ON STS. ANICETUS THE COUNT, PHOTINUS OR PHOTIUS,
AND SEVERAL OTHERS, MARTYRS OF NICOMEDIA.
Perhaps in the year CCCV or CCCVI.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
The cult, eulogy, kinship, time of the martyrdom, Acts.
Anicetus, Martyr, at Nicomedia (S.)
Photinus, Martyr, at Nicomedia (S.)
Several other Martyrs at Nicomedia
BY THE AUTHOR J. P.
To these two Martyrs, whom we have just named, the Latins as well as the Greeks pay a public cult. The Menology of Sirleto records them on this day thus: The birthday of the holy martyrs Photius and Anicetus, The public veneration of Sts. Anicetus and Photius among the Greeks: who, having confessed Christ at Nicomedia under the emperor Diocletian, endured many and various torments. The great printed Menæa also announce both, and sing their palm in these verses:
The unconquered fire consumes Photius together with Anicetus, Whom the house of light bears away as unconquered.
[2] The poet alludes to the proper names of Anicetus and Photius: verses concerning them, the first of which, if you refer it to the verb νικάω, that is, I conquer, I overcome, and attend to the alpha privative which is prefixed to that same name, may be rendered in Latin "unconquered" or "insuperable." But the second, considering the Greek word φῶς, φωτός, that is, light or fire, you may interpret in Latin as though Photius were "shining" or "gleaming," so that the sense is that these unconquered Athletes flew from the earthly fire, by which they consummated their martyrdom, to the shining courts of the heavenly hall. Observe in passing that both are also marked on this day in the Typicon of St. Sabas, as it is called; but in Possevino, volume 2 of the Sacred Apparatus, where the Calendar of the Ruthenians is extant, page 368, mention is made of the Martyr Photius alone. Further, our Sirmond-Chifflet Supplement to the printed Menæa has this concerning the place of their public veneration at Constantinople, from Sirmond's manuscript: "And their assembly is celebrated in their most holy martyrium which is in the Strategion." That is: Their solemnity is celebrated in their most holy oratory which is in the Strategion. Du Cange, Christian Constantinople, book 1, page 80, will teach you various things about the Strategion. I forbear to say that both are also inscribed on this day in our Greek transcripts of the Menæa of the Ambrosian library, in the Slavo-Russian Menology of Sparwenfeld, and in our Arabic-Egyptian Martyrology. The Greeks in the great Menæa recite their sacred Office partly of them, partly of St. Maximus (of whom it will be spoken on the XIII of this month with the Roman Martyrology).
[3] The Synaxary from the Menology collected by order of the emperor Basil records them on the XI of this month, and honors them with the following eulogy, and the eulogy which was printed in Greek at the end of the first volume of this month of August, page 665; but rendered into Latin it sounds thus: Photius and Anicetus were martyrs of Christ in the reign of Diocletian. Now Photius was the nephew of Anicetus by a brother or sister. But when Diocletian at Nicomedia, before an assembled gathering of the people, brought forth into the midst torments of every kind, and threatened that if anyone should profess himself a Christian he should be punished with death, Anicetus, who was present, cried out with a loud voice that he was a Christian: and, being seized, he was violently beaten; and he showed that the beasts which were let loose against him were gentler than sheep. Then, prayers being poured forth, he shattered a statue of Hercules. But sentence having been received that he should be beheaded, when it was on the point of being cut off, he made the hand of the lictor withered by his prayers. Then Photius, running up, gave him a kiss, and, being seized, was bound together with him: and after both had been afflicted with various torments, at length they consummated their martyrdom by fire. Here the reader has a compendious idea of the Acts which will afterward be given.
[4] Of the kinship Photius is said above to be the nephew of Anicetus by a brother or sister; for indeed in the Greek text of that Synaxary it is asserted that he was his ἀνεψιός; and that name signifies univocally the son of a brother or of a sister: of which matter the Greek Lexicons treat. The Acts of the Imperial library of Vienna, of which below, the Martyrdom of the Vatican library, and the great Menæa published in print write that St. Photius was the ἀδελφιδοῦς of St. Anicetus — a different word indeed, but one of the same signification as that already mentioned, and therefore the son of Anicetus's brother or sister, or the nephew of Anicetus by a brother or sister — so that we do not sufficiently understand for what reason our Rader in his translation of those Menæa, which we keep in manuscript, restricting the word ἀδελφιδοῦν, calls St. Photius the nephew of St. Anicetus by a sister. Then, he says, his nephew by his sister, Photius, ran up, and, embracing his uncle, kept calling him his father and his savior and his uncle. And indeed the word θεῖος, by which St. Photius is said in the alleged Menæa to have addressed St. Anicetus, signifies univocally a paternal uncle as well as a maternal. The Roman Martyrology calls Photius the brother of Anicetus, as does also the compendium of the Acts published in Surius at the day 2 of September; which may perhaps have happened in these because for the word ἀδελφιδοῦς either the copyists wrote, or the translator read, ἀδελφός, which denotes a brother.
[5] which existed between them. Whatever it be, there seems to be the stronger reason for the former signification, expressed by two different terms nevertheless signifying the same. What has been said is confirmed from the Onomasticon of Julius Pollux printed in Greek and Latin at Amsterdam in the year 1706, in which, book 3, chapter 2, page 277, it is thus read: "But the son of a brother or of a sister is ἀδελφιδοῦς." The son of a brother or of a sister, a cousin. He had premised in the same place: "But the father's brother is θεῖος … and the mother's brother is θεῖος." The father's brother, a paternal uncle .. but the mother's is called a maternal uncle. And at the place cited, page 279: "The children of brothers are ἀνεψιοί, whether they be from paternal uncles, or from maternal uncles, or from a brother and a sister." The children of brothers are called cousins, whether they be from brothers begotten of the same father, or from uterine ones, or from a brother or a sister. But, these grammatical trifles being bidden farewell, let us return to the public cult of our holy Champions.
[6] Sts. Anicetus and Photius indeed are named alone in the Greek Records which we brought forward before; Their cult with several others among the Latins. but that several other anonymous ones are to be joined to them, besides the copies to be indicated below in the Annotations, the Acts which we are to give testify; in which treatment is also made of sacred buildings. Meanwhile it did not remain among the Greeks only, but passed also to the Latins, in whose Calendars they deserved to be inscribed, not without a most ample increase of their honor among mortals. For Molanus at the present day added both from the Greek Records to his Usuard of the year 1573 in these words: On the twelfth day, of the holy martyrs Photius and Anicetus. But in the Roman Martyrology several others unnamed are added to them, and they are recited thus: At Nicomedia, of the holy martyrs Anicetus the Count, and Photinus his brother, with several others, under the emperor Diocletian. Observe, first, that for Photius, both here and in the Acts in Surius, Photinus is written. Secondly, that St. Anicetus is there also called Count: concerning which title, if anyone desires to know more, he may consult the authors whom I cited in volume V of July, at the day XXII, in the Preliminary Commentary on St. Joseph the Count, §2, page 242. For the rest, the Saint is also commended for the nobility of his birth in Surius, and also in our transcripts of Saint-Maximin of Trier, of Böddeken, and of Welser. Thirdly, concerning these Martyrs, whom we indicated as marked in the Basilian Synaxary on the XI of this month, but elsewhere on the XII, the Acts in Surius determine thus: And the holy martyrs Anicetus and Photinus with many others suffered on the fourth of the Nones of September. Our manuscripts of Böddeken and of Saint-Maximin of Trier agree. But if they truly suffered then, I do not know what the reason is why by the almost unanimous consent of all the sacred records which I enumerated above they are recorded on this day, the XII of August. But what is to be determined concerning the year of the martyrdom?
[7] Baronius at the year of Christ 311, number 17, reckons our Athletes among the others who at Nicomedia under Maximian obtained the crown of martyrdom; Chronological difficulties not because they suffered in that year, but because it was not established in what year they suffered, he relegated them to the last year of Diocletian's persecution, according to what he had premised in the same place at number 15. But because, he says at number 17, Diocletian of old, as has been said, and afterward Galerius Maximian were wont to dwell there, thence it came about that the city of Nicomedia was held above all others famous for the butchery of holy Martyrs. But since from what has been said their sojourn in that city was frequent, the year of the martyrdom of Sts. Anicetus and Photius cannot be hammered out from it, which the Acts record to have happened at the time when the emperor Diocletian was dwelling there. It must therefore be looked into whether that year can be determined from elsewhere. Welser's manuscript Passion, of which we have a transcript, thus begins: In the second year of the emperor Diocletian a huge fury of persecution against the Christians had blazed up. For this cause many of the Christians, forsaking the worship of the true God, immolated profane sacrifices to idols. But very many, for the vain glory of men, burned the sacred Scriptures in the fire. With the Welserian transcript agree that of Saint-Maximin of Trier and that of Böddeken; although this last differs somewhat in words from these. The same year the Vatican Greek manuscript also notes at the beginning of the narrative of the martyrdom, saying: "In the second year of the reign of Diocletian." But the compendium in Surius: When Diocletian in the city of Nicomedia before a multitude of peoples, etc. The year is not expressed either there, or in the Martyrdom from the Imperial library of Vienna, or in the printed Greek Menæa.
[8] chronological Further, in favor of the Acts which mark that second year of the emperor Diocletian, we consider these things, and think that it can be thus explained. In the year of Christ 302 Diocletian, dwelling in the East, blazed up against the Christians, and pressed impious sacrifices under penalty of the rods, letters having been sent
edicts also, that the soldiers should defile themselves with that superstitious rite, unless they wished to be discharged. And these were as it were the preludes of that most famous and tragic persecution which raged in the next year, 303. But in what manner and for what causes those things were carried out which I noted in passing as having happened in the year 302, Tillemont sets forth at length, volume 5 of the Ecclesiastical Monuments, article 7. Let it therefore be, and let it be posited in favor of the Acts of which I spoke, that the year of Christ 302 was the first of the emperor Diocletian raging then more tolerably. This was followed by the year 303, which, even if it was the first of Diocletian setting on foot a universal and famous persecution against the Christians, yet in respect of that lighter one which I touched upon, why can it not be called the second? However that be, let it be so called for the present on account of the Acts which I have mentioned. These things being thus laid down, what was narrated concerning the sacred Scriptures burned in the fire will cohere. But in what manner that most mournful scene was opened at Nicomedia by Diocletian and Maximian Galerius dwelling there, let us hear briefly from Lactantius, in his book On the Deaths of the Persecutors, chapter 13: A day fit and auspicious for accomplishing the business is sought out, he says, and above all the Terminalia are chosen, which are on the seventh before the Calends of March .. And when that day had dawned, the two old men holding the consulship, the eighth and the seventh, suddenly, while the light was still doubtful, the prefect * came to the church with generals and tribunes and accountants; and, the doors being torn away, an image of God is sought. The Scriptures being found are burned, etc.
[9] concerning the time of the martyrdom But let us go forward to the following years, and weigh to which of them the death undergone for Christ by Sts. Anicetus and Photius can be attached, according to what is related in their Acts. The Acts affirm that the contest of the Martyrs lasted three years. For according to the Imperial copy, below among us at number 4: After he (Diocletian) had beaten them with scourges and had drenched their wounds with salt, he left them neglected for the space of three years. But afterward, a bath being heated, etc. In Surius are these words: But after three years had been waited out, he ordered the public baths, etc. In that three years the Greek Menæa also agree; and, if we believe our transcripts of Welser, of Saint-Maximin of Trier, and of Böddeken, a completed three years. But now, since the month of their first entering upon the contest is not ascertained by us, let us give it about March or April, or, if you prefer, the summer of the year 303; to which, if you add the aforesaid three years, you will come to the year 306; which three years will be complete, as the transcripts adduced would have it, if our Heroes consummated the course of their contest on the fourth of the Nones of September. The aforesaid collector of the Ecclesiastical Monuments, volume 5, article 31, judges that the Martyrdom of our Champions can be attached to the same year which I have fixed, if we are willing to have any regard for what their Acts and the Menæa say. And these things indeed which we have said proceed according to the narrative of the Acts; but, that former difficulty of the same being somehow explained, a new and greater difficulty presents itself in them, which we cannot combine with that year.
[10] Diocletian in the year 305, on the Calends of May, abdicated the empire at Nicomedia or in its territory; in fixing which year Tillemont himself also assigns in the chronological table at the end of volume 5, page 810, and Pagi in the Baronian Criticism at the said year, number 6. Besides, that emperor, the purple being laid aside, did not then remain at Nicomedia, but betook himself thence to his native soil, as the same collector of the Monuments reports from Eutropius, volume 4, article 22, page 52 — that is, into Dalmatia, in which he withdrew to Salona, to live a private life. But let us hear Eutropius himself, who among the lesser Greek writers of Roman history, in his Breviary toward the end of chapter 9, from page 127 of the Frankfurt edition of the year 1590, is brought in speaking thus in the Latin version: When Diocletian, his age growing heavy, felt himself little fit for governing the empire, he was the author to Herculius that they should withdraw into private life .. with which his colleague grudgingly complied. Nevertheless both on one day exchanged the insignia of empire for private dress; Diocletian at Nicomedia, Herculius at Milan .. Then the one withdrew to Salona, the other into Lucania. Diocletian as a private man grew old in illustrious leisure in a villa which is not far from Salona.
[11] How these things can be combined with the Menæa, and also with the Acts in Surius, are weighed. which Tillemont cites, volume 5, article 31, we do not understand. For in Surius it is said thus: To Diocletian coming to the baths the Saints said: We are victors in every contest. But do you, confounded, devise new punishments against the servants of God. Then he ordered a great furnace to be made, in which he could gather a great throng of Christians. Which being prepared, etc. Then the holy martyrs are recorded as having suffered, that is, been crowned with martyrdom, on the fourth of the Nones of September. In the Menæa are these words: Diocletian devises a furnace .. into which the Saints, being cast, received the end of their contest and the crowns of victory. These things, then, Diocletian will have done at Nicomedia in the year 306, when he had long been in Dalmatia according to what we have said. They do not cohere. But although Tillemont brands the Acts with censure, he might nevertheless have touched with a word that difficulty, with which our other copies also labor; of which we shall presently treat. Since these things are so, if the Martyrs consummated the course of their life while Diocletian was staying at Nicomedia, it must be said that this did not happen after the month of April of the year 305; but if Diocletian was unskillfully thrust into the Acts at their consummation of martyrdom, then it could have happened in the year 306, Galerius Maximian reigning.
[12] The Acts: Concerning the Acts these things occur to be noted. The Greek, to which is appended in our transcript the name of the Vatican library from codex 1671, bear this title: "The Martyrdom of the holy martyrs Photius and Anicetus, and of those who suffered martyrdom with them." That is: The Martyrdom of the holy martyrs Photius and Anicetus, and of those who underwent martyrdom with them. They begin: "In the second year of the reign of Diocletian there was a great madness of the Gentiles against the Christians." That is: In the second year of the emperor Diocletian there was a great madness of the Gentiles against the Christians. But of the three Latin transcripts one is indicated as from the notable manuscript parchment Passional of the month of September of the monastery of Böddeken of the Order of Regular Canons of St. Augustine, diocese of Paderborn, folio XV. We have besides another transcript of the Passion marked as from a manuscript of St. Maximin at Trier; to which two add a third from a manuscript, as is noted, of M. Welser, most ancient, which is indicated as mutilated at the end. I said three copies; but I could truly say one, on account of the fitting agreement of matter and form which they have. Their author is anonymous; but whoever he was, he so arranged and composed his narrative, and stuffed it with so many wonderful variations, that he seems to us to have much of the Metaphrastic genius; so that accordingly we have judged it better not to print Acts of this sort, especially since their substance can be seen in the compendia of the history.
[13] The Surian one, to which this title is prefixed — The Martyrdom of Sts. Anicetus the Count and Photinus his brother with their companions, as they are found in a most ancient manuscript codex — we shall not here reprint, since it agrees in substance with the compendium which we are about to give in Greek and Latin. That was preserved among us among other Greek copies which pertain to the month of August, and were transcribed from a manuscript codex of the Imperial library of Vienna; concerning which see Lambeck in the Commentaries of that library, book 8, page 100 and following. For the rest, it is marked with this title: "In the month of August, the 12th: The Martyrdom in compendium of the holy martyrs Anicetus and Photius." That is: In the month of August, on the day XII, the Martyrdom in compendium of the holy martyrs Anicetus and Photius. This therefore we shall give in Latin, both because we do not know that it has hitherto been published, and because it briefly represents the contests endured by the Saints for Christ; which the great Greek Menæa also do.
Annotata* read: the prefect
A COMPENDIUM OF THE MARTYRDOM
By an anonymous author,
From a manuscript codex of the Imperial library of Vienna. Translated by J. P.
Anicetus, Martyr, at Nicomedia (S.)
Photinus, Martyr, at Nicomedia (S.)
Several other Martyrs at Nicomedia
By an Anonymous author.
When the emperor Diocletian was haranguing the senate at Nicomedia against the Christians, and a multitude of instruments of torture had been set forth in the midst, and all were shaken and gripped with fear, holy Anicetus, having holy Photius as his nephew, cleaving his way through the middle of the crowd, laughed at the audacity of the emperor and at his threats, and confessed with a loud voice the name of Christ, in freedom of speech discoursing with divine wisdom of his generation without beginning and eternal, and proclaiming the dispensation which in the last times came to pass for the salvation of men, refuting and branding by name the vain error of the gods of the Gentiles, and going through the uncleanness of each one. And when Diocletian heard these words which holy Anicetus set forth, and saw the multitude of the people assenting to the words of the Martyr and agreeing to abide in the faith of Christ, boiling over with rage he tore his own robe, and commanded the multitude of the army to seize and destroy those who assented to the confession of Christ, had not Placidas the general persuaded him to leave off his rage.
[2] Holy Anicetus therefore is beaten with ox-sinews to the bones, and is thrown to a lion of enormous size, so that from the fear and the roaring of the beast holy Anicetus was drenched with much sweat. And the lion, looking upon him, with its right paw and its tongue wiped away the sweat of his face after the manner of a sponge. Then the Saint prayed to God, giving thanks for this great wonder. And when his prayer was fulfilled, an earthquake occurred, and the idol of Hercules fell and became dust; nay, and also the northern part of the city, so that many of the Gentiles perished in the collapse. After this holy Anicetus receives the sentence of death by the sword, and, when the executioner had raised his blade to cut off the Saint's head, his hand remained motionless. He is therefore bound again upon a wheel, a fire being spread beneath, and there, being dismembered and burned, he prayed. And straightway his bonds were loosed, and the wheel stood motionless, and the fire was quenched.
[3] But being hurled again into the boiling of a heated cauldron, he sees an angel of the Lord receiving him, changing the boiling into water and preserving him unharmed. Diocletian, beholding these things, blasphemed and cursed his own gods. But holy Photius then, running up, kissed the Athlete of God, his own uncle Anicetus, refuting the emperor Diocletian for the vanity and the error of his gods. Then they put iron collars about the Saints upon their feet, and cast them into prison. And as the Saints were going away to the prison, the holy martyr Lucian, a prisoner with his disciples, meeting them, greeted them and strengthened them in the faith of Christ. After this they are torn with claws and burned with fire,
and in the theater they are stoned, so that they were covered over by the stones, yet remained unharmed; and, putting timbers upon their feet, they caused them to be dragged by wild horses. But when their bonds were broken, they stood up and glorified God.
[4] Having therefore scourged them, and drenched their wounds with salt, he left them uncared for over the space of three years. And after this, having heated for three days what is called the bath of Antoninus, he cast the Saints in there. But when they had prayed, the marbles were dissolved, and a multitude of waters gushed forth, so that they were as in a dewy paradise. And again he prepares a furnace like a melting-pot, supported by strong pillars, and, having heated this, he cast the Saints in. And the Saints prayed thus: We give you thanks and glorify you, Lord Jesus Christ, only-begotten Son of God, because you have deemed us worthy to come to this stadium of your good confession; do you, O Master, who stretched out your undefiled hands upon the cross, and slew the adversary enemy and foe of our souls, turn not away from us, your sinful and unprofitable servants, but receive our souls and set us in order with your saints. And give, O Lord, your peace to the world, and grant knowledge, O Master, to those who do not know you, that, knowing you, and your most holy Father and our God, and your all-holy and life-giving Spirit, they too may be saved, being delivered from the error of the demon who is the author of evils, and may glorify you with us, because you are blessed and glorified unto the ages. Amen.
[5] And after they had prayed, all beholding, they delivered up to the Lord their God-speaking souls in peace; and their bodies were on the grate of the fire until the sixth hour, as though alive, not even a hair of theirs being burned. Therefore the tyrant's servants, letting down iron flesh-hooks, drew up the remains of the Saints, and their kinsmen, having tended them with linen cloths and ointments, set them forth publicly. But the Christians, running together of their own accord, filled the whole furnace, crying with a loud voice that We are Christians. And after some years Dulcitius the chorepiscopus, having found the remains of the Saints, laid them up in different places, having built oratories; of which one is that of the holy Anicetus and Photius in Daphnusia the peninsula; in which yearly the memory of the holy Martyrs is conspicuously accomplished. And the grace of their healings dwells in it; by whose intercessions may God grant to us also the forgiveness of our offenses, and make us worthy to obtain his eternal good things in Christ Jesus our Lord; to whom be glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen.
St. Anicetus setting himself against the raging Diocletian While the emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia was speaking publicly to an assembly against the Christians, and a multitude of torments was being brought forth into the midst, and all were disturbed and constrained with fear, St. Anicetus, who had St. Photius as his nephew by a brother or sister a, breaking through the middle of the crowd, hissed off the emperor's audacity and threats, and confessed the name of Christ with a loud voice, freely and skillfully in divine matters teaching the generation without beginning and everlasting, and also proclaiming the dispensation which in the last times was made for the salvation of men; he convicted and branded with infamy by name the foolish error of the gods of the Gentiles, the impurity of each being set forth. And when Diocletian heard these words uttered by St. Anicetus, and saw that it was fixed in the mind of the multitude of the people, who assented to the words of the Martyr, to cleave to the faith of Christ, burning with fury he tore his own clasped robe b; and he would have ordered the multitude of the army to seize and take out of the way those who supported the confession of Christ, had not Placidas, the general of the soldiery, persuaded him to desist from his fury.
[2] And so St. Anicetus is beaten with ox-sinews down to the bones, he is tortured with various torments: to whom St. Photius joins himself. and is thrown to a lion by far the largest, so that from fear and from the roaring of the beast St. Anicetus was drenched with much sweat. And the lion, beholding him, with its right paw and its tongue wiped away the sweat of his face like a sponge. Then the Saint prayed to God, giving thanks for so great a miracle. And while he was completing his prayers, an earthquake occurring, the idol of Hercules fell to the ground and was reduced to dust, the northern part of the city collapsing at the same time; so that many Gentiles died in the fall. After these things St. Anicetus is condemned by sentence of the sword; but as the lictor raised his blade to cut off the Saint's head, his hand stuck motionless. Then he is bound to a wheel, beneath which a pile of wood had been laid; and, his limbs being broken apart c, while he was being burned, he prayed. And straightway his bonds were loosed, and the wheel stood motionless, and the fire was extinguished.
[3] But being cast again into a pot kindled with fire and boiling, Various other torments he sees an angel of the Lord who received him, made the heat of the burning cold like water, and preserved him unharmed. Diocletian, beholding these things, assailed his own gods with curses and imprecations. But then St. Photius, running up, kissed the Athlete of God, his paternal or maternal uncle Anicetus, rebuking the madness of the emperor Diocletian and the error of his gods. Afterward they place iron collars about the feet of the Saints, and cast them into prison. But as the Saints went out from the prison, the holy martyr Lucian d, bound in chains together with his disciples, meeting them, gave them the greeting of a kiss, and confirmed them in the faith of Christ. After these things they are scraped, tormented with the burning of fire, and in the theater are so stoned that they were covered under the stones; yet they remained unharmed. Besides this, throwing timbers upon their feet, they caused them to be dragged apart by untamed horses: but, their bonds being broken, they stood upright and praised God.
[4] But after Diocletian had beaten them with scourges and had drenched their wounds with salt, being gloriously overcome, he left them neglected for the space of three years e. But afterward, the bath which they call Antoninus's having been heated for three days, he cast the Saints into it. And while they prayed, the marbles were dissolved f, and a multitude of waters flowed forth, so that they were as it were in a dewy paradise. Besides this, he built a furnace like an oven supported by strong columns; and when he had kindled it, he cast the Saints into it. But the Saints prayed thus: We give you thanks and glorify you, Lord Jesus Christ, only-begotten Son of God, because you have deemed us worthy of the honor of coming to this stadium of your excellent confession; do you, Lord, who stretched out your immaculate hands upon the cross, and slew the enemy and foe adverse to our souls, turn not away from us, your sinful and unprofitable servants, but receive our souls and place them with your Saints. Give likewise, Lord, your peace to the world; grant knowledge, Lord, to those who do not know you, that, knowing you, and your most holy Father and our God, and also your most holy and life-giving Spirit, they too may be saved, delivered from the deception of the demon who is the author of evils, and may glorify you with us, because you are blessed and glorified for ever. Amen.
[5] [both consummate their martyrdom in the furnace. Their bodies unharmed, many others converted; their cult.] Their prayers being ended, all beholding, they delivered to the Lord in peace their souls that were pleasing to God. And their bodies remained in the coals of the fire until the sixth hour as though alive, not even a hair of theirs being singed. But the tyrant's servants, letting down iron forks, drew out the bodies of the Saints; which their kinsfolk, paying the last rites with ointments and linen cloths, set forth publicly. But the Christians, running together of their own accord, filled the whole furnace, crying with a loud voice: We are Christians g. But after some years Dulcitius the chorepiscopus, having found the bodies of the Saints, laid them up in different places where he had built oratories; of which one, sacred to Sts. Anicetus and Photius, stands in the peninsula of Daphnusa h: in which with illustrious rite the yearly memory of the holy Martyrs is performed, the frequent grace of healings dwelling in it together with them: by whose intercessions may God grant to us also pardon of our offenses, and make us worthy to obtain his everlasting good things, in Christ Jesus our Lord: to whom be honor and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
ANNOTATIONS.
* δεινοῖς