Soter

ON SAINT SOTER,

Roman Pontiff.

In the Year 171.

Soter, Roman Pontiff (Saint)

BY G. H.

[1] Famous is the memory of various Roman Pontiffs scattered throughout the month of April: of these, in the first century of Christ flourished Saint Cletus, to whose Acts on April 26 the date of the See of Saints Linus, On the earlier Pontiffs treated in the month of April. Clement and Anacletus is also established. Another is Saint Sixtus I, who in the second century of Christ succeeded Saint Alexander, where at the same time from his very ancient Acts the year in which Saint Sixtus presided over the Church is confirmed. His birthday (natal day) is the sixth of April. A third Pontiff is Saint Anicetus, commemorated on April 17, at which day are broadly discussed the dates of his predecessor Hyginus and his successor Pius, who, as we have demonstrated from the ancient Catalogues of the Roman Pontiffs, died in the consulship of the two Augusti, M. Aurelius Verus and L. Aelius Verus the brothers, in the year 161. To him then succeeded Saint Soter, who in an earlier Catalogue is said to have sat nine years, three months, two days: the rest, because of some gap, pertain to his successor Saint Eleutherius. The said nine years are attributed to the pontificate of Saint Soter, Saint Soter sat nine years, in the third and fourth century of Christ, when the earlier Catalogue was composed by Saint Anterus the Pope, and afterwards continued to the times of Saint Damasus. The same nine years are reported in another Catalogue, which was composed in the sixth century of Christ; likewise in a third, composed in the eighth century, and carried down to Pope Stephen III: nor do the Lives of the Roman Pontiffs extend further in another MS. of Freher, and in a very ancient MS. of the monastery of Saint Bertin.

Afterwards Anastasius the Librarian continued the Lives of the Pontiffs down to Pope Nicholas, that is, to the year 867, and William the Librarian and others extended the same down to Pope Martin V, that is, the year 1431: and by all of them nine years are assigned to Pope Soter, as also is done with great consensus in Luitprand's Lives of the Roman Pontiffs, likewise in the Liber Pontificalis, and in the ancient Roman Breviaries manuscript and printed in the years 1479, 1490, 1522, and 1524, which we have in our possession: and finally in the Breviary issued by order of Pius V, in which the pair of Consuls under whom Soter began and completed his pontificate is omitted; which in other Breviaries and in the remaining treatises is recorded again with the greatest consensus in these words: "He held office from the consulship of Rusticus and Aquilinus to that of Cethegus and Clarus." We have said above that his predecessor Saint Pius is reported to have departed from this life in the consulship of the two Augusti; to whom succeeded in the year of Christ 162, Q. Junius Rusticus and Vettius Aquilinus. The later consuls, Cethegus and Clarus, were in the year of Christ 170. And that these two pairs of consuls are mentioned by Damasus in the Life of Saint Soter is attested by Onuphrius in his Commentary on the second book of the Fasti, at the year from the founding of the City 915 and 923. Died A.D. 171. Saint Soter, moreover, seems to have lived beyond these consuls, down to April 22 of the following year 171, when the consuls were Septimius Verus, or Severus, and Herennianus, in whose consulship is assigned the beginning of the pontificate of his successor Saint Eleutherius. Saint Soter therefore sat in his pontificate for nine years, from the year of Christ 162 until the 21st or 22nd of April of the year 171. Concerning the day and month on which he began to sit, there is not the same certainty. Anastasius, besides the said nine years, adds three months, which also in all the mentioned Breviaries are noted; without mention of days, to which in the earlier Catalogue only two are added. In the MS. codices of Anastasius from the library of the Most Christian King Mazarin and of Freher, likewise in Platina, Johannes Stella, and others, twenty-one days are added, and thus from the beginning of January, or on the 20th or 22nd of that month, he would have begun the pontificate. But in the second and third Catalogue, and in the MSS. of the Acts, and also in Luitprand and Abbo of Fleury, six months; in the Liber Pontificalis, seven months are expressed. Then the beginning of Saint Soter would have to be set at September or October of the year 161, when Saint Pius is said to have died on July 11. Disregarding months and days, nine years are attributed to Saint Soter, among the Greeks, by Saint Nicephorus Bishop of Constantinople, and Georgius Syncellus in his Chronography; among the Latins, by Notker and others in their Martyrologies, to be indicated below. Eusebius in the Preface to the fifth book of Ecclesiastical History writes that Soter, Bishop of the city of Rome, died after the eighth year of his episcopate. Which nearly coincides with the opinion of others. But how little Eusebius is to be trusted in matters concerning the Roman Pontiffs will soon appear, when we treat of Saint Caius the Pontiff and successor of Saint Eutychianus, and on April 26 in the Acts of Saint Marcellinus, where we shall show that Saint Marcellus, who yet lived in the age of Eusebius, was wrongly omitted by him.

[2] To this chronology In these things, then, which belong to the Roman Church, we hold with Cardinal Baronius that greater trust should be given to its own children than to others: from whom because of the common consent of all ages we are forced to depart in that he places Saint Soter as having sat for four years less twelve days, from the year 175 to the year 179, to which year he assigns the death of Saint Soter, adding these words: "If anyone shall find a more certain Chronography concerning the years of Soter, by which however Cletus is not excluded from the number of Roman Pontiffs, nor the sincere testimony of the letter of the Martyrs of Lyons scorned, we shall not unwillingly assent." So Baronius. We retain Cletus in the number of the Roman Pontiffs, and we say he is distinct from Anacletus, as appears in his Acts, illustrated on April 26; and this we do following the same authors from whom we have already established the date of the see of Saint Soter. the testimony of the Martyrs of Lyons agrees. Moreover, we admit with all veneration the testimony of the letter of the Martyrs of Lyons, as will soon be evident from the Acts of Saints Epipodius and Alexander, Martyrs of Lyons. Nay, relying on this testimony, we judge necessarily that Saint Eleutherius, from the death of Saint Soter, before the persecution was stirred up in Gaul, presided over the Church for some time, and that his virtues became known to the Christians of Lyons; who then, cast into prison for the faith, sent him a letter asking that the peace and concord of the Church might be preserved, acting as "ambassadors for the peace of the Churches," as is read in Eusebius, book 5 of Ecclesiastical History chapter 3 near the end; and in chapter 4 it is indicated that these letters were carried to Rome by Saint Irenaeus, whom Baronius asserts to have been appointed Bishop of Lyons in the year 180 in place of Saint Pothinus, who in the previous year had passed from this life by glorious martyrdom.

[3] A very ancient memorial of Saint Soter is in the letter of Saint Dionysius, Bishop of the Corinthians, reported by Eusebius in book 4 of Ecclesiastical History chapter 23. That letter was written to the Romans, whose way of life is praised in these words: [Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, praises the benevolence of the Romans and of Saint Soter toward poor and pilgrim Christians.] "This has been your custom from the very beginning of your religion, to treat all the brethren with various kinds of benefactions, and to send the necessities of life to very many churches established in individual cities. And by this means you relieve the poverty of the needy, and supply necessities to the brethren who labor in the mines: through these gifts which from the beginning you have been accustomed to send, you Romans preserve the custom and institution of the Romans received from your ancestors. And this custom your blessed Bishop Soter not only observed but even increased, both by bountifully supplying the gifts destined for the saints, and by consoling with blessed words the brethren who came from afar, as a most loving father comforts his children." Thus Saint Dionysius, who flourished at this very time, as was said on April 8, his natal day.

[4] To these we add a eulogy from the second Catalogue, which we said was composed in the sixth century of Christ, and which reads thus: "Soter, a Campanian by nationality, of the father Concordius, from the city of Fundi, sat nine years, six months, twenty-one days. He was in the times of Severus, from the consulship of Rusticus and Aquilinus to that of Cethegus and Clarus. He established that no nun should touch the consecrated pall, Eulogy from the ancient Catalogues of the Pontiffs, nor offer incense within the holy Church. He held ordinations in the month of December: 17 Priests, 8 Deacons, 11 Bishops in various places. He was buried next to the body of blessed Peter, on the 10th day before the Kalends of May. The episcopate was vacant for 11 days." So it stands there, and nearly the same things are found in the others cited above, especially Anastasius, with small differences regarding the number of consecrated Bishops, his native land was Fundi, Priests or Deacons, and the days during which the episcopate was vacant. The native land of Saint Soter is Fundi, a very ancient city of Italy, on the Appian Way between Formiae and Terracina, among the Aurunci, once assigned to Latium, afterwards commonly held to be an episcopal city of Campania, and at this time counted as part of the Neapolitan kingdom. Saint Soter sat in the times of M. Aurelius Antoninus Verus, and his brother L. Aelius Verus. M. Aurelius Verus also called Severus; Galen, who at that time lived at Rome, in his book against those who have written on types, calls him not Verus but Severus, and they both had a maternal great-grandfather, Catilius Severus, twice consul; and so with Galen in the said Catalogues he is called Severus.

[5] Finally, since there is no mention among the ancients of the martyrdom of Saint Soter, Onuphrius judges, in his annotations to Platina, that this and some other Pontiffs, although they did not depart by a violent death, why is Saint Soter a Martyr? nevertheless suffered many things from the raging crowd and unjust magistrates, who maintained a perpetual hatred against Christians, but that such men are called Confessors by Cyprian: memory on April 21 and 22. and in a very old book of the Vatican library, written six hundred years ago, they are openly and clearly called Confessors, others of the remaining as Martyrs: there are also some that have neither the designation of Martyr nor of Confessor. His sacred memory stands on April 21 and 22. On the former day, Ado in several MSS., Notker, the author of the supposititious Bede, and Molanus in the first edition of Usuard have the following: "At Rome, of Saint Soter the Pope, who sat in the episcopate for nine years, buried in the cemetery of Callistus. He established that no nun should touch the consecrated pall in church, nor offer incense." In the Vatican MS. of the church of Saint Peter, and in various others, on this 22nd day is listed the birthday (natal day) of Saint Soter the Pope at Rome: with Bellinus and Molanus in the later editions of Usuard is added, "a Campanian by nationality." In some Martyrologies, written about three hundred years ago and in others printed, he is said to have been crowned with martyrdom or to have suffered under Marcus Antoninus or under Aurelius Commodus his brother; with which the modern Roman Martyrology agrees, together with the Breviary issued by order of Pope Pius V.

[6] His burial. Saint Soter was buried, according to the MS. Catalogue of Queen Christina of Sweden, next to the body of Saint Peter: but according to Anastasius and others, on the Appian Way in the cemetery of Callistus. Ciacconius has it: "He rested in peace at Rome, and was buried on the Appian Way in the cemetery which he himself constructed and which was called of Soter from his name." But that this cemetery received its name from Saint Soter, the Virgin and Martyr, we said in her Life on February 10, § III, and Anastasius confirms in the Life of Pope Stephen III in these words: "He also restored the roof of the cemetery of Saint Soter, which had fallen." Consult Aringhi, book 3 of Roma Subterranea, chapter 19, but he by a lapse of memory ascribes to Onuphrius what we have brought forth from Ciacconius. Certainly the latter in the Commentary on the Roman Pontiffs, both separately and printed with Platina, writes that Saint Soter was "buried on the Appian Way at the Catacombs, which afterwards was called of Callistus."

[7] The body of this saint was translated by Sergius II, as authors everywhere gather from Anastasius, who in the Life of Sergius has the following: "The most blessed Pope, solicitous with pious devotion for the desirable love of Saints Silvester and Martin, the church which had been consecrated to their holy name, which from the beginning of his priesthood, translation to the church of Saints Silvester and Martin. until he was brought to the summit of the pontificate, he had vigorously governed, and which through olden times had withered away through failing age, broken by ruins and long torn asunder in antiquity, with the favor of God's clemency, he completed from the foundations into a better and more beautiful condition. He also painted the apse with immense love, suffused with golden mosaic colors.

And to the honor of Almighty God and of the same most blessed Silvester the Overseer, he placed the body together with the most blessed Fabian, Stephen, and Soter, Martyrs and Pontiffs… dedicating it beneath the sacred altar." Thus there. We ourselves have seen the inscription set in marble a few centuries ago, whose beginning was this. Indulgence — by whom was it granted for that place? "In the times of the lord Sergius the Younger the Pope, there have been enshrined in this sacred altar the bodies of blessed Silvester and Martin, Pontiffs, likewise the bodies of the most blessed Fabian, Stephen, and Soter, Martyrs and Prelates." The whole inscription was published by Giovanni Antonio Filippini in a pamphlet on the antiquity and veneration of this church, printed in 1639. We said it was engraved a few centuries ago, convinced by the form and completeness of the Latin letters, far different from those whose use prevailed in the age of Sergius II; as also other learned men at Rome, and most experienced in such matters, judged. This we note here because a great and otherwise prudent writer allowed himself to slip, holding that the marble was set in place at the very time of the said Translation. We do not, however, deny that the testimony of the aforesaid translation seems to have been taken from an older source, whether marble or parchment. But that this Sergius established every year on the feasts of the saints who are named an indulgence of three years and three forty-day periods to all who devoutly approach those bodies, which seems there consequently to be stated, no one would prudently believe: because it is most certain that this form of granting indulgences is much later. This grant must therefore have come from some Pontiff sitting in the eleventh century, and perhaps from Sergius IV, who died in 1012. Since the diploma or memory of this was kept in the said church without the addition of which by that name of Pontiff had decreed the indulgence, nothing was more natural than that some sacristan, in the 14th or 15th century, taking care to renew the ancient inscription, would add something about indulgences as though granted by the same one who had first translated the bodies. So we know that indulgences were sometimes attributed to Saint Gregory the Great, which had their origin either from Saint Gregory VII of that name, Relics said to be preserved at Toledo. or even from Saint Gregory X, a man likewise of great sanctity and venerated as a saint among the Marseillais; or from some one between the two.

[8] At Toledo in Spain, the body of Saint Soter is said to be; and therefore in the proper offices printed at Madrid in the year 1607, it is prescribed for this April 22 that a double office of Saints Soter and Caius be celebrated in the mother church. But in the Proper Offices reprinted at Madrid in the year 1738, a double Office of Saint Soter alone is prescribed, the feast of Saint Caius being transferred to the next day. Tamayo Salazar inscribed this same Saint Soter in his Spanish Martyrology, asserting that in the catalogue of Relics of the holy Church of Toledo, in the autograph of a visitation made in the year 1600 by the Most Eminent Don Bernardo de Rojas y Sandoval, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and Prelate of Toledo, he found these words, no. 3: "There is a silver case in which the body of Saint Eugene, sent by the King of France, was translated; in it there are enshrined Relics from the ashes of Saint Dionysius and his Companions, and from the bones of Saint Eugene, and from the garments of all of them: and the Body in dust of Saint Soter, Pope and Martyr." From which Tamayo concludes that the ashes of Saint Soter came to Toledo before the year 1565, in which the body of Saint Eugene was translated. Antonio de Quintanadueñas, in his book on the Saints of Toledo, treats of Saint Soter the Pope, but confesses he could not determine when, or on what occasion, the body was brought to the Church of Toledo.

At Antwerp in the church of the Professed House of the Society of Jesus, a thick little bone is preserved, with particles of Soter, Pope and Martyr, which together with the Relics of Saints Hyginus and Urban, Pontiffs and Martyrs, and some others, Father Jan Melander, Priest of this Flanders-Belgian Society, received in the year 1545 from Didacus de Campo, Apostolic Protonotary and Canon of the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles, private chamberlain of our Lord Pope Paul III: as is evident from the attestation, confirmed by the autograph of Didacus himself and of the Secretary Angelo Corradi. These Relics are preserved in an exceedingly elegant white reliquary, together with the relics of other holy Martyrs and Pontiffs, to be commemorated more fittingly in their proper place and time.

ON STS. EPIPODIUS AND ALEXANDER, AND THEIR THIRTY-FOUR COMPANIONS, Martyrs at Lyons in Gaul.

IN THE YEAR 177.

Epipodius, Martyr, at Lyons in Gaul (Saint)

Alexander, Martyr, at Lyons in Gaul (Saint)

Thirty-four Companions, Martyrs, at Lyons in Gaul (Saints)

G. H.

[1] Eusebius, in book 5 of Ecclesiastical History, about to describe this persecution stirred up in Gaul, indicates the time first by the Roman Pontiffs, and thus begins the Preface of the said book: "Therefore, Soter, The persecution stirred up after the death of Saint Soter the Pope, Bishop of the city of Rome, having died after the eighth year of his episcopate, the twelfth (indeed the thirteenth) from the Apostles, Eleutherus, succeeded in his place." We give on this very day the Acts of Saint Soter the Pope, whom, from the most ancient Catalogues of the Roman Pontiffs, we have shown to have sat from the consulship of Rusticus and Aquilinus to that of Cethegus and Clarus. The former consuls were in the year of Christ 162, the latter in the year 170. But Saint Soter had these last consuls in a full year of his life, who died in the year 171, and survived until this day, April 22, of the following year 171: and then, from the consulship of Verus and Herennianus, Saint Eleutherius the Pope sat until the consulship of Paternus and Bradua, who held that dignity in the year 185, under his successor Saint Eleutherius beyond which he seems to have lived until the 26th of May of the following year, for that day is considered his natal day. Another and more accurate reckoning of the time when the persecution was stirred up is indicated in the same place by Eusebius in these words: "At that time there was passing the seventeenth year of the empire of Antoninus Verus; then a more violent persecution was stirred up, and in the 9th year of Antoninus Verus especially, as he continues in chapter 1, in Gaul, in which, beyond the others, two notable and eminent mother-cities are celebrated, Lyons and Vienne." The 17th year of the empire of Antoninus Verus falls in the year of Christ 177, when on June 2 there suffered at Lyons, of Christ 177. Saints Photinus the Bishop, Sanctus the Deacon, very many other saints, together with the illustrious heroine Blandina, whose Acts of martyrdom were soon transmitted to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia, inserted by Eusebius into his history, and to be more broadly illustrated on the said second of June. It was then the seventh year of the pontificate of Saint Eleutherius, whose virtues were known to the said Martyrs; and therefore some of them commended Saint Irenaeus, then still a Presbyter of the Church of Lyons, to the aforesaid Pontiff by letter, and set forth a catalogue of the earlier martyrs: concerning which letter Eusebius treats in chapter 4.

[2] In the year 178 suffered Saints Epipodius and Alexander, In this same persecution, but in the following year 178, there suffered at Lyons Saints Epipodius and Alexander, the former on this April 22, the other two days later, on April 24. The ancient Acts of both Martyrs, plainly joined, were written by one and the same author, and were divided into Lessons for the use of the Church of Lyons in two parts, so that the first part could be recited on April 22, the later on April 24. We give them together: for the first and last part pertains to both, the second to Saint Epipodius, and the third to Saint Alexander. We have the said Acts in our ancient MS. and partly in a MS. codex of the monastery of Saint Maximin at Trier, The Acts are given from MSS. and Surius. partly from a Passional of Lyons from the church of Saint Just the Bishop, transmitted to us by Pierre-François Chifflet: and we have collated them with the Acts published by Laurence Surius on the said days, who judges them to have been gravely written and testifies that they are held in excellent ancient MS. copies.

[3] The Acts are supported by the ancient Martyrologies, among which the first place deservedly belongs to the Auctarium of Florus, Subdeacon of the Church of Lyons, to the genuine Martyrology of Bede, and published with it by us before the second volume of March; where under April 24 you have the following from the MSS. of Arras, Tournai, and Laetiensis: "In Gaul, in the city of Lyons, Cult in the Martyrologies of Florus of Lyons, the passion of Saints Alexander and Upipodus with thirty-four others: of whom Alexander, stretched upon the cross, was so torn by the cruelty of those beating him, that, the framework of his ribs being dissolved, his entrails laid open, the secrets of his soul were revealed, and so, breathing his last, he gave up the spirit. Upipodus, however, his whole face being broken by leaded whips, was suspended on the rack, and afterwards struck with the sword." Let another be our witness, Saint Ado, Archbishop of Vienne, to whom the affairs of Lyons were very well known. He writes thus on April 22: "And at Lyons in Gaul, the birthday of Saint Epipodius Martyr, who, in the persecution of Antoninus Verus, after the glorious contests of forty-eight Martyrs who suffered in the same city, being seized with his dearest companion Alexander, of Ado of Vienne, the latter meanwhile being thrust into prison, was first struck on the mouth with fearful blows of fists, then tortured by the stretching of the rack, and completed his martyrdom by the cutting off of his head." Then on April 24 he reports: "At Lyons in Gaul the birthday of Saint Alexander, who on the third day after the passion of blessed Epipodius, being led out of prison, was first so torn by the cruelty of those beating him, that, the framework of his ribs being dissolved, his entrails laid open, the secrets of his soul were revealed, then, fastened to the gibbet of the cross, and of many others: dying, he gave up his blessed spirit. There suffered with him also others to the number of thirty-four. Both were buried on either side of the altar, in a crypt, which on the hill above the city was built with a beautiful and ancient work." So Ado; and similar things Usuard, Notker, the Author of the supposititious Bede, Bellinus, Maurolycus, Galesinius have, along with the modern Roman Martyrology: and everywhere are added the thirty-four Companions, who then suffered martyrdom together, of whom however no mention is made in the Acts.

[4] A eulogy from Gregory of Tours. What we have reported concerning the burial of Saints Epipodius and Alexander seems to have been taken from Gregory of Tours, who in the book On the Glory of the Martyrs, chapter 50, writes as follows: "Therefore, when the glorious Bishop Photinus, who presided over the city of Lyons as Priest, had been perfected by martyrdom, by the merit of his noble struggle he was borne into heaven: to whom, both worthy in merit and in holiness, Irenaeus succeeded as Bishop, himself also ending by martyrdom. He is buried in the crypt of the basilica of blessed John, beneath the altar: and on one side Epipodius, on the other Alexander the Martyr, is entombed. Of whose monuments, if the dust be faithfully collected, it straightway heals the sick: for a great brightness is contained in that crypt, which, as I believe, signifies the merit of the martyrs." These same Martyrs had already been celebrated by Saint Eucherius, Bishop of Lyons, and by Saint Eucherius of Lyons, in a homily delivered on their veneration and cult, which is wrongly found ascribed to Eusebius of Emesa. "The double trophies," he says, "of Epipodius and Alexander, the faith of our Church, with the interval of two or three days between, celebrates together,

not as feasts with foreign relics, but as feasts with the inviolate monuments of our native bosom. We possess the whole and entire illustrious gift of the Blessed; and what could suffice for the whole world, we hold specially enclosed within the bosom of this city: and we raise twin palms to our city, rivals of the Apostolic triumph; and we, also having our Peter and Paul, comparing them to Sts. Peter and Paul, two intercessors, contend with that sublime See. And indeed the blessed Martyrs, whose precious dust is scattered through diverse regions everywhere for the salvation of the peoples, receive also the full cult of that place from the honor of God with devotion paid to them: and the richer the faith with which they are celebrated, the more acceptable to them will be the grace of the celebration. But without doubt it is much more grateful, and stirring their own people to veneration, much more pleasant to them, if the fervor of piety honors them most of all in that place where the fury of their passion came upon them; if there are offered to them the sacrifices of supplication, where they fell in a sacrifice to God; if there posterity, to be preached, pours out its vows, where the deadly savagery poured forth their innocent blood; if, in short, that enemy of the Christian name, where he believed them slain, sees them there consecrated. Sweeter, I say, is the service rendered to them, if there the blessing of praises celebrates them together, where the greatness of tribulations raged over them: if thence they are invoked for intercession, whence at the first sign of the resurrection they shall be called forth to their reward." These and many other things Saint Eucherius, who was called from this life at Lyons about the year 454. To these might be added the eulogies of both in the Indiculus of the Saints of Lyons published by Rainaud Theophilus; but since these are more recent, the reader may find them there.

ACTS

Revised from very ancient MS. codices.

Epipodius, Martyr, at Lyons in Gaul (Saint)

Alexander, Martyr, at Lyons in Gaul (Saint)

Thirty-four Companions, Martyrs, at Lyons in Gaul (Saints) BHL Number: 2574, 2575

FROM MSS.

Part I.

[1] If the deeds of brave men, who have fallen for earthly liberty or for their country with empty purpose, The triumphs of the Martyrs are to be written to stir posterity leaving brief monuments of carnal virtues while they perish, are rightly committed to annals for the incitement of posterity, with how great praises should the death of the Martyrs be celebrated, who, by an admirable and glorious shortcut, while they stretch forth their hands to heaven, leave to the earth examples of faith and devotion, propagating the life of men by their deaths. For they pour out their spirit not for an earthly emperor, but for the heavenly King: not for a ^a country which brings forth and receives; not for a ^b country which is held and lost; but for that heavenly Jerusalem, the eternal country, which is built by the merits of the Saints, whose summits touch heaven; whose inhabitants know not how to die, whose liberty is ignorant of the yoke of infernal captivity, whose liberty endures together with immortal glory and blessedness. And although few things are touched upon concerning the rewards of the Martyrs (because the sufferings of this present age are by no means worthy to be compared with the greatness of the heavenly glory, which shall be perpetual and everlasting), yet these are the perpetual triumphs of the Saints, which are rightly handed down in writings for posterity; so that if they should not have the opportunity of suffering, their minds nevertheless, kindled with the ardor of emulation, may obtain an unspotted life by the contrition of the body and the imitation of the martyrdom of those saints. Therefore we relate the conflicts and victories of the most blessed Epipodius and Alexander, Christ triumphing in them: so that the faith of believers may both desire and follow the example placed before them.

[2] Therefore, in the seventeenth ^c year of the empire of the Emperor Antoninus Verus, when the fury of the Gentiles was raging through the provinces, Sts. Epipodius and Alexander it raged especially in the city of Lyons: in which, according to its greatness, the greater the peoples who dwelt there, the more copious also was the rage of the Gentiles that seethed there. Judges, Officials, Tribunes, soldiers, denounced, are sought out, the common people, vied in tearing the Christians with manifold cruelty, even without distinction of sex: of whom very many, with distinct sufferings and names, have come down to the memory of succeeding generations, while innumerable others, who were either cut down in indiscriminate slaughter or perished bound in workhouses, are contained only in the inscribed Book of celestial life. For after the most vast slaughter of Martyrs and ^d the cruelty of raging sufferings, concerning which the servants of Christ, whom the most illustrious cities of Vienne and Lyons then held, sent writings to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia; when the name of Christ was almost entirely believed extinguished by the Gentiles; through a domestic betrayal, Epipodius and Alexander were reported to the Governor as secretly giving service to the Catholic cult of the faith: joined in faith and love: whom he, with solicitous search, wishing to extinguish in them the remnants of the detested Religion, ordered to be sought out.

[3] But, the order of the passion being interrupted a little, it is fitting to make known briefly what sort and what manner of men they were. Alexander indeed was by nationality a Greek, while Epipodius was a native of the city of Lyons. Moreover, while they were little boys, the fellowship of school, and later a love already manly, had joined them in their earliest age: and so, most learned in letters, with concord growing, they advanced toward God; so that, though they were Christians, and instructed by the most noble parents, they yet mutually stirred each other to the incitements of religion. For by sobriety, frugality, chastity, faith, works of mercy, they so prepared themselves as victims worthy of God, that the glory brought on by martyrdom would be of profit to the merit of their consummation. They were both conspicuous in the flower of youth, and not yet entangled in conjugal bonds: but when the persecution was raging, fulfilling the Gospel precepts, since they could not withdraw to another or even third city, they sought a hiding-place there. Going out secretly from the enclosure of the walls, in that village which is situated near ^e the Cut Rock, they hid themselves, without any companions, in the cottage of a certain religious and faithful widow. And when for some time they had lain concealed there, they are found in their hiding-place, covered by the faith of the little woman and by the humility of the place; at length a keen inquisitor found them; and a hostile hand seized them as they fled through the narrow entrance of the little cell: who so trembling rushed out among those leaping in, that Saint Epipodius, in his fear springing forth, lost the shoe of one foot: which afterwards the faithful woman hid as though she had found a treasure.

[4] And so, captured, even before examination, the prison received them: for the very name "Christian" was held to be the name of a manifest crime. Then after three days, with their hands bound behind their backs, they were set before the tribunal of the Governor: whom the most cruel Judge, with the multitude of Gentiles standing by and ^f roaring, interrogated concerning their name and profession. confessing Christ in judgment, They both betrayed their own names, and clearly testified that they were Christians. The Judge therefore is inflamed, and a popular outcry is raised, and at once the madness of all rises against the innocent. The magistrate rebukes them, attests his fury with a cry of this kind: they are terrified with threats "Does human rashness still persevere against the immortal gods? Are the sanctions of the princes still torn to pieces; and in one and the same crime of majesty, the emperor and the gods assailed? Where are the torments we have inflicted? where the crosses? where the swords? where the beasts? where the red-hot plates? where the severity procured even beyond the bounds of death? Men have been extinguished, their tombs do not remain, and yet the memory of Christ persists. O you to be punished, with what daring have you persisted in a forbidden religion? Now you shall pay the penalties for the rashness of your presumption."

PART II.

[5] Lest they should encourage one another or fortify each other with speech or nods, Alexander, who was stronger in age, is thrust aside, Saint Epipodius is tempted by flatteries, and Epipodius is brought forward: whom, separated and alone, while he was making game of him in his mind from conjecture of his tenderer age, using the craftiness of the ancient serpent, he plies with the poisoned art of flatteries: "I see you," he says, "are a youth: and it is wrong that you should persevere in the intent of an evil purpose and perish. We worship the immortal gods, whom the whole body of peoples, whom even the most sacred Princes venerate with their proper names. We worship the gods with joy, banquets, songs, games, feasting, and lasciviousness: but you worship a crucified man, who cannot be pleased by those who enjoy all these things: who spurns license, who delights in fasts, who, condemning pleasures, loves a sad and barren chastity. But what benefit can he confer on anyone, who could not defend himself from the assault of the vilest men? All of which things I have woven together for you, so that, as a young man, fleeing austerity, you may enjoy the blessedness of this world with delight and with joy."

[6] To this the blessed Epipodius: "The affection of Christ and of the Catholic faith has not so armed me, that the fictions of your mercy should move my sense. he answers nobly: For this piety of yours is cruelty; to live with you is eternal death: but to perish at your hands is glorious. Of our eternal Lord Jesus Christ, whom you mention as crucified, you know not that he has risen again, who, by an ineffable mystery, both man and God, has instituted for his servants the path of immortality, and leads them to the heavenly kingdoms. But to speak with you in a common way, since you do not receive lofty things; is your mind so blinded that you do not know that man consists of the double substance of soul and body? We rather use the command of the soul and the service of the body. The base things, by which you worship your demons, delight the members of the body, and destroy the minds. What sort of life is that where the better part suffers loss? We undertake wars against the body for the soul: we fight against the vices for the soul. Your god is the belly, and after the prodigal gluttony of cattle, you judge the end of the present life as the end of death. But we, whoever of us perish by your persecution, while we leave behind temporal things, enter upon the life of eternity."

[7] his mouth being smashed with fists, he is more emboldened But the Judge, fixed with envy and astonishment at this reply, and stirred by the prick of anger, orders the dwelling-place of his admirable eloquence, that is, the mouth of the Martyr, to be crushed with blows of fists. he is killed with the sword. And thereupon Saint Epipodius, made more steadfast by the pain inflicted, with his teeth mingled with blood, poured forth these words: "I confess Christ to be God together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and it is right that I should give back my soul to him who is both my Creator and Redeemer. For thus my life is not taken away, but is changed for the better. Nor does it matter in what manner the weakness of the body is dissolved; provided that the soul, ^k borne into the heavens, may return to its Author." When the blessed Epipodius spoke these things with steady assertion, by the order of the savage judge he is hung on the rack, with lictors standing on either side, so that his sides might be furrowed by the pressed claws. Then suddenly there arose a terrible shout of the people, asking that he be given to them, either to be overwhelmed with a shower of stones, or to be torn limb from limb and mangled in the madness of those raging. Thus through the fury of all the cruelty of the judge was slow. But the Governor, fearing lest he should further suffer violence, and the reverence of authority and judgment be disturbed by sedition, in order to quiet the precipitous and insane fury of the surrounding multitude, he is suspended and torn with claws, and to extinguish the cause of the commotion, orders him, led outside the tribunal, to be hastily struck with the sword. And so, the more hostile was the tumult of the enemies, the more quickly, by divine disposition, was the consummation of his martyrdom hastened: so that Christ the rewarder might the more swiftly receive his child, triumphing over the passion and over the persecutors, who is blessed forever.

PART III.

[8] The blessed Martyrs Epipodius and Alexander

infancy first joined, then adolescence instructed in the fear of God, ^l youth confirmed; until, joined in spirit and merits, they came to martyrdom, which by the gift of God they received together. But while our Lord Jesus Christ so dispenses the victorious crowns of his soldiers, that those who were joined to him by temporal confession Saint Alexander called three days later, doubles the triumph and the feast. should be separated in death, we judge it rightly granted to us, that we should enjoy a double solemnity in them. For while their feasts come on alternate days, and we venerate them with inseparable affection; not on single days, but with twofold observances we honor both twice. And as the solemnity of the day before yesterday celebrated Saint Epipodius enrolled in heaven, so by today's festivity we rejoice that the blessed Alexander has come to the heavenly kingdom. For this reason let us now return to the history of the passion.

[9] Therefore, when the Martyr Epipodius had been slain, the persecutor, still sprinkled with fresh blood, brought before the Governor, thirsted for the blood of blessed Alexander. Whom, received from prison, after a delayed examination and a day interposed, he commanded to be offered to his fury; so that by his sufferings he might temper not only his own rage, but also the madness of the stirred and raging people. Yet even now he tempted him with this inquiry: "Still it is in your power to escape by the ^m examples of your predecessors, and to see what you hold. He is tempted to apostasy: For we have so persecuted the worshipers of Christ ⁿ that I think you almost alone have remained. For besides the other bands of the slain, the very partner of your folly has succumbed: and therefore, if you take counsel for yourself, venerate the immortal gods with the burning of incense."

[10] Blessed Alexander said: "I give thanks to the Lord, that while you unfold the glorious triumphs of the Martyrs, and recall the torments inflicted, he refutes the Governor's sayings: you also confirm me in devotion by your examples. Do you think, then, that the souls you have poured out are extinguished? They indeed possess heaven: but on the contrary, the persecutors have perished in that contest. For your opinion deceives you: the Christian name cannot be extinguished, which is so firmly established by God's founding, that it is both preserved by the life of men, and propagated by their deaths. Our God possesses the heavens which he made; he holds the earth, he rules the underworld: and the souls which you judge slain, the heavenly kingdom has received: but you with your gods, the underworld will keep. And because I know my dearest brother has been placed in supreme joy, ^o the more secure I enter upon the way of devotion. For I am a Christian, and always have been, and will be unto the glory of God. But you, exercise the body, which from earthly weakness seems addicted to [p] the lots of the world; for the rest, let him who bestowed them keep and receive our souls."

[11] amid fearful lashings At these things the Governor, raging with mingled shame and fury, ordered Saint Alexander, spread out, to be beaten by three men taking turns who, cast down by no humble reply amid the torments, always implored the protection of God. And when for a very long time, as his beaters took turns in succession, he was not broken; the Governor asks whether he still continues in this confession. To his question with unshaken authority he answered, that the gods of the Gentiles are demons, not deities: he zealously professes the faith but that God almighty, invisible, eternal, was the guardian of his purpose.

[12] Then therefore the Judge said: "The Christians have burst forth into such madness, that by the length of their punishments they think to gain glory for themselves, and judge that they have overcome their persecutors, whom it is right to consume by a swift end. The Martyr dies on the cross. Since therefore it is wrong both to hear and see them in their obstinacy, let Alexander therefore, fixed to the cross, pour out his soul as he deserves." After which sentence the ministers and savage executioners took the blessed Alexander, and with his arms and hands stretched in opposite directions, bound him with the saving sign. Nor, however, were the torments of the blessed Martyr long prolonged: for so torn was his body by the cruelty of the beaters, that, the framework of his ribs being dissolved and his entrails laid open, the secrets of his soul were revealed. For while he was wholly in Christ, [q] and now, already weary, was invoking him with his last words, dying he gave up his blessed spirit.

PART IV

[13] These therefore, always concordant and companions, because death had divided them, Both are buried in a cave of the valley: burial joined them, when the Christians stealing the bodies, drew them secretly outside the city and buried them hidden. For there was on a hill above the city [r] a place thickened with close-set stems, and there, in the manner of a cave, a valley enclosed by shrubs and briers lay hidden, and, as it happens where flowing moisture is poured in by natural service, an uncultivated fruitfulness. In that recess the venerable bodies were buried by religious provision; because the fury of the Gentiles, denying a final burial, raged even against the lifeless bodies. But afterwards the cult of the religious preserved the venerable place, and the reverence handed down through posterity made it known, and very many miracles which proclaimed the power of the Saints.

[14] Through the shoe of Saint Epipodius a fever is cured: For when, in the succeeding time, the people of Lyons were suffering widely from a raging disease; a certain young man, noble by birth, greatly inflamed by the force of fevers, was admonished by a vision to seek a remedy from the woman [s] who had the shoe of the Martyr. She answered that she knew nothing of medicine: but by the mercy of the Lord, with help brought through the relics of the Martyr by her hospitable care, she did not deny that she had cured very many: and immediately Lucia offered him a blessing and the [t] cup of salvation of her hospitality. Who, when he received the drink and the remedy of his thirst, immediately so recovered with the ardor extinguished, that he was said to have been restored to life and health not by human aid, but by the marvelous help of divinity, very many miracles are wrought. This virtue of faith and of the Saints is spread throughout the whole city, and an innumerable multitude, while they received the health of the body, received also the increments of faith; and there was made a present and eternal medicine of limbs and of minds. [v] But also afterwards in those places these marvels are shown: the casting out of demons, the curing of the weak, the restoration of health: which so nearly daily and greater than these are happening, that credulity, though it be spontaneous, is extinguished by the existing miracles. Therefore it is fitting that faith be applied to words and deeds: because the friendly power, virtue, and dignity of God, as it loves the faithful and believing, so it abandons the doubters. Therefore let us not doubt that those things are true, [x] which we have considered manifest by hearing and see, our Lord Jesus Christ reigning, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.

ANNOTATIONS.

ABOUT THE YEAR 204.

Leonides, father of Origen, Martyr, at Alexandria, or elsewhere (Saint)

Arator, Martyr, at Alexandria, or elsewhere (Saint)

Quiriacus, Martyr, at Alexandria, or elsewhere (Saint)

Basilia, Martyr, at Alexandria, or elsewhere (Saint)

By G. H.

[1] That ancient writer Eusebius Pamphili, already twice praised by us at the beginning of this day, begins the sixth book of his Ecclesiastical History from the persecution of the Emperor Severus with these words: "Moreover, when Severus had stirred up a persecution against the Churches, illustrious martyrdoms were accomplished by athletes contending for piety, indeed throughout all the Churches everywhere. Martyrdom of Saint Leonides from Eusebius, But especially at Alexandria they abounded, when from all Egypt and the Thebaid the choicest fighters were brought there, as though into a most ample stadium of God, and, having endured with unconquered mind every sort of torment and death, received immortal crowns from God. Among whom was Leonides, who is said to have been the father of Origen, beheaded, who left the aforesaid son as a young boy." So Eusebius, whom Nicephorus Callistus followed, and treating of this persecution of Severus in book 5 chapter 2, reports the following about Leonides: "At which time also Leonides, father of Origen, is said to have departed from life, having suffered martyrdom for the name of Christ; evidently slain by the sword, when he left his son as a very young boy." Georgius Syncellus in his Chronography, treating of the Empire of Severus, adds: "Leonides, father of Origen, when the persecution arose at Alexandria, ended his life in martyrdom." Finally, among the Greeks, there is Suidas, who in his Histories under the letter "O" the second, or omega, has this: "Origen had Leonides as father, Suidas, Bishop and Martyr: he flourished under the Emperor Severus." But about his episcopate there is elsewhere deep silence. So the Greeks, in whose calendars we have not yet found the name of Saint Leonides inserted.

[2] Saint Jerome, Among the Latins Saint Jerome in the book On Ecclesiastical Writers chapter 54 reports this: "Origen, also called Adamantius, in the tenth year of Severus Pertinax, when a persecution against Christians was stirred up, was left poor by his father Leonides, crowned by the martyrdom of Christ, with six brothers and a widowed mother, being about seventeen years old." The tenth year of Severus, when the persecution began, Rufinus and Peter de Natalibus. falls in the year of Christ 203. Rufinus, in book 6 of Ecclesiastical History chapter 1, and Peter de Natalibus, book 2 chapter 23, have a eulogy drawn from the preceding.

[3] In four apographs of the Hieronymian Martyrology the following is read with exactly the same tenor: "And elsewhere of Leonides, Arator, Quiriacus, Memory in the calendars of 4 Martyrs, Basilia": concerning which a doubt arises, whether

perhaps in place of this particle "and elsewhere" was not written "And Alex." which should be understood as "And at Alexandria": so that from this posterity took the occasion to ascribe the martyrdom of Saint Leonides, father of Origen, to this day. The name of Leonides, without place and companions, is inserted in the MSS. Martyrologies of Augsburg (St. Udalric) and the Parisian of Labbé. and of Leonides alone, Grevenus in the Auctarium of Usuard, printed in the years 1515 and 1521, has this: "Of Leonides Martyr, father of Origen." The same from the said Grevenus Molanus transcribed in the first edition of his Auctarium to Usuard; and Canisius in the German Martyrology. Galesinius in his Martyrology has this: "On this very day, of Saint Leonides Martyr. He was the father of Origen, distinguished by his most patient endurance of torments, at last punished with beheading for the glory of Christ." In the modern Roman Martyrology only this is noted: "At Alexandria, the birthday of Saint Leonides Martyr, who suffered under Severus." Then in the Notes it says he was the father of Origen. If any judge that another Leonides, different from the father of Origen, should be placed here with the three companions, we allow it, since we have used only a probable conjecture.

[4] Saint Leonides the Martyr, father of Origen, is celebrated on the 11th day, in the Martyrology of Richard Whitford, mention of him on February 2 and March 1. formerly printed in English at London: likewise on March 1 by Canisius and Felicius, and in the Brussels MS. of Saint Gudula, but with the deeds of this and of another Leonides, a martyr in the Thebaid, confused. On him we treated at length on January 28.

On the holy Martyrs PARMENIUS, HELYMAS AND CHRYSOTELUS, PRIESTS; LUCAS OR LUCIUS AND MUCIUS, DEACONS; ALSO PRIMULUS AND TUDIANUS, at Cordula in Persia.

IN THE YEAR 251.

Parmenius, Priest, Martyr, at Cordula in Persia (Saint)

Helimas, Priest, Martyr, at Cordula in Persia (Saint)

Chrysotebus, Priest, Martyr, at Cordula in Persia (Saint)

Lucas, Deacon, Martyr, at Cordula in Persia (Saint)

Mucius, Deacon, Martyr, at Cordula in Persia (Saint)

Primulus, Deacon, Martyr, at Cordula in Persia (Saint)

Tudianus, Martyr, at Cordula in Persia (Saint)

BY G. H.

[1] A very ancient apograph of the Hieronymian Martyrology, the Epternach, written nearly a thousand years ago, hands down the memory of all these martyrs in these words: "At Rome, of Gaius the Bishop. And in the city of Cordua, of Parmenius, Elimas, and Chrysolus, Priests, and of the Deacons Lucas and Mucus: of Primulus, Turdianus." In three other apographs of the same Hieronymian Martyrology, Memory in the Martyrology of Saint Jerome, omitting most of it, this is reported: "At Rome in the cemetery of Calestinus, or Callistus, on the Appian Way, the deposition of Saint Gagus the Pope, or Gaius the Bishop, Primolus, Turdianus or Tierdianus." From this also the memory of the last martyrs, without mention of the other Priests and Deacons, is celebrated in the MSS. of Augsburg (St. Udalric) and the Parisian of Labbé; and of Primolus alone in the MSS. of Reichenau and of Aachen. But because Saints Primolus and Turdianus are nowhere joined with Saint Caius the Pontiff, we think that, following the most ancient Epternach MS., they should be left in the society of the aforesaid Priests and Deacons with those set before them, though neither in the Acts shortly to be brought forward, nor in other Martyrologies, are they found joined with them, until a more certain light may shine from elsewhere.

[2] The genuine Martyrology of Bede, published by us before the second volume of March, reports this about the five saints: "On the same day in the city of Cordula, the birthday of Parmenius, of Venerable Bede, Helymas, and Chrysotelus Priests, and Lucas and Mucius Deacons, of whom the first spoke even after his tongue had been cut off. All were hung on the rack and constrained by bonds, then, with burning plates placed around their sides, they were scorched and torn with claws: in the end they were beheaded with the sword in the presence of the persecutor Decius. Written in the passion of Saint Lawrence." Thus in the said Martyrology, more accurately recognized. Similar things are reported in the Martyrologies of Usuard, and of others. Ado, Rabanus, Notker, and other more recent ones. Likewise in very many MSS., and with them in the modern Roman Martyrology, but more briefly. In some, for "Elyma" is read "Helima" and "Helimena," and for "Luca" "Lucius." That these Martyrs were at Babylon, under Bishop Polychronius, as Priests and Deacons, the Acts of the Passion of Saint Lawrence indicate: from which, as we gave on February 17, The deeds of these men excerpted from the Acts of Saint Lawrence, the day on which Saint Polychronius is venerated, what pertained to the Bishop himself; so now we excerpt those things which indicate the deeds of these Martyrs, and they are as follows.

[3] "In those days, when a tempest arose under Decius Caesar, many of the Christians in the city of Rome were put to death. With Galba presiding in the city of Rome, by Decius who conquered the Persians, Decius went to the Persians, when the war of the Persians was pressing. Coming into the city which was called Ponticus, he sat there: the war, however, was being waged. Decius ascended the mountain of the Medes, and, a conflict of battle being joined, with the Roman army he made the victory, and slew a multitude of Persians, and obtained these cities, Babylon, Bactriana, Hyrcania, Cordulim above Cordua, Assyria: where also he found many Christians, whom he killed with tortures and afflictions. At the same time he found in the city of Babylon a Bishop by name Polychronius, with the Priests Parmenius, Elymas, and Chrysotelus; and the deacons Lucas and Mucius. Whom when he had seized, he ordered them to be led to sacrifice to the idols… Then he ordered Polychronius the Bishop, seized at Babylon with Saint Polychronius the Bishop, with his two Deacons and Priests, to be brought before him, whom he thus interrogates, saying: 'Are you that sacrilegious Polychronius, who keeps neither the commandments of the gods nor of the Princes?' But Polychronius answered him not a word. Therefore Decius said to his clergy, 'Your chief has grown dumb.' for whom, while he is silent, Saint Parmenius responds, Parmenius the Priest answered, saying, 'Our Father has not grown dumb, but uses the precept of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Creator, that his holy mouth may not be polluted, which has been purified by our Creator; because thus our Lord commanded his Apostles: "Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them with their feet, and turning tear you." Matt. 7:6 Does it seem right to you, that what is once purified should be fouled with dung?' Decius said: 'So then we are dung.' And angrily he ordered that his tongue be cut off. But when the tongue of Parmenius had been cut out, he began to cry out, saying, 'Blessed Father Polychronius, pray for me, because I see in you the Holy Spirit reigning, and with his tongue cut out he implores his patronage. and sealing your holy mouth, and distilling to me a honeycomb of honey in my mouth: and Polychronius was killed at Babylon.'

[4] "Then Decius marched into the city of Cordula, and ordered the Priests and Deacons, bound, to be brought with him. And as they were being led, the chains fell from their necks and hands. These martyrs are taken away to Cordula. But when Decius came into the city of Cordula, in a fury he ordered the Priests and Deacons to be brought before him. Who, when they had been presented, he thus attacks them, saying: 'And you fools desire to perish? Behold, I admonish you: sacrifice to the immortal gods.' Answering, the Priest Parmenius began to cry out with his voice and say: 'O wretch! Do you compel us to be humbled to this handmade thing? Unhappy one, you ought to desire to be humbled to Christ the Creator of all things, not to the handmade gods. For you shall perish, and your gods with you, they are hung on the rack, whom you unjustly worship.' Then Decius ordered all to be hung on the rack. Who, when they were being drawn by the sinews, all began to give thanks to God and to say to Parmenius the Priest: 'Give a prayer over us.' Parmenius the Priest answered: 'May God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, give us the consolation of the Holy Spirit, who reigns forever and ever.' And all answered with a clear voice, 'Amen.' Then angry, Decius said: 'This argument, that a man without a tongue speaks, is known to be a magical art.' Parmenius answered, saying: 'Our Lord Jesus Christ, who made the dumb to speak, he himself has given to me a sinner to speak without a tongue. For you, while you speak, grow dumb.'

[5] they are burned with glowing plates, and torn with claws: "At that same hour Decius ordered them to be burned with fires. Who, as they were being burned, a voice was heard from heaven: 'Come to me all you humble of heart.' Decius said: 'Truly this is a magical art.' And he ordered burning plates to be placed around their sides, and that they be torn with claws. At the same hour Decius ordered them to be taken down from the rack, and commanded that they be beheaded. When they had been beheaded, they threw their bodies onto the public road, such that they were guarded, so that no one might bury them. Then, when they heard, the sub-kings, religious men, Abdon and Sennes, beheaded, they are buried by Sts. Abdon and Sennes. came by night, and collected the bodies of the holy Priests, Parmenius, Elymas, and Chrysotelus, and of the Deacons Lucas and Mucius, and buried them in their own estate, next to the city of Cordula, on the tenth day before the Kalends of May."

[6] So far the Acts of the Passion of these Martyrs: after which was appended the captivity of Saints Abdon and Sennes, then of Olympiades and Maximus; of whom the latter also were crowned at Cordula, site of the city of Cordula. of whom we treated on April 15. But Abdon and Sennes, taken to Rome, were killed there on July 30. The city Cordula in the MS. Codex of Saint Jerome is written "Cordua," in others also "Corduba," and does not seem to have been far distant from Babylon, from which city Decius marched to Cordula: about which and the time of the martyrdom we treated on February 17 in the Life of Saint Polychronius, and on April 15 in the Life of Saints Olympiades and Maximus.

* above Cordua.

ON SAINT NEARCHUS, Martyr in Armenia.

ABOUT THE YEAR 260.

Nearchus, Martyr among the Greeks (Saint)

G. H.

[1] There flourished in the third century of Christ in Armenia two soldiers, joined by the greatest bond of friendship, both gaining the palm of martyrdom in the confession of the faith: of these, the one slain by the sword Nearchus, the intimate friend of Saint Polyeuctus, is the most celebrated Polyeuctus, whom the Greeks celebrate on January 9, the Latins on February 13: the other is Saint Nearchus, whom, consumed by fire, the Greeks venerate on this April 22. Each Martyr is recognized in the eulogy of the martyrdom, which is brought forward under the said January 9 in the MS. Synaxarion of the Greeks at Paris in the College of Clermont of the Society of Jesus, likewise in the Menaea both printed and handwritten, and with Maximus, Bishop of Cythera, in "Lives of the Saints." in his eulogy. That which is reported under February 13, although it treats chiefly of Saint Polyeuctus, we repeat here, and it is as follows: "The contest of Saint Polyeuctus the Martyr. He under the Emperors Decius and Valerian was a soldier at Melitene in Armenia, and was the first in that province to fall as a Martyr for Christ. For an impious edict was promulgated, by which it was commanded, that either they should abjure Christ, or those not obeying should be punished with death. This man, in no way terrified, freely professed Christ, and with great confidence broke the images which were worshiped by the unbelievers. Wherefore, when he was neither moved by the exhortations and flatteries of his father-in-law, nor stirred by the tears and laments of his wife, but steadfast in his covenant with Nearchus

the Martyr, his friend, who feared that he himself might fall away from the faith of Christ, and being strengthened, he persevered in his confession; and ended his life by the sword: whose festival is celebrated in the most holy temple of that Martyr himself." Thus there, which same things are read in the New Anthology of the Greeks, composed by Antonio Arcudio, Archpriest of Soleto, He is held as a Martyr. by commission and mandate of Cardinal Giulio Antonio Santori, and dedicated to Pope Clement VIII: and everywhere in the said eulogy it is so contained in Greek: "But strengthening his covenant with the Martyr Nearchus, his friend, who was fearing his falling away from the faith of Christ."

[2] We gave on February 13 a double Acts of the martyrdom of Saint Polyeuctus, one set shorter from a Latin MS., the other from a Greek MS. of the Vatican library: he instructed him in the faith: in which in the first chapter is described the friendship of Polyeuctus, still a Gentile, and of Nearchus the Christian; and the fear of the latter, lest the former, because of the edicts against Christians, should shrink back from it. Then in the second chapter is indicated the conversion of Polyeuctus, and his instruction in the faith by Nearchus, and the edict of the Emperor and the idols broken by him. In the third chapter is described the unconquered spirit of Polyeuctus amid the laments of his father-in-law and wife: he was present at the Martyrdom. who at last, not forgetful of the friendship of Nearchus, but looking upon him, said, "Farewell, Nearchus, and remember our covenant." With this word nobly left to his friend as a last gift, he proceeded to the sword, and through it, with a cheerful spirit, he underwent death. When therefore in this way the divine Polyeuctus had ended his life, those among the brethren who were more diligent lay his sacred body to rest at Melitene, a city of Armenia, and acquire an eternal inheritance for themselves. Nearchus also ministered there, and received the blood of his Martyr friend, with the Blood received, he departs to the city of the Cananeotae. and carrying it placed upon a clean linen cloth, carried it to the city of the Cananeotae, bringing to them the weapons of salvation and a truly blessed inheritance. So the Greek Acts. But the Latin ends with these words: "Polyeuctus, having at last turned to blessed Nearchus, admonished him that by the agreement he should follow: and bidding him farewell, he was consummated in a glorious death."

[3] But what that city of the Cananeotae is, in the Greek MS. "he Kananeoton polis," is so far unknown to us: that it was at least in Armenia seems probable: and perhaps there Nearchus the Martyr died. His martyrdom in the printed Menaea, and in the Chifflet MSS., and with Maximus, Bishop of Cythera, is touched upon in these few words on this April 22: "On the same day the holy Martyr Nearchus ends his life in the fire." His constancy is declared in an appended distich, in which he is introduced thus addressing Christ: "Because of the inflamed divine desire for you, O Savior, Nearchus cries out, the fire will not separate me from you." If, however, anyone should think that this Nearchus, consumed by fire, must be distinguished from the companion or friend of Saint Polyeuctus, not wishing to define that this one really died a Martyr; and should prove the distinction of the two from other documents, we shall willingly assent. So far we have not found anything but the veneration of one, and this seemed to us sufficient for this place.