Reading the Martyrs
Persecutions in Lyon (Gaul) (Eusebius Ecclesiastical History, Book 5)
This account is a part of a letter from the members of a Christian church in Lyon in Gaul (modern France) to unspecified churches in Asia and Phrygia. Composed in 178.
5. For with all his might the adversary fell upon us, giving us a foretaste of his unbridled activity at his future coming. He endeavored in every manner to practice and exercise his servants against the servants of God, not only shutting us out from houses and baths and markets, but forbidding any of us to be seen in any place whatever.
6. But the grace of God led the conflict against him, and delivered the weak, and set them as firm pillars, able through patience to endure all the wrath of the Evil One. And they joined battle with him, undergoing all kinds of shame and injury; and regarding their great sufferings as little, they hastened to Christ, manifesting truly that ‘the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us afterward.’ Romans 8:18
7. First of all, they endured nobly the injuries heaped upon them by the populace; clamors and blows and draggings and robberies and stonings and imprisonments, and all things which an infuriated mob delight in inflicting on enemies and adversaries.
8. Then, being taken to the forum by the chiliarch (Roman military officer a rank above centurion) and the authorities of the city, they were examined in the presence of the whole multitude, and having confessed, they were imprisoned until the arrival of the governor.
11. Then the others were divided, and those who were ready to be the first martyrs finished their confession with all eagerness. But some appeared flabby (spiritually), unprepared and untrained, weak as yet, and unable to endure so great a conflict. About ten of these proved stillborn, causing us great grief and sorrow beyond measure, and impairing the zeal of the others who had not yet been arrested, but who, though suffering all kinds of afflictions, continued to stay with the witnesses (those about to be martyred) and did not forsake them.
13. But those who were worthy were seized day by day, filling up their number, so that all the zealous persons…, were collected together out of the two churches.
14. And some of our pagan servants also were seized, as the governor had commanded that all of us should be examined publicly. These servants, being ensnared by Satan, and fearing for themselves the tortures which they beheld the saints endure, and being also urged on by the soldiers, accused us falsely of Thyestean banquets (cannibalism) and Oedipean[1] intercourse (incest), and of deeds which are not only unlawful for us to speak of or to think, but which we cannot believe were ever done by men.
15. When these accusations were reported, all the people raged like wild beasts against us, so that even if any had before been moderate on account of friendship, they were now exceedingly furious and gnashed their teeth against us.
16. Then finally the holy witnesses endured sufferings beyond description, Satan striving earnestly that some of the slanders might be uttered by them also.
17. But the whole wrath of the populace, and governor, and soldiers was aroused exceedingly against Sanctus, the deacon from Vienne, and Blandina, through whom Christ showed that things which appear common and obscure to men are with God of great glory.
18. Blandina was filled with such power that she was delivered from torment and raised above her torturers who were torturing her by turns from morning till evening in every manner, so that finally they acknowledged that they were exhausted, and could do nothing more to her. They were astonished at her endurance, as her entire body was mangled and broken; her wounds gaped and they testified that any one of these forms of torture was sufficient to destroy life, let alone the accumulation of such great sufferings.
19. But the blessed woman, like a noble athlete, renewed her strength in her confession; and her comfort and found relief from the pain of her sufferings in exclaiming, ‘I am a Christian, we do nothing to be ashamed of.”
20. But Sanctus also endured marvelously and superhumanly all the outrages which he suffered. While the wicked men hoped, by the continuance and severity of his tortures to wring something from him which he ought not to say, he girded himself against them with such firmness that he would not even tell his name, or the nation or city to which he belonged, but answered in the Roman tongue to all their questions, ‘I am a Christian.’
21. There arose therefore on the part of the governor and his tormentors a great desire to conquer him; but having nothing more that they could do to him, they finally fastened red-hot copper plates to the most tender parts of his body.
22. And these indeed were burned, but he continued unbending and unyielding, firm in his confession…,
23. And his body was a witness of his sufferings, being so completely broken and , drawn out of shape, that it scarcely resembled a human form. Christ, suffering in him, manifested his glory, delivering him from his adversary, and making him an ensample for the others, showing that nothing is fearful where the love of the Father is, and nothing painful where there is the glory of Christ.
Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs c. 180
This document is a surviving court manuscript of the condemnation of a group of North African Christians on July 17, 180. Scillium was a town in the Roman province of Numidia.
When Præsens, for the second time, and Claudianus were the consuls, on the seventeenth day of July, at Carthage, there were set in the judgment-hall Speratus, Nartzalus, Cittinus, Donata, Secunda and Vestia.
Saturninus the proconsul said: You can win the Mercy of our lord the Emperor, if you return to a sound mind.
Speratus said: We have never done ill, we have not lent ourselves to wrong, we have never spoken ill, but when ill-treated we have given thanks and pay heed to the Emperor.
Saturninus the proconsul said: We too are religious, and our religion is simple, we swear by the genius of our lord the Emperor, and pray for his welfare, as you also ought to do.
Speratus said: If you will grant me a hearing, I can tell you the mystery of simplicity.
Saturninus said: I will not listen to you when you begin to speak evil things of our sacred rites; but rather swear by the genius of our lord the Emperor.
Speratus said: I don’t recognize the emperor of this world; but rather I serve that God, whom no man has seen, nor can see with these eyes. I have committed no theft; but if I have bought anything I pay the tax; because I acknowledge my Lord, the King of kings and Emperor of all nations.
Saturninus the proconsul said to the rest: Cease to be of this persuasion…do not partake in this folly
Cittinus said: We have none other to fear, save only our Lord God, who is in heaven.
Donata said: Honour to Cæsar as Cæsar: but fear to God. Romans 13:7
Vestia said: I am a Christian.
Secunda said: What I am, that I wish to be.
Saturninus the proconsul said to Speratus: Do you persist in being a Christian?
Speratus said: I am a Christian. And with him they all agreed.
Saturninus the proconsul said: I will give you time to consider. Have a delay of thirty days and think it over.
Speratus said: In a matter so straightforward there is no need to consider.
Saturninus the proconsul said: Do you persist in being a Christian?
Speratus said a second time: I am a Christian. And with him they all agreed.
Saturninus the proconsul read out the decree from the tablet: Speratus and the rest having confessed that they live according to the Christian rite, since after being given an opportunity to return to the custom of the Romans they have obstinately persisted, it is determined that they be put to the sword.
Speratus said: We give thanks to God.
The Martyrdom of Perpetua
This is the prison diary of a young woman martyred in Carthage in 202 or 203 CE. The beginning and ending are related by an editor/narrator; the central text contains the words of Perpetua herself. This is a very rich source. We have few writings from the hands of Roman women, so the diary of a woman awaiting execution in a Roman cell is extraordinary. It reveals much about Roman life, including family life, and the outlook of Christian believers.
A few days later there was a rumor that we were going to be given a hearing. My father also arrived from the city, worn with worry, and he came to see me with the idea of persuading me.
‘Daughter,’ he said, ‘have pity on my grey head–have pity on me your father, if I deserve to be called your father, if I have favored you above all your brothers, if I have raised you to reach this prime of your life. Do not abandon me to be the reproach of men. Think of your brothers, think of your mother and your aunt, think of your child, who will not be able to live once you are gone. Give up your pride! You will destroy all of us! None of us will ever be able to speak freely again if anything happens to you.’
This was the way my father spoke out of love for me, kissing my hands and throwing himself down before me. With tears in his eyes he no longer addressed me as his daughter but as a woman. I was sorry for my father’s sake, because he alone of all my kin would be unhappy to see me suffer.
I tried to comfort him saying: ‘It will all happen in the prisoner’s dock as God wills; for you may be sure that we are not left to ourselves but are all in his power.’ And he left me in great sorrow.
One day while we were eating breakfast we were suddenly hurried off for a hearing. We arrived at the forum, and straight away the story went about the neighborhood near the forum and a huge crowd gathered. We walked up to the prisoner’s dock. All the others when questioned admitted their guilt. Then, when it came my turn, my father appeared with my son, dragged me from the step, and said: ‘Perform the sacrifice–have pity on your baby!’
Hilarianus the governor, said to me: ‘Have pity on your father’s grey head; have pity on your infant son. Offer the sacrifice for the welfare of the emperors.’
‘I will not’, I retorted.
‘Are you a Christian?’ said Hilarianus.
And I said: ‘Yes, I am.’
When my father persisted in trying to dissuade me, Hilarianus ordered him to be thrown to the ground and beaten with a rod. I felt sorry for father, just as if I myself had been beaten. I felt sorry for his pathetic old age.
Then Hilarianus passed sentence on all of us: we were condemned to the beasts, and we returned to prison in high spirits.
Perpetua’s Dream
…I saw in a vision that Pomponius the deacon had come here to the door of the prison, and knocked hard upon it. I went out to him and opened it. He wore a white robe, and shoes curiously wrought. He said to me: “Perpetua, we await you; come.” And he took my hand, and we began to go through rugged and winding places.
At last we came to the amphitheatre, and he led me into the center of the arena. And he said to me: “Be not afraid; I am here with you and labor together with you.” And he went away. And I saw many people watching closely. Because I knew that I was condemned to [be eaten by] the beasts, I wondered why beasts were not sent out against me.
[Instead] there came out against me a vicious Egyptian to fight with me. Also there came to me young men who were to be my seconds and aides. I was stripped naked, and suddenly I became a man. And my helpers began to rub me with oil as their custom is for a [wrestling] match; and over against me I saw that Egyptian wallowing in the dust.
And there came forth a man of very great stature, so that he surpassed the very top of the amphitheatre, wearing a robe, and beneath it, between the two stripes over the breast, a robe of purple, and he wore shoes curiously wrought in gold and silver. He bore a rod like a master of gladiators, and a green branch whereon were golden apples. And he besought silence and said: “The Egyptian, if he shall conquer this woman, shall slay her with the sword; and if she shall conquer him, she shall receive this branch.” And he went away.
And we approached and began to let our fists fly. He tried to trip up my feet, but I with my heels struck him in the face. And I rose up into the air and began striking his face with my heels repeatedly without touching the earth. I joined my hands, setting finger against finger and I caught his head, and he fell upon his face; and I trod upon his head.
[1] These are references to two famous characters from Greek mythology, Thyestes and Oedipus. Thyestses tried to overthrow the king Atreus and had an affair with the king’s wife. Atreus avenged himself by killing Thyestes’ sons and serving their flesh to Thyestes at a feast. When Oedipus was born, it was prophesied that he would kill his father and have intercourse with his mother. The terrified parents had the infant banished. Oedipus grew up not knowing his parents and later in life killed his father in an argument and married his mother fulfilling the prophesy.
The post Reading the Martyrs Persecutions in Lyon (Gaul) (Eusebius Ecclesiastical History, Book 5) appeared first on PapersSpot.