Diomedes

ON ST. DIOMEDES, PHYSICIAN AND MARTYR,

AT NICAEA IN BITHYNIA,

Under Diocletian.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

His cult, his eulogy; this Martyr confused with another; his church at Constantinople, his head in Italy, his Acts.

Diomedes, physician and martyr under Diocletian (St.)

BY J. P.

That the name of this Martyr is famous among the Greeks is gathered from their sacred records. For on this day he is inscribed in the Typicon The Saint is honored and praised which is wont to be cited under the name of St. Sabas, in the Menology of Sirleto, and in the Slavo-Russian Menology of Sparwenfeld; to which add the great printed Menaea, the Menaeum of Chifflet, and also the Menology of the emperor Basil, from which the eulogy printed among us in Greek in volume 1 of August, here after our custom given in Latin, runs thus: Diomedes, the martyr of Christ, was indeed a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, but practiced the art of medicine. In the reign of Diocletian, leaving Tarsus, he betook himself to Nicaea, deserving well of those who came to him both by his piety toward God and by his knowledge of the art of medicine. Whence he was accused before the emperor. But after those who had come to arrest him found that he had passed to the Lord, they cut off his head and carried it to the emperor: which the emperor, when he had looked upon it, ordered to be carried back and placed with the body. And when this was done, those soldiers who were carrying it back are said to have received back at once the use of their eyes, which they had lost when they were cutting off the Saint's head. His venerable body was committed to burial by faithful and pious men. The great printed Menaea have a similar eulogy of the Martyr, in which he is recorded as born of an illustrious and good family, but better in character.

Ἤθλησε καὶ ζῶν καὶ θανὼν Διομήδης, Προαιρέσει ζῶν καὶ νεκρὸς τομῇ κάρας. Ἕκτῃ καὶ δεκάτῃ νέκυς ἐτμήθη Διομήδους.

Both living and dead does Diomedes triumph: Living, by his purpose; dead, by the cutting of his head. On the sixteenth the body of Diomedes is cut.

Allusion is made to the miracle which is said to have occurred after the Saint's head was cut off. Rader translated these words of the Menaea concerning the same head — Λέγεται παραυτίκα τοὺς ἀγαγόντας αὐτὴν στρατιώτας ἀπολαβεῖν τῶν οἰκείων ὀφθαλμῶν τὴν ἐνέργειαν, ἣν ἀπέβαλον ἐν τῷ τεμεῖν τοῦ Ἁγίου τὴν κεφαλήν — thus in his manuscript translation of the same Menaea which we have: The soldiers who had carried back the head are said to have beheld in his eyes the same force, or splendor and energy, which they had seen when they were severing his neck. But how far Rader has strayed from the genuine sense of the words appears both from the text which we gave above, and that sense is confirmed from elsewhere by what will be said below concerning those soldiers.

[3] St. Diomedes is honored with a public cult among the Latins also. and among the Latins. For Molanus mentions him in the additions to his Usuard on this day, on which Galesinius adorns him with this eulogy: At Nicaea in Bithynia, of St. Diomedes the martyr. He was a citizen of Tarsus, noble by birth, but more illustrious by his piety; and while he practiced medicine, those whose bodies he healed with medicines he cured in soul with the saving precepts of the faith. But when Tarsus was taken by Diocletian, he migrated thence to Nicaea, where he strove to profit all unto salvation, not only by the art of healing, but by his zeal for the Christian religion. And so, when he had been accused before the king, those who were sent to arrest him cut off his head as he confessed the faith. The Roman Martyrology records him thus: At Nicaea in Bithynia, of St. Diomedes the physician, who in the persecution of Diocletian was slain by the sword for the faith of Christ and completed his martyrdom.

[4] Today's Martyr Baronius, in his notes on this announcement, says: Usuard treats both of Diomedes and of his companions on the fourth of the Ides of June. But let us see whether the most eminent Cardinal has not confused two Martyrs of the same name. In the Usuard published by us these things are found not on the fourth, but on the fifth of the Ides of June, that is, on the ninth of that month: At Nicaea, of St. Diomedes. Concerning whom in the Observations in the same place there is this: Diomedes has been plucked out of the Hieronymian Martyrologies and torn away from his companions, being recorded by no other of the more ancient writers. Nothing has been handed down to memory concerning him or his companions except the names alone, variously connected in the Martyrologies, as will also be plain from our supplements.

[5] confused with another of the same name. This Martyr, with four companions, namely Amantius, Mucianus, Alexander, and Januarius, we gave under the said day, the IX of June. In this Diomedes, then, and in the one of today, the names and the arena of the passion do indeed agree, but many other things disagree, so that it seems to us far more probable that the one is to be distinguished from the other. For, 1. The days on which they are honored differ. 2. To today's Martyr is attached the emperor under whom he suffered; not to the other of the same name. 3. Ours was a physician according to the Martyrologies and the Acts; the other is not so called. 4. To ours no companions are joined, but to that one they are. 5. Finally, ours has great veneration both among the Greeks and among the Latins; but that other has mere announcements of the Latins, as may be seen among us in volume 11 of June, at the IX day cited above. Since these things are so, there seems to be no doubt that those Martyrs are, as I may say, wholly different.

[6] A church built at Constantinople by Constantine the Great, But since our Champion has grown famous among the Greeks with so great a renown of name, I think I shall not act amiss if I understand what I am now about to say as referring to him rather than to any other of the same name. Codinus, in his Origins of Constantinople, page 51, says: The church of St. Diomedes Constantine the Great was the first to build; but after him Basil the Macedonian made it greater and fairer, and endowed it with many riches, for the reason that he had received thence the oracle concerning his future empire. Constantine Porphyrogenitus attests and confirms the matter in the Life of Basil the Macedonian, his grandfather, chapter 73, in which he narrates thus: He endowed the great … martyr Diomedes both with precious offerings and with an abundance of books, and adorned him magnificently with other relics and splendid vestments, and richly enriched the monastery built in his name by bestowing great estates and abundant revenues, and provided that it should never lack any necessaries; he also made it illustrious with magnificent structures of buildings, and in every way exalted and enriched it — on that occasion, indeed, as Cangius observes in book 4 of his Christian Constantinople, which besides the same Porphyrogenitus others relate, whom Cangius there alleges.

[7] But let Porphyrogenitus alone be heard, relating in the place cited, chapter 9, these things concerning the same Basil the Macedonian: on which occasion by Basil the Macedonian Setting out therefore from Macedonia in Thrace, he took his way to this city, the queen of all (that is, Constantinople) … And having accomplished the journey, and having come to the Golden Gate of the city, he entered by it when the day was already declining and sinking; and coming to the monastery of the holy martyr Diomedes, which was near, weary from the road, he rested there before the doors, upon the steps set before the vestibule, his body thus carelessly flung down. And behold, about the first watch of the night, the martyr Diomedes, standing by the superior of the monastery in his sleep, bids him go out to the doors of the monastery, and whoever should answer the caller addressing him by the name of Basil, him he was to bring into the monastery and tend carefully, and to impart to him food and shelter and clothing, and finally all necessary care and attendance, and to cherish him so far as his means permitted: for he was anointed by God to be emperor, and would one day lend his aid in building and enlarging the monastery. But when he, thinking the vision rashly presented and an empty fancy of the mind, made no account of the command which he had so beheld, but had given himself again to sleep, he sees and hears the same things a second time. And when he was still more sluggish, and, as it seemed, heavy with sleep, and did not rouse himself, a third time he sees the Martyr, no longer commanding gently and cheerfully, but threatening fiercely, and, as it appeared, attempting to inflict blows, unless he should more quickly perform what was bidden.

[8] Then therefore, as though with difficulty emerging, and shaking from his eyes a sleep close to death, he came to the doors, was afterwards adorned. and, as the Martyr had bidden him, calls him by name: "Basil." To whom he at once replied: "Behold, here I am, my lord. What dost thou command thy servant?" And bringing him into the monastery, when he had seen him covered with squalor and filth, and long burned by the heats of the sun, he applied fitting care and attendance, and received him with all kindness. Then, warning him to keep the secret to himself, and to beware of divulging it to anyone because of the danger of the matter, he discloses to him the Martyr's prophecy, and binds him by an oath that after the event he should remember it. But since Basil seemed not to accept it, as a thing exceeding the measure of his condition, but rather asked that by his introduction he might be permitted to give his service in the attendance of some man of higher rank as one of his retinue, the superior undertook that he would readily perform this: and since he made a rather familiar use of the monastery and often visited it in friendly fashion, the cousin of the emperor Michael and of Bardas the Caesar … the superior commends Basil to him, etc. To these things add, if you please, that not only did there exist at Constantinople a monastery distinguished by the name of St. Diomedes, of which moreover Wadding makes mention in the Annals of the Minorites, volume 3, at the year 1374, number 1, but also a prison to which his name was given, as you will find in Cangius cited above: and this is an indication that his name was not slightly celebrated at Constantinople.

[9] Further, that a notable relic of the Martyr was carried from Constantinople into Italy, His head is said to have been carried into Italy. Ughelli writes in volume 7 of his Italia Sacra, in the metropolitan see of Amalfi, column 243: Outside the city, on the right side, stands the abbey of St. Peter de Canonica of the Cistercian Order, built and endowed by the same most pious Cardinal (namely Peter Capuano, of whom he had just been treating) together with a church in honor of the prince of the Apostles … Here is preserved the head … of St. Diomedes the martyr … and notable relics of other Saints brought from the East by the same Cardinal. That Cardinal is treated of in Chacón's Lives of the Roman Pontiffs and Cardinals, where in volume 1, column [ ], he is written to have departed this life in the year of Christ 1209. As concerns the copies of the Acts, I should wish the following to be observed about them.

[10] Various transcripts of the martyrdom We preserve among others one transcript, which is noted as taken from codex 1671 of the Vatican library. It is entitled Μαρτύριον τοῦ ἁγίου μάρτυρος Διομήδους, The Martyrdom of the holy martyr Diomedes. It begins: Ὅσον μὲν ἔχει θαύματος τὰ τῶν ἁγίων Μαρτύρων ἐκ προθέσεως αὐτῶν ἀγαθῆς ἄθλα, καὶ ἡ ἐνέργεια τῆς ὑπομονῆς αὐτῶν δεικνύουσα τοὺς ἀειθαλεῖς στεφάνους αὐτῶν, οὐ δυνατὸν γλώττῃ λογικῶν ὁμοφύλων ῥηθῆναι. Which we render thus in English: What prizes the holy Martyrs set before themselves for good, and likewise the effectual force of their patience, which displays their ever-green crowns — how great a marvel these things are, no human tongue can tell. Another manuscript copy is at hand with this title: Μηνὶ Αὐγούστῳ ις᾽. Ἐγκώμιον εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ μάρτ. Διομήδην. In the month of August, XVI. A Panegyric upon the holy martyr of Christ, Diomedes. Its opening is: Χθὲς ἡμᾶς ἡ πανύμνητος τῆς ὑπερυμνήτου Μαρίας ὑπερφυῶς ἐξεναγώγησε κοίμησις, καὶ ὑπερλἀμπροις θυμηδίαις καὶ τερπνοτησι μυστικαῖς καὶ ἡδύσμασι τοὺς πνευματικως ἑαυτὴν ἑορτάζοντας κατεύφρανε· σήμερον ὁ μέγας ἀθλοφόρος .. Διομήδης, etc. Which run thus in English: Yesterday the most celebrated falling asleep of Mary, who surpasses all praise, detained us excellently and hospitably, and gladdened with most splendid delights of the soul and with mystic joys, no less than with sweetnesses, those who kept her festival in the spirit. Today the great winner of the prize … Diomedes, etc. This copy has been transcribed from the Caesarean codex of the Vienna library, concerning which more has been said among us in the second volume of August, page 344. Another panegyrical discourse upon our Saint is assigned by Lambeck in book 8 of his Commentaries on the said library, page 199.

[11] are assigned We have another transcript from the same codex, to which these words are prefixed: Μηνὶ Αὐγούστῳ ις᾽. Μαρτύριον σύντομον τοῦ ἁγίου μάρτυρος Διομήδου. That is: In the month of August, XVI. A compendious Martyrdom of the holy martyr Diomedes. This is the beginning: Ὁ ἅγιος μάρτυς Διομήδης ἦν ἐπὶ Διοκλητιανοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀπὸ Ταρσοῦ τῆς Κιλικίας, ἰατρὸς τὴν τέχνην. The holy martyr Diomedes was, in the reign of the emperor Diocletian, from Tarsus of Cilicia, a physician by art. Lastly another copy exists among us, prefaced with these words: Μαρτύριον τοῦ ἁγίου μεγαλομάρτ. Διομήδους τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ ις᾽, which is set down as taken from the Ambrosian codex N. 152, concerning which see at the Life of St. Maximus. See about that codex in this volume 111 of this month, at the XIII day, the Commentary prefixed to the Life of the same Saint, §10, number 80. But the opening and the text of that Martyrdom, together with a Latin translation, will be given afterwards. Let us therefore reason a little concerning these copies, and compare them with one another.

[12] Almost all are anonymous, and contain nearly the same substance of the history. The Vatican and the Caesarean-Viennese adorn it, as appears in the prologue and the addresses. The shortest of all is the Viennese Compendium. and are weighed, the copies being compared with one another The Ambrosian manuscript holds the middle place; and this pleases us above the others, so as to be rendered into Latin and presented in Greek and Latin. Let us return to the Vatican copy, in which the following narrative is related: Λέγεται κόρακα τὸ αἱμοβόρον ὄρνεον προσεληλυθῆναι τοῦ γεύσασθαι ἀπὸ τῶν σαρκῶν τοῦ σώματος, καὶ αὐτὸν ἐνθουσιασθέντα ὥσπερ ἐκ Θεοῦ πνεύματος, κραυγαῖς πληροῦν ὅλον τὸν τόπον, καὶ παραμένειν τῷ σώματι ὥσπερ δέσμιον, μὴ ἐᾷν τε ἄλλα ὄρνεα πλησιάσαι· αὐτὸς δὲ ὅλως μὴ ἁπτόμενος τοῦ σώματος. Καὶ περιπετόμενος ἀχώριστος ἦν ἕως τῆς ταφῆς τοῦ μακαρίου σώματος, ὥστε τοὺς φύλακας τοῦ λογιστοῦ καὶ τῆς σεβαστῆς, τοὺς διὰ τὴν ὀθόνην, μή τις ἀποσκευάσῃ τοῦ σώματος, παραμένοντας, μὴ ἐπαρκεῖν ἀποδιώκοντας αὐτὸν, συνεχῶς περιηπτάμενον καὶ βοῶντα. Ὅμως μετὰ τὴν ταφὴν τοῦ μακαρίου σώματος, ἀφανὴς εὐθὺς γίνεται ὁ κόραξ. Which we render thus:

[13] It is related that a raven, that blood-devouring bird, came near to feed upon the flesh of the body; but, as though inspired by the divine power, it fills the whole place with its cries, and remains by the body as though bound, and does not permit other birds to approach; yet itself did not touch the body at all. And flying about, it could not be torn away thence until the blessed body had been committed to burial: which we have. so that the guards of the logistes (see concerning this word below in the Annotations) and of the venerable Petronia, who had remained there to see the body wrapped in linen, lest anyone should carry it away, were not able to drive it off as it continually went about the body and croaked. But as soon as the blessed body had been buried, the raven at once vanished from sight. Thus far that copy; the credit of which be

with the anonymous author: who concerning the day of his death and burial adds this further: Ἐτελειώθη ἐν τῇ Νικαέων μητροπόλει τῆς Βιθυνίας τῇ πρὸ τριῶν εἰδῶν Αὐγούστων, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν Αὐγούστῳ ια᾽· τῇ δὲ ταφῇ τὸ σῶμα παρεδόθη μηνὶ Αὐγούστῳ ις᾽. He made an end of living in the metropolis of the Nicaeans in Bithynia on the third of the Ides of August, that is, on the eleventh of August; but the body was committed to burial in the month of August, on the XVI. If anything further should occur worthy of observation, it will be said in the Annotations to the Martyrdom, which I subjoin to these things.

THE MARTYRDOM

By Lawrence, monk of Rota in Calabria, from the Ambrosian codex N. 152. Translated by J. P.

Diomedes, physician and martyr under Diocletian (St.)

By Lawrence

[1] Καὶ τὸν κλεινὸν Διομὴδην καλὸν εἰς μέσον προθεῖναι τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ ὑπόθεσιν τοῦτον ποιήσασθαι. Ἔχει γὰρ μετὰ τῆς διηγήσεως αὕτη πολὺ καὶ τὸ χαρίεν. Ἔφυ μὲν ὁ Μέγας οὗτος [ἐκ] χώράς τῆς Κιλίκων πόλεως ἐπιφάνους τῆς Θάρσου. Ἔσχε δὲ γεννήτορας ἀγαθοὺς καὶ τρόποις ἐναρέτοις κεκοσμημένους. Καὶ ἰατρὸς δὲ ἦν ὁ καλὸς Διομήδης οὐ σωμάτων μόνον, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ ψυχῶν, καὶ τὰς ἰατρείας οὐ τῇ τέχνῃ μόνῃ θάῤῥων ἐποίει, τῇ ἐπικλήσει δὲ μᾶλλον Χριστοῦ· παρ᾽ ὃ καὶ πᾶσαν νόσον ἰᾶτο καὶ πᾶσαν ἐθεράπευε μαλακίαν. Τὸν πλοῦτον δὲ τῆς χάριτος αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γνώσεως τὸ τοῦ βίου καθαρὸν, καὶ τὸ πρὸς ἅπαντας συμπαθὲς δια τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ πνεύματος ἐπιλάμψεος αὐτῷ προεξένησεν.

[2] Οὗτος τῶν Νικαέων καταλαβὼν Μεγαλόπολιν, καὶ ἄλλην αὐτὴν ὥσπερ Θαρσὸν ἀγαπήσας ἐνευδοκιμοῦσαν τότε τοῖς ἐπιδόξοις, τῶν συνήθων ἔιχετο πρὸς ἅπαντας εὐεργεσιῶν, καὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοεργεῖν οὐκ ἀπελιμπάνετο· (Διοκλητιανὸς ἐκράτει τότε καὶ Μαξιμιανὸς οἱ καταράτοι) Περιἳὼν γὰρ τὴν πόλιν ἅπασαν, τοῦτο μὲν τὰς νόσους τῶν πολιτῶν, τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς, ὅση δύναμις, ἐθεράπευε, ποτὲ μὲν τοῖς ἐκ τῆς τέχνης, ποτὲ δὲ τοῖς ἐκ πίστεως βοηθήμασιν ἐπανάγων αὐτοὺς καλῶς πρὸς τὴν θεοσέβειαν, καὶπερ ἀγχίθυρον ἔχων κατα τὴν Νικομήδους τὸν δυσσεβῆ βασιλέα, τῆς ἀνυποκρίτου πρὸς Χριστὸν ἀγάπης καὶ πίστεως ἔξω βαλλούσης τὸν φόβον τούτου. Ἠγάπα γὰρ, ὡς ἔδειξε, τὸ παθεῖν δι᾽ αὐτόν. Τί οὖν πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐποίει; Τὰς φυλακὰς αὐτὰς εἰσιὼν, καὶ πάντας μὲν τοὺς ἐν αὐταῖς, ὅση δύναμις, ἐθεράπευε, καὶ τὴν ἔνδειαν αὐτοῖς τῶν ἀναγκαίων παρεμυθεῖτο, καὶ πάντα δὲ δαψιλῶς ἦν τὰ πρὸς ἐπάρκειαν αὐτοῖς ἐπιχορηγῶν, καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς διὰ Χριστόν ἐναθλοῦσι, καὶ τὰ δι᾽ αὐτὸν στίγματα διαφέρουσιν ἐν τοῖς σώμασιν.

[3] Ἰχῶρας μὲν γὰρ τῶν τραυμάτων αὐτῶν ἀπέσμηχε, λουτροῖς θερμοῖς ἐκκαθαίρων, καὶ τὰ ἐκ τῆς τέχνης ἐπιτιθέμενος βοηθήματα· ἀλλὰ καὶ λόγοις ὑπεστήριζε πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας, καὶ τὰ ἐπηγγελμένα δὲ παρὰ Θεοῦ τοῖς οὕτω πάσχουσιν ἀγαθὰ, τῷ λόγῳ τούτοις προσεπεδείκνυεν ὡς ἀθάνατα, ὡς αΐδια, ὡς τέλος μὴ ἔχοντα. Τούτῳ γοῦν τῷ τρόπῳ τῆς ἰατρείας ἀκωλύτως εἰσῄει τὰς φυλακὰς, καὶ παρεθάῤῥυνεν, ὡς εἴρηται, τοὺς Ἁγίους, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἀλείφων στεῤῥοτέρους ἐποίει, τῶν φυλάκων ἀνέτους αὐτῷ χαριζομένων τὰς πύλας, διάτε τὸ πολλάκις αὐτοὺς ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τυχεῖν θεραπείας, καὶ τὰ χρήματα ἔστιν ὅτε λαβεῖν. Παρείχοντο γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν εὐπορούντων αὐτῷ πιστῶν ἐπὶ τούτῳ, καὶ ἦν ταῦτα καὶ τοῖς διδοῦσι καὶ τοῖς λαμβάνουσι φίλα.

[4] Ἀλλὰ τούτων οὕτω πραττομένων οὐκ ἦν ἠρεμεῖν τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἀντικείμενον· ἀναφἐρει γὰρ διὰ τῶν ὑπηρετουμένων αὐτῷ τῷ ἀδίκῳ καὶ πονηρῷ βασιλεῖ, ὡς εἴη τίς ἰατρὸς ἐν τῇ Νικαέων Διομήδης ὀνομαζόμενος, πᾶσαν, ὡς εἰπεῖν, τὴν πόλιν τῆς τῶν θεῶν ἀποστήσας λατρείας, καὶ τῷ Ἐσταυρωμένω προσαγαγών. Αὐτίκα τοίνυν ὁ τοῦ πονηροῦ δαίμονος πονηρότατος ὑπηρέτης δέσμιον αὐτὸν ἀχθῆναι κελεύει κατα τὴν Νικομήδους. Ἤγετο τοιγαροῦν χαίρων καὶ ἀγαλλόμενος καὶ πολλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δεόμενος, μὴ παριδεῖν αὐτὸν ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσι, μὴ χώραν δοῦναι τῷ δυσσεβεῖ παρατρέψαι τοῦτον τῆς ἀληθείας. Ἔμελε δὲ τούτῳ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἁγίων· ναὶ μὲν καὶ μεῖναι καὶ αὐτοὺς ηὔχετο στεῤῥοὺς καὶ ἀμετακινήτους ἐν τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ τῆς πίστεως.

[5] Καὶ ὅρα μοι ξένον τινὰ μαρτυρίου τρόπον καὶ ὑπερέκπληκτον. Νῦν καιρὸς εἰπεῖν καὶ ἡμᾶς κατα τὸν Δαβὶδ· Ὡς ἀνεξερεύνατα τὰ κρίματα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστοι αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ. Ἀγόμενος γὰρ δέσμιος ἐπὶ τῶν σταλέντων στρατιωτῶν κατενεχθῆναι βραχὺ τοῦ ὀχήματος ἐξαιτεῖ· κᾀκεῖνοι τῶν τοῦ σώματος ἀναγκαίων χάριν ὑπολαβόντες τὴν αἴτησιν, κατενεχθῆναι τοῦτον ἐκέλευσαν. Κατενεχθεὶς οὖν καὶ μικρὸν παρεκκλίνας τὴν ὁδὸν ὁ Θαυμάσιος, τὰ γόνατα θεὶς προσηύχετο (ἔγνω γὰρ πάντως τῇ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ πνεύματος χάριτο τὸ μέλλον εἰς αὐτὸν γεγονῆσθαι) καὶ οὕτω ποιῶν παρέδωκε τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ Κυρίῳ. Οἱ τοίνυν στρατιῶται χρονίζοντα τοῦτον τῇ εὐχῇ κατιδόντες διελογίζοντο τί ἄρα τὸ τῆς βραδύτητος εἶναι θέλει τῷ Μάρτυρι. Ὡς οὖν προσιόντες εἶδον αὐτοῦ τῶν δεσμῶν ἀνειμένας τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ τοὺς ἀλκῶνας τῇ γῇ προσεστηριγμένους, ἐξεπλήττοντο, διηπόρουν, οὐκ εἶχον ὅτι καὶ συλλογίσονται.

[6] Ἀποβάντος οὖν τῶν ἵππων καὶ διαναστῆσαι τοῦτον ἐπιχειρήσαντες, ὡς ἀκίνητον εἴδον καὶ νεκρὸν χρηματίζοντα, διεμέριζον τὸν νοῦν καθ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς τί καὶ πράξουσι. Φόβος γὰρ εἴχεν αὐτοὺς ὁ βασιλικὸς, εἰ τοῦτον καταλείψειαν. Ἀνθεῖλκε δὲ λογισμὸς ἕτερος, ὡς τί ἄρα καὶ ἔσται νεκρὸς αὐτῷ κομιζόμενος. Ὅμως νικᾷ τοῦτο τὸ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ Μάρτορος ἀποτεμόντας τῷ τυράννῳ κομίσαι, ἵν᾽ ἔξω συντηρήσωσιν ἑαυτοὺς ὑπονοίας. Γίνεται τοῦτο, καὶ μάρτυς ἀπαράγραπτος ὁ Διομήδης γνωρίζεται. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ προήθλησε ταῖς τῶν Ἁγίων ἐπισκέψεσι, καὶ ταῖς εἰς αὐτοὺς παραινέσεσιν, ἔτι τε καὶ τῇ τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἐλπίδι, καὶ τῷ προθύμῳ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ γενναίῳ· ἀλλ᾽ οὖν καὶ τομὴν ὑπέστη μαρτυρικὴν κρίμασιν οἷς εἶδε Θεὸς, καὶ τέλειος ἑκατέρωθεν ἀνηγόρευται στεφανίτης. Τμηθείσης οὖν τῆς παντίμου αὐτοῦ κεφαλῆς, εὐθὺς οἱ στρατιῶται τὰς ὄψεις συναπετμήθησαν, καὶ περιῆγον τυφλοὶ μήδε τὸ σύνολον καθορῶντες τὸ φῶς.

[7] Περιαγόμενοι τοίνυν σὺν τῇ μαρτυρικῇ κεφαλῇ, τὴν Νικομήδους κατέλαβον, καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ προσιόντες, τὸ πρᾶγμα γνωρίζουσι, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῷ προσκομίζουσι. Καὶ ὃς, εἰ καὶ διὰ θαύματος τὸ πραχθὲν ἐκομίσατο, ὅμως μηδέντι προσθέμενος, τῷ λοιπῷ σώματι ταύτην ἀποδοθῆναι κελεύει, τὸ αἰδέσιμον τοῦ Ἀνδρὸς ἐκ ταύτης καταμαθών. Αὐτίκα γοῦν οἱ στρατιῶται τὸν τόπον ἐκεῖνον, εἰς ὃν τὸ μαρτυρικὸν ἔκειτο λείψανον, τάχος καταλαβόντες (ἐτήρει γὰρ αὐτὸ τῆς Νικαέων ὁ λογιστὴς παραδεδομένον αὐτῷ παρ᾽ αὐτῶν διὰ τὸν τοῦ τυράννου φόβον ἅμα τῷ συνάψαι τὴν κεφαλὴν τῷ τοῦ Μάρτυρος σώματι) καὶ τὸ βλέπειν ἀπέλαβον ὡς τὸ πρότερον, καὶ τὴν θεογνωσίαν ἠσπάσαντο, καὶ Θεὸν τὸν Χριστὸν ὡμολόγησαν, καὶ τὴν ἐλληνικὴν ἀπελάβοντο πλάνην· ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ πολλοὺς ἄλλους μεταστήσαντες ἐξ αὐθῆς τῷ Χριστῷ προσηγάγοντο.

[8] Πετρωνία γοῦν τις συνὴ πλούτῳ κομοῦσα βαθεῖ, χρήμασι, τὸν λογιστην ἠττήσασα τὸ μαρτυρικόν σου λαμβάνει σῶμα, Πανάριστε, καὶ πολιτίμοις έν σινδόσιν εἰλίξασα, καὶ μύροις ἀλείψασα (καὶ γὰρ ἀπέλαυσέ ποτε τῆς ἀπό σου θεραπείας ἐφ᾽ αἷς εἶχε περιωδυνίαις τοῦ σώματος) φιλοτίμως κατέθετο. Καὶ νῦν τοὺς οὐρανοὺς κατοικῶν, πανοίδημε, τῷ δεσποτικῷ σὺν ἀγγέλοις παρίστασαι θρόνῳ, βράβευσον ἡμῖν ταῖς ἱκεσίαις σου τὴν κληρουχίαν τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν· ὅτι τῷ Θεῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.

The Saint was renowned It is a fair thing both to set the renowned Diomedes forth in the midst by our discourse, and to take him for our theme. For this theme, together with the narrative, has much of grace in it. This great Man drew his birth from Tarsus ^a, an illustrious city of the region of Cilicia. He obtained good parents, distinguished for their religious character. And the good Diomedes was a physician not only of bodies, but also of souls; nor did he effect his healings relying upon his art alone, but rather upon the invocation of Christ. For which cause he both healed every disease and cured every infirmity. And the integrity of his life and his compassion toward all won for him the riches of this grace through the illumination of the good Spirit.

[2] Having set out for the great city of Nicaea ^b, and loving it no otherwise than as another Tarsus, both a physician of the diseases of the body distinguished at that time by illustrious men, he held to his accustomed beneficence toward all, and did not omit to deserve well of all. (Diocletian ^c and Maximian, men to be execrated, were then reigning.) For going about the whole city, he cured, partly indeed the diseases of the citizens, partly also their souls, so far as he could, leading them nobly to the worship of God with helps drawn sometimes from his art, sometimes from the faith; and although he had the impious emperor near at hand to Nicaea, he cast out fear by his sincere love and faith toward God: for he loved, as he showed, to suffer for Him. And besides other things, what did he do? He entered the very prisons, and cared, so far as he could, for all who were held in them, and relieved their lack of the things they needed, liberally supplying all that might be of help, and chiefly to those who were contending for Christ and who bore about upon their bodies the marks endured for His sake.

[3] For he cleansed away the corruption of their wounds, purging them with warm baths, and a physician of the soul. and applying other remedies drawn from his art. Nay more, he strengthened them by his discourses for the contests; and what good things have been promised by God to those who so suffer, he set forth to them in his discourse as immortal, as everlasting, as having no end. By this method of healing, then, he entered the prisons freely, and roused the Saints, as has been said, and anointing them for the struggles he made them the firmer; the keepers granting him entrance with all readiness, both because they often obtained cures from him, and because it sometimes happened that they received money: for money was given him to this end by wealthy believers, and these gifts were welcome both to the givers and to the receivers.

[4] He is led bound from Nicaea to Nicomedia; But while these things were thus being done, the enemy of good men from the beginning could not be quiet. For through his ministers he reports to the wicked and malignant emperor that there was a certain physician at Nicaea, by name Diomedes, who was turning, so to speak, the whole city away from the worship of the gods, and bringing it over to the Crucified. Straightway therefore the more malignant minister of the malignant demon orders him to be led bound to Nicomedia. He was led away, then, rejoicing and exulting, and earnestly praying God not to despise him in his tribulations, nor to give place for him to be turned aside from the truth by the impious man. And he had a care also for the other Saints; nay rather, he prayed that they too might remain firm and unmoved in the confession of the faith.

[5] but on the journey And behold a certain unusual manner of martyrdom, and to me exceedingly wonderful. Now is the time for us also to say that word of David: How unsearchable are the judgments of God, and His ways past finding out! For as he was being led bound

while he was being led bound, he asked of the soldiers who had been sent that he might come down from the vehicle for a short delay. They, supposing that this was requested for the necessity of the body, ordered him to come down. When therefore that wonderful Man had come down and had turned a little aside from the road, he knelt and prayed (for by the grace of the good Spirit he knew altogether what was about to befall him); and while so doing he gave up his soul to the Lord. The soldiers therefore, seeing him lingering in prayer, conferred among themselves as to what the Martyr's delay might mean. When therefore, drawing near, they saw his hands loosed from their bonds, and his elbows resting upon the earth, struck with amazement they knew not what to do, nor had they anything to conclude.

[6] he expires in a wondrous manner, and his conductors are struck blind, After therefore they had dismounted from their horses and had tried to raise him up, when they saw that he was motionless and dead, they were divided in their opinions among themselves as to what they should do. For they feared the emperor, if they should leave him. But another thought occurred: what indeed would come of it, if a dead man were carried to him. And at the same time this prevailed, that they should carry the severed head of the Martyr to the tyrant, whereby they might keep themselves free from suspicion. This is done, and Diomedes is recognized to be a genuine martyr: since he anticipated the contest by his visiting of the Saints, by his exhortations to them, and moreover by his hope of martyrdom, and by his eager and noble spirit. Add that he underwent the stroke of martyrdom by judgments known to God, and was declared on both sides a perfect and crowned Champion. When therefore his wholly venerable head had been cut off, presently the soldiers were punished with a severing in their eyes, and went about blind, seeing no light at all.

[7] and then recover the light of body and of soul. Going about therefore with the Martyr's head, they came to Nicomedia, and approaching the emperor, they disclose the matter and bring the head to him. And he, although by a miracle he perceived what had been done, yet adding nothing whatever, orders it to be restored to the rest of the body, learning from it the reverence due to the Man. Straightway therefore the soldiers, coming with haste to that place in which the Martyr's body lay (for the logistes ^d of the Nicaeans was guarding it, it having been handed over to him by them for fear of the tyrant, so that the Martyr's head might at the same time be joined to the body), recovered their former sight, embraced the knowledge of the true God, and confessed Christ as God, and forsook the pagan error; nay rather, they converted many others and led them out of the same error to Christ.

[8] But a certain woman, Petronia, exceedingly abounding in wealth, The Martyr's burial. when she had baited the logistes with money, receives thy body, O most excellent Champion, its martyrdom accomplished; and having wrapped it in very costly linens and poured perfumes upon it (for in the pains of body with which she had been afflicted she had once obtained health from thee), she laid it away splendidly. And now, most renowned Man, dwelling in the heavens, thou standest with the angels before the Lord's throne: obtain for us by thy supplications that we may have a portion in the kingdom of heaven; for to God be glory unto the ages. Amen.

ANNOTATIONS.

\* Perhaps ἀπελείψαντο.