searches for 'St Boniface' mean him, and he has no drunkenness patronage. The patronage against drunkenness belongs to the Roman martyr of Tarsus and is a Russian (and Ukrainian) tradition, little known among Greeks.
St Boniface of Tarsus in our shop
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Folding diptychSt Alina (Alena) of Brussels & Guardian Angel Folding DiptychAnother martyr$99$69
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Name days
These names keep their name day on a feast of St Boniface of Tarsus:
Prayed to for
Related saints
Questions
When is the feast day of St Boniface of Tarsus?
Martyrdom (with Righteous Aglaia of Rome): 19 December (1 January on the Old Calendar).
What do Orthodox Christians pray to St Boniface of Tarsus for?
Orthodox Christians pray to St Boniface of Tarsus for deliverance from the passion of drunkenness, deliverance from the passion of wine-drinking for a husband, son or father, sincere repentance and a change of life, the forgiveness of sins, strength against temptation and the return of a loved one to sobriety and to the Church.
What is St Boniface of Tarsus the patron saint of?
St Boniface of Tarsus is the patron of those suffering from drunkenness and alcoholism (Russian usage), families of those who drink and repentant sinners.
What does St Boniface of Tarsus protect from?
St Boniface of Tarsus protects from drunkenness, from despair over a loved one's addiction and from enemies visible and invisible.
Whose name day is on a feast of St Boniface of Tarsus?
The name day of Boniface, Vonifaty, Vonifatiy and Bonifatios.
Sources
- OCA — Martyr Boniface at Tarsus in Cilicia, and Righteous Aglaia of Rome (read 14 October 2026)
- Azbuka very — Молитвы мученику Вонифатию (read 14 October 2026)
- Azbuka very — Мученик Вонифатий Тарсийский (read 14 October 2026)
- Wikipedia — Saint Boniface (of Mainz) (read 14 October 2026)