Saint Christopher (,
Ágios Christóforos) is
venerated by several
Christian denominations as a
martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Emperor
Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively under the Roman Emperor
Maximinus II Dacian (reigned 308–313). There appears to be confusion due to the similarity in names "Decius" and "Dacian". However his veneration only appears late in Christian tradition, and did not become widespread in the Western Church until the
Late Middle Ages, although churches and monasteries were named after him by the 7th century.