ON THE HOLY MARTYRS BASSA, AND HER SONS THEOGNIS OR THEOGONIUS, AGAPIUS, AND PISTUS OR FIDELIS,
THESE CROWNED AT LARISSA OR EDESSA IN GREECE, SHE ON THE ISLAND OF HALONE,
UNDER MAXIMIAN.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
Cultus, the arena of martyrdom, Acts.
Bassa, M., on the island of Halone (St.)
Theognis or Theogonius, M., at Larissa or Edessa in Greece (St.)
Agapius, M., at Larissa or Edessa in Greece (St.)
Pistus or Fidelis, M., at Larissa or Edessa in Greece (St.)
BY J. P.
[1] This Martyr, together with her three sons, who likewise obtained the laurel of martyrdom, Cultus among the Greeks, was mentioned yesterday among the Prætermissi, and deferred to this day, on which she is inscribed in the Roman Martyrology and in various sacred Fasti of the Greeks. The Typicon, which is wont to be cited under the name of St. Sabbas, records this concerning the mother of our Martyrs: Of the holy martyr Bassa. The Menology of Sirletus likewise sets her alone in its announcement; but in the elogium which it subjoins to it, it names her three sons Theognius,
Agapius, and Fidelis. The great printed Menæa report these Champions and their Mother, with these little verses adapted to their triumph, which in Latin run thus:
Μητρὸς
μιᾶς
κάλλιστα
παιδία
τρία
Σὺν
Βάσσῃ
μητρὶ
πρὸς
τομὴν
ψυχὴ
μία
Βάσσαν
σὺν
τεκέεσσι
τάμε
ξίφος
εἴκάδι
πρώτῃ.
Bassa brought forth three thrice-comely sons: But one mind was in them all toward the sword. The sword consumed Bassa together with her children —
on the same day, namely on the XXI of August. But the poet's allusion is so clear that it needs no interpretation, especially if there be added those things which we shall afterwards report concerning the manner of the martyrdom. SS. Theognius, Agapius, and Pistus, martyrs, we recited from a certain Greek manuscript Synaxary among the Prætermissi at the XVI day of May.
[2] and the Latins. The Roman Martyrology prescribes that the yearly announcement of our Martyrs be read thus: At Edessa in Syria, of the holy martyrs Bassa and her sons Theogonius, Agapius, and Fidelis, whom their pious mother, exhorting them in the persecution of Maximian, sent on before her, crowned with martyrdom, to the palm, and, her head being cut off, followed rejoicing in victory. In the Excerpts from the Ecclesiastical History of Theodorus Lector, in Henri de Valois, book 1, page 554, a certain Peter surnamed the Fuller is said to have been a priest of the church of St. Bassa the martyr, which is at Chalcedon, namely about the year of Christ 450. Baronius, in his notes on this XXI day of August, treating of our Martyr, also makes mention of that church. Of the same church Theophanes too makes mention in the Chronography, which was printed at Paris in the year 1655, page 97. So much for the cultus: now for the place of the martyrdom.
[3] Baronius in the Roman Martyrology places it at Edessa in Syria, as we have just seen: but in the Annals, at the year of Christ 304, at the end, The arena of the martyrdom is discussed he mentions Edessa alone, saying: But at Edessa the martyrs whose memory is illustrious are Bassa the mother, and the sons, whom he names. In volume 1 of May, where the Augustus Græco-metricus stands among the Ephemerides Græco-Moscæ, at page XXXVIII the position of the arena which stands in the Roman Martyrology is corrected: for after mention has been made of the Mother with her three sons, these words are subjoined: The martyrdom … was indeed begun at Edessa, yet was not consummated in Syria (as crept in upon Baronius when he was augmenting today's Roman Martyrology) but in Macedonia: for this the Greek Acts which we have teach plainly. Lambeck, in the Commentaries on the Imperial Library of Vienna, book 8, page 203 and following, among the things he writes concerning the fourteenth Greek codex, observes various matters concerning the history of the martyrdom of St. Bassa and her three sons, correcting from the said codex, in these words, the position of the arena which the Roman Martyrology marks as Edessa in Syria: But in very truth, from the entire narration of that martyrdom which stands in this most excellent Imperial manuscript codex, it most clearly appears that in the Menæa of the Greeks, instead of ἐν Ἐδέσσῃ one must read ἐν Λαρίσσῃ, and similarly in the Roman Martyrology, instead of "at Edessa in Syria" one must read "at Larissa in Thessaly." For after the author of that narration has indicated at the very beginning that St. Bassa dwelt in the city of Hellas, Larissa — which indeed seems to be that inland city of Thessaly on the river Peneus — he presently subjoins that she was denounced, on account of her Christianity, by her husband Valerius, a priest of the idols, τῷ ἐκεῖ ἀνθυπάτῳ καὶ βικαρίῳ (namely τῆς Ἑλλάδος, as a little afterwards is expressly read), that is, to the proconsul of Hellas and his vicar, who were staying at Larissa: and that her three sons consummated their martyrdom ἐν αὐτῶν πόλει, that is, in their own native Larissa, and were buried there: but that St. Bassa herself was brought out from prison and ordered to follow the vicar of the proconsul, because he was setting out into Macedonia.
[4] And when there (namely in Macedonia) she had again been compelled in various ways, but in vain, to sacrifice to the idols, against the Roman Martyrology, at length, forty miles from the mainland of Macedonia, she was indeed cast headlong into the Ægean sea, but by a singular divine help came safe and unharmed to Halone, an island of the Hellespont, or Proconnesus, over against the city of Cyzicus; and when there too she was recognized by Philip, the registrar of the proconsul of Hellas, who had been present at her tortures in Macedonia, and he for that cause, having set out into Macedonia, had informed the vicar of the proconsul of her safety; and when further the vicar had charged Leontius, the consular of Cyzicus, to arrest her; and this being done, she was for the third time tortured with many torments, but always persevered in the same most steadfast confession of the Christian faith; at last, her limbs being broken, she was beheaded on the island of Halone or Proconnesus, and her holy relics were placed by a certain priest Sophronius on that same island, in a place so lofty that the martyrium, or sacred building, erected there in her honor, could be seen from afar by those sailing past on the right hand and on the left, and her ready intercession with God be implored by those in peril. The chief words of the Greek Acts themselves bearing on this the aforesaid Lambeck then recites, which may be read in him. But although those Acts, transcribed from the same Vienna codex, are in my possession, it has nevertheless pleased me to report the above narration from him.
[5] which wrongly Nor indeed will it be useless to transcribe hither what he observes in his notes: There were once, he says, several Larissas in Hellas or Greece: but chiefly two in Thessaly, of which one was inland on the river Peneus; the other maritime on the Maliac gulf, surnamed Κρεμαστὴ, or the Hanging. Concerning the remaining cities of the same name see Stephanus of Byzantium in his geographical Onomasticon, where he also mentions a Larissa in Syria, which is called by the Syrians Sizara. But in this place there seems to be signified that first and principal Larissa of Thessaly on the river Peneus, because as it were by excellence it is called simply Λαρίσσα τῆς Ἑλλάδος, and likewise on account of the nearness of Macedonia, of which mention is made in the same Acts. These things having thus been set forth from Lambeck concerning the arena of the contest of our Martyrs, it remains for us to consider what can probably be said by us in this matter.
[6] assigns the same arena to Bassa and to her sons: And first indeed it follows from the cited codex that one arena of martyrdom, or place of death, fell to the three sons of Bassa, and another to Bassa their mother: to them, namely, Larissa their native city; but to her the island of Halone or Proconnesus, as is plain to one reading the text produced above. And as to Bassa's arena, the other Greek copies sufficiently agree: for our transcript from the Ambrosian codex, which we commit to the press, indicates the same place of the consummated martyrdom at number 7; the same does the Menology rendered into Latin by Cardinal Sirletus; to which add the great printed Menæa, and a manuscript from the Vatican library, of which presently. And so, according to those copies, the Mother of our three Martyrs set the crown upon her contest on the island of Halone, and not at Edessa in Syria; and accordingly she is announced there in the Roman Martyrology not sufficiently in conformity with the said copies. But now another controversy remains: in what place St. Bassa and her sons began their martyrdom.
[7] [the contest of all of whom is said indeed to have been begun at Larissa and at Edessa, but not consummated there:] Our transcript from the Vatican codex records this: Ἐπληρώθη δὲ τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς ἁγίας Βάσσης σὺν τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτῆς· ἡ ἀρχὴ μὲν τῆς ἀθλήσεως ἐν Ἐδέσσῃ· τὸ δὲ τέλος ἐν Ἅλωνι τῇ νήσῳ. That is: And the martyrdom of holy Bassa with her sons was fulfilled: the beginning of the contest at Edessa; but the end on the island of Halone. But from the copies mentioned above neither St. Bassa nor her sons began to suffer at Edessa; nor did these consummate their course at Halone. Which the author himself of that narration openly asserts; but he fights with himself, since he says things that in no way cohere. For he had premised this, when he had reported the contest of the three sons and their death: But their bodies were taken up and buried in the city of Edessa, and the martyrdom of the three sons of St. Bassa was fulfilled. Our Ambrosian transcript intimates, so far as I gather from the context, that one city of the begun contest fell to all four, namely Edessa of Greece, and that for the three sons it was also the city of its consummation. But if we follow the reading of the Vienna codex set forth above, these both began and consummated their martyrdom at Larissa in Greece, and not at Edessa in the same Greece, as the Ambrosian copy relates.
[8] why the place of the three Brothers has been set down by us disjunctively. These things having thus far been observed, it remains to be said which arena of the martyrdom consummated for the faith of Christ seems more nearly to approach the truth. Two Edessas are found, of which one indeed is in Syria or Mesopotamia; the other in Macedonia, which is also called Ægæ. Of the latter Cellarius treats at greater length in the Notitia orbis antiqui, volume 1, book 2, chapter 13, which is on ancient Greece, page 665; but of the former in volume 2, book 3, chapter 15, page 442. Now the Edessa which in the Ambrosian copy is assigned to Greece may be said to belong to the latter, because it belongs to ancient Greece, or Greece taken broadly, which thus embraces Macedonia, and accordingly the Edessa contained in it. But now, since from our Vienna transcript we have it that the three Brothers obtained the laurel of martyrdom at Larissa in Greece, and from the Ambrosian, at Edessa in Greece; and since it is not certainly established for us whether for Larissa one ought not to read Edessa, or the contrary; hence it has seemed good to us to cut this tangled knot by announcing the said three Champions at Larissa or Edessa in Greece, as has been done by us in the title before this Commentary: but Bassa on the island of Halone, in conformity with the copies designated above: concerning which we shall now treat.
[9] The Vienna Acts have this beginning: Ἡ ἁγία μάρτυς Βάσσα ἦν ἐπὶ Μαξιμιανοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐν Λαρίσσῃ πόλει τῆς Ἑλλάδος διακειμένη. Of the Acts That is: The holy martyr Bassa, in the time of the emperor Maximian, dwelt at Larissa, a city of Greece. The narration of the martyrdom which follows is brief, and is known from those things which we have reported above from Lambeck. The great printed Menæa also record the acts of our Martyrs, as does the Menology of Sirletus; but the latter more succinctly than the former. But the copy transcribed from the Ambrosian codex is headed with this title: Μαρτύριον τῆς ἁγίας μάρτυρος Βάσσης, καὶ τῶν τριῶν υἱῶν αὐτῆς Θεογνίου, Ἀγαπίου, καὶ Πιστοῦ. The martyrdom of the holy martyr Bassa, and of her three sons Theognius, Agapius, and Pistus, with a day added in the margin different from the other Fasti, namely μηνὶ τῷ αὐτῷ κ᾽, in the same month, on the twentieth day. But although that copy, as commonly happens with Greek Acts, does not seem to be of such merit as to deserve much commendation above the others for genuine sincerity; yet, because the writer of the narration is known to us, and we have used him elsewhere, we have thought that he too should not here be passed over. Who
But who that author may be, those notes indicate which Papebroch appended to our copy transcribed by himself: From the Ambrosian codex f. N. n. 152. See Maximus. The Acts of St. Maximus were illustrated by us in volume III of this month of August, at the XIII day of the same month; where in the preliminary Commentary, §10, page 116, number 80, we indicated that that codex, containing the Lives of the month of August, was written four hundred years ago by a certain monk Laurence in the monastery of Rossano, which is in Calabria.
[10] the copies, I have at hand also another transcript of the Martyrdom, to which this notice is subscribed: Of the Vatican library, from codex 1671. It begins thus: Βασιλεύοντος Μαξιμιανοῦ ἦν χρισμὸς \ ἄθεσμος τῶν Ἑλλήνων. Μαξιμιανὸς γὰρ ὁ βασιλεὺς συγκαλεσάμενος μάγους. Which I render into Latin thus: In the reign of Maximian, impious responses were sought from the gods by the heathen. For the emperor Maximian, having called together the magicians, etc.* But this narration, as it is longer than the foregoing, so it pleases me less than they, chiefly on account of the speeches or addresses which have been very liberally stuffed into it, after the manner much in use among Greek hagiographic writers; so that it seems to us rightly to be kept from the press, lest, if we set it forth in print, we should detain the reader with words rather than with historical matters. These are the things which we have judged should be observed concerning the copies of the martyrdom, adding nevertheless this, that similar things are narrated in them, so far as the substance of the matters is regarded. Finally, as regards the time of the martyrdom, we have set it above under Maximian, to whom it is referred by others.
Annotations\* χρησμὸς
THE MARTYRDOM
By Laurence, monk of Rossano,
From the Ambrosian codex f. N. n. 152, Joannes Pinius being the translator.
Bassa, M., on the island of Halone (St.)
Theognis or Theogonius, M., at Larissa or Edessa in Greece (St.)
Agapius, M., at Larissa or Edessa in Greece (St.)
Pistus or Fidelis, M., at Larissa or Edessa in Greece (St.)
BY LAURENCE, MONK OF ROSSANO.
Τὰ κατα τὴν μεγάλην μάρτυρα Βάσσαν δίκαιον ἄρα πρὸς διήγησιν ὑφαπλῶσαι ταῖς φιλοθέοις καὶ φιλομάρτυσιν ἀκουαῖς· ἔσται γὰρ πάντως τοῦτο πολλοῖς ὠφελείας ὑπόθεσις. Ἔφυ μὲν; ἡ καλλίπαις αὕτη, καὶ καλλίμαρτυς πόλεως μὲν Ἐδέσσης τῆς καθ᾽ Ἑλλάδα· προγόνων δὲ τὸν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν θερμῶν, καὶ τὸν ζῆλον τὸν ἔνθεον. Συνήφθη δὲ Οὐαλερίῳ τινὶ πρὸς γάμου κοινωνίαν, ἀνδρὶ δυσσεβεῖ καὶ τῶν εἰδώλων θεραπευτῇ· ἱερεὺς γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐχρημάτιζε. Τίκτει τοιγαροῦν ἐξ αὐτοῦ παῖδας ἡ Βάσσα τρεῖς, Θεόγνιν, Ἀγάπιον καὶ Πιστὸν τούτους ἐπονομάσασα, οὓς καὶ καλῶς ἔτρεφε, καὶ καλῶς ἐπαίδευε, καὶ τὴν ἀληθῆ πίστιν ἐδίδασκεν. Ἄρτι δὲ τοῦ παρανόμου καὶ σκαίου Μαξιμιανοῦ τὴν βασίλειον ἀρχὴν διέποντος, καὶ διατάγματα κατὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν καὶ χώραν προθέντος, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ θυσίας οἱ ἄνθρωποι τοῖς δαίμοσι προσφέροιεν, ὁ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀνθύπατος Κλαύδιος, δεινὸς ἀνὴρ καὶ μεστὸς ἀσεβείας, εὐθὺς ἐχώρει πρὸς τὰς θυσίας, καὶ πάντας ἠνάγκαζε συνέρχεσθαι τούτῳ, καὶ τῶν μεμολυσμένων ἐκείνων κρεῶν, καὶ τοῦ οἴνου μεταλαμβάνειν.
[2] Ἐπεὶ οὖν Οὐαλέριος, ὁ τῆς Βάσσης ἀνὴρ, αὐτήν τε καὶ τέκνα πρὸς τὰς θυσίας ἐκάλει, ἥ δε μηδὲ οὖς παρεῖχε πρὸς τοῦτο, μεθὰ πολλὰ προτεινάμενος οὐκ ἴσχυσε τούτους τοῦ ὀρθοῦ μεταθεῖναι σκοποῦ, σφαδάζων τῷ θυμῷ, τῷ ἀνθυπάτῳ τούτους προσάγει, γνωρίσας τὰ κατ᾽ αὐτοὺς, καὶ ὃς αὐτίκα παρίστησι τούτους τῷ βήματι· καὶ πρότερον μὲν λόγοις τούτους ἐπιχειρήσας πεῖσαι προσελθεῖν τοῖς εἰδώλοις, ἐπὶ μὴ ἔπεισε, τὸν ἕνα τούτων (ὁ πρῶτος δὲ ἦν) ἐπ᾽ ὄψεσι τῆς μητρὸς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζέεσθαι κρεμασθέντα κελεύει. Ξεόμενον δὲ τοῦτον ὑπεστήριζέ πως ἡ μητὴρ λόγοις μητρικοῖς, καὶ Μικρὸν, ἔλεγε, τέκνον, ὑπόμεινον, ἵνα μέγα στεφανωθῇς, καὶ τῶν ἀθανάτων ἀγαθῶν κληρονόμος ἀναδειχθῇς. Ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον οὖν οἱ ξυστῆρες καθήκοντο τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ, ὡς γυμνὰ τούτων φαίνεσθαι τὰ ὀστᾶ, καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην πεπληρῶσθαι τοῦ αἵματος. Ἐν ταύτῃ γοῦν τῇ βασανῳ τὸ πνεῦμα Θεόγνις χερσὶν ἀγγέλων παρέθετο.
[3] Ἄγεται τοίνυν ὁ δεύτερος (Ἀγάπιος οὗτος ἦν ὁ καλὸς) καὶ πρὸς θυσίαν παρακαλεῖται. Ὁ δὲ Μὴ μοι γένοιτο, ἔφη, τὴν ἀλήθειαν καθαλιπεῖν, καὶ δαίμοσι θῦσαι· οὐκ ἀρνήσομαί σε, Χριστὲ βασιλεῦ, οὐκ ἀρνήσομαί σε, κάλλιστε καὶ φίλτατε ἀδελφὲ· ἀλλὰ προθύμως σοι συμπορεύσομαι. Τότε κελεύει ὁ κατάρατος ἄρχων, καὶ ἀπεκδείρεται φεῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν ὁ Γενναῖος, ἄχρι καὶ τοῦ στήθους αὐτοῦ τῆς δορᾶς ἐκσπασθείσης· καὶ οὕτω καὶ οὗτος μακαρίως ἐτελειώθη. Ὁ τρίτος κατὰ τάξιν παρίσταται ὁ ἐπονύμως Πιστὸς κληθεὶς, καὶ φιλόθεος, ὃς ὄνομα διερωτώμενος ὅπως ἄρα καλοῖτο, Πιστὸς, ἔφη, παρὰ τῆς τεκούσης ὠνόμασμαι, πιστῆς οὔσης καὶ αὐτῆς τῷ ὄντι καὶ σώφρονος, ὃ δὴ πάντως ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἐκατέρων παιδῶν προσωνυμίας ἐστὶ καταμαθεῖν. Ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη πίστιν ἔχουσα θεογνωσίας, ἀρραγὲς θεμέλιον ἀναδείκνυται. Ποίει τοιγαροῦν τό σοι παρεστάμενον· οὐ δὲ γάρ μου τὸν πύργον διασείσεις τῆς πίστεως.
[4] Τινὲς οὖν τῶν παρισταμένων λόγοις ἐπεχείρουν ἐπαγαγοῖς μεταπείσειν αὐτὸν, Μὴ δὴ, λέγοντες, μειράκιον κάλλιστον, μὴ δὴ πατρικοὺς ἀθετήσῃς θεσμοὺς, καὶ θεοὺς αὐτοὺς, οἵ σε τοῖς πατρικοῖς κόλποις, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἀνετρέψαντο· τί γάρ σοι καὶ τῇ τῆς μητρὸς παρεφθαρμένῃ πίστει; Θέλησον τοίνυν γενέσθαι φίλος θεῶν, καὶ μάλιστα τοῦ Διὸς, καὶ θῦσαι τούτοις, καὶ ζῆσαι καλῶς σὺν ἡμῖν· ἀξιώσει σε γὰρ ὁ ἄρχων, καὶ βασιλεὺς αὐτὸς πολλῶν δορεῶν καὶ τιμῶν. Ταῦτα εἶπον· καὶ ὁ κλεινὸς οὗτος Πιστὸς, Ἀπόστητε, εἶπεν, ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ οἱ ἐργάται τῆς ἀνομίας· οὐ γὰρ οἴδατε συμβουλεύειν καλῶς· τίς γὰρ νοῦν ἔχων ἄνθρωπος τὸ σκότος ἀνθαιρήσεται τοῦ φωτός; Τότε οἱ μαθαιόφρονες θυμῷ λήφθεντες συνθλῶσι τούτου τὰ σκέλη, καὶ τοὺς βραχίονας. Ὁ δὲ πρὸς Θεὸν ἀνατείνας τὰ ὄμματα καὶ εὐχόμενος, εὐχαριστῶς τε τὰς βασάνους καὶ σταθηρῶς ὑπομένων, τεμνέται τὴν κεφαλὴν, καὶ οὕτω πληροῖ καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ μαρτύριον.
[5] Ἡ τοίνυν εὐγενεστάτη τούτων μητὴρ ἡ καλλινίκος Βάσσα τῇ φυλακῇ παραδίδοται, ἐν ᾗ τὰς πρὸς Θεὸν εὐχὰς ποιουμένη, τὸν δρόμον ᾐτεῖτο τοῦ μαρτυρίου καὶ αὐτὴ τελέσαι. Ἡμέραι διῆλθον ἑπτὰ, καὶ Ἰουκεντῖνος ὁ βικάριος, οὓς συνὴν τότε τῷ Ἀκυλίνῴ διά τινα πράγματα, μέλλων ἐπὶ Μακεδονίαν ἀπάραι (ταύτης διεῖπε καὶ γὰρ τὴν ἀρχὴν) λαμβάνει μεθ· ἑαυτοῦ τὴν Ἁγίαν· καὶ ἅμα τὸ καταλαβεῖν τὴν ἐπαρχίαν αὐτοῦ, παρατησάμενος αὐτὴν. Ἔγνωκα, εῖπεν, ὦ Βάσσα, πάντως τὴν μωρίαν τῶν σῶν υἱῶν, ὅπως δι᾽ ἀπείθειαν τὸν θάνατον ἐσπάσαντο· ἀλλὰ σὺ μηδαμῶς θελήσῃς τῇ ἐκείνων ἀνοίᾳ κατυπαχθῆναι· προσελθοῦσα δὲ θῦσον, καὶ ζήσεις σὺν ἡμῖν, καὶ τὸ φῶς τοῦτο κερδήσεις τὸ ἡδὺ καὶ ἐπέραστον. Καὶ ἡ Μάρτυς, Μή σοι εἴη καλῶς, ἀνόσιε, εἶπεν, ἰν᾽ ἐγὼ τοῖς σοῖς λόγοις πεισθεῖσα δαίμοσι προσοίσω θυσίαν. Μαίνεται τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ δυσσεβὴς, καὶ λέβητα μέγιστον ὅτι καὶ βαθύτατον κομισθῆναι κελεύει, πληρωθῆναίτε τοῦτον ὕδατος, καὶ ξίφη ἀμφίκοπα τούτῳ προσεμπαρῆναι, καὶ ταύτην ῥιφῆναι κατ᾽ αὔτὸν, ἳν᾽ ὑπὸ τούτων μὲν τεμνομένη, παρὰ δὲ τοῦ ὕδατος αὐτοῦ συμπνιγνομένη θᾶττον τὴν ζωὴν ἀποθήσῃ.
[6] Γίνεται τοῦτο, καὶ σώζεται παραδόξως ἡ Μάρτυς, καὶ πάλιν τῷ τυράννῳ παρίσταται Βήματι. Μαγείαν οὖν ἐκείνου κρίναντος τὸ παράδοξον τοῦτο, καὶ πρὸς θυσίαν αὐτὴν αὖθις ἐκκαλουμένου, τὸ στεῤῥὸν ἐκείνη τῆς ψυχῆς ἀμετάθετον ἔχουσα, τοὺς αὐτοὺς καὶ αὖθις θεοὺς ἐκερτόμει καὶ διεχλεύαζε· τῷ τε θυμῷ ληφθεὶς ἀμέτρῳ ὁ Βέβηλος ἄρχων πυρὰν ὅτι μέγιστον ἀναφθῆναι κελεύει, καὶ τὴν Μάρτυρα ταύτῃ παραδοθῆναι. Καὶ δὴ γέγονε καὶ τοῦτο· καὶ πάλιν ἡ Μάρτυς ἀπαθὴς ἐδείκνυτο, καὶ μέσου τοῦ πυρὸς εὐλογοῦσα Χριστόν. Μερίζει τοίνυν τὸ πῦρ δυνάμει Χριστοῦ τὴν οἰκείαν ἐνέργειαν, καὶ ταύτῃ μὲν δρόσος ἐγένετο, καῦσις δὲ [καὶ] φλόγωσις τοῖς παρεστῶσιν. Ἀνάπτει τὸν θυμὸν ὁ κακοῦργος, καὶ λίθοις ταύτην συγχωσθῆναι προστάττει. Ῥύεται Θεὸς καὶ τούτων αὐτὴν, μηδενὸς αὐτῆς ἁψαμένου. Τῷ βήματι τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς προσάγεται πάλιν, καὶ πρὸς θυσίαν τῶν δαιμόνων καλεῖται· τρόπον τινὰ τὸν κολαστὴν ἐπὶ τούτῳ προσαπατᾷ, καὶ τὸν ναὸν τῶν εἰδώλων καταράσσει, καὶ συντρίβει κατὰ λεπτόν· Ἴδε σου, λέγει πρὸς τὸν τύραννον, τὴν δύναμιν τῶν θεῶν· οὐκ ἀσθενεῖς ἄρα οὗτοι, καὶ μὴ δὲ ἑαυτοῖς Βοηθῆσαι δυνάμενος; Τότε τὸν θυμὸν ὑπεκκαύσας έκεῖνος πρὸς τὸ στάδιον αὐτὸν ἀπαχθῆναι κελεύει, καὶ θηρία κατ᾽ αὐτῆς ἀφεθῆναι. Τῶν θηρίων οὖν ἀπολυθέντων, καὶ ταύτης μηδαμῶς ἁψαμένων, ἀνελόντων δὲ μᾶλλον τῶν παρισταμένων τινὰς, τῷ Βυθῷ τῆς θαλάσσης ταύτην ὁ κακοῦργος ἀποῤῥιφῆναι κελεύει.
[7] Ῥιπτεται τοίνυν κατὰ το μεσαίτατον αὐτῆς ὑπὸ τῶν στρατιωτῶν, καὶ ἄγγελοι φωτὸς δέχονται ταύτην, καὶ σκάφῃ ἐνθέμενοι διέζωσαν ἀβλαβῆ· καὶ οὗτοι μὲν ἐκπλαγέντες ἀπαγγέλλουσιν ὑπεστρέψαντες τῷ Ἰουκεντίνῳ ταῦτα. Μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας δέ τινας κατὰ τὴν νῆσον Ἁλόνην ἡ Μάρτυς ἐξάγεται. Ἦν Φίλιππός τις σκρινιάριος, τοῦ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀνθυπάτου κατιδὼν, καὶ γνωρίσας ἀπαγγέλλει τῷ βικαρίῳ Ἰουκεντίνῳ τὴν Μακεδονίαν καταλαβὼν, ὡς ἔιη παρὰ τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς ἡ Βάσσα κατὰ τὴν νῆσον Ἁλόνην. Γράφει τοίνυν ἐκεῖνος αὐτίκα Φλαβίῳ Λαοδικίῳ, τῷ τῆς Ἑλλησπόντου διοικητῇ, πάντα τὰ κατ᾽ αὐτὴν, καὶ ὡς οὐ χρὴ ταύτην ζῶσαν ὁρᾶσθαι τοσαύταις γοητείαις ἁλοῦσαν. Αὐτίκα τοίνυν τὴν Ἁλόνην οὗτος καταλαβὼν, καὶ τὴν Μάρτυρα ζητήσας, καὶ παραστησάμενος εἰς ἐξέτασιν, καὶ πρὸς θυσίαν ἀκκαλεσάμενος τῶν εἰδώλων, ἐπεὶ μὴ πείθειν εἶχε, συντριβῆναι κελεύει ξύλοις ἀδροῖς ἅπαν αὐτῆς τὸ σῶμα, καὶ οὕτω τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐκκοπῆναι. Γέγονε τοῦτο, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν, ὦ καλλίστη μάρτυς, ξίφει τμηθεῖσα, χερσὶ Θεοῦ τοῦ πλάσαντος παρέθου τὸ πνεῦμα. Σωφρόνιος δέ σου ὁ ἱερὸς τὸ πάντιμον ἀνελόμενος σῶμα φιλοθίμως ἔθαψεν, εἰς δόξαν Πατρὸς, καὶ Υἱοῦ, καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ὁμοουσίας Τριάδος, ᾗ πρέπει ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
The Saint's native place, husband, and sons: What pertains to the great martyr Bassa it is right to set forth in narrative to the ears of those who love God and the Martyrs. For this subject will assuredly be useful to many. This mother of notable children, and notable Martyr, drew her first light in the city of Edessa, which is in Greece, having obtained parents fervent in the faith in Christ and in divine zeal. But she was married to a certain Valerius, an impious man and a worshipper of idols: for he was their priest. Bassa therefore bore by him three children, whom she named Theognis a, Agapius, and Pistus b: and these she both reared rightly and instructed excellently, and imbued with the true faith. But at that time, while the impious and cruel Maximian was wielding the scepter of empire, and was setting forth commands through all cities and provinces that men should offer sacrifices to the demons, Claudius, proconsul of Greece,
a fierce man and full of impiety, straightway betook himself to the sacrifices, and compelled all for this cause to assemble, and to partake of those defiled meats and of the wine.
[2] While therefore Valerius, the husband of Bassa, was calling her and her sons to the sacrifices, and she by no means lent her ears in this matter, nor after many speeches could he turn them from their right purpose, wavering with fury, he brings them to the proconsul, disclosing what concerned them. [of whom the first, Theognis, is tortured for the worship of the true God, and dies.] He without delay sets them before the tribunal. And first indeed, assailing them with words to persuade them to approach the idols, when he did not persuade them, he orders one of them (and he was the eldest), his mother and the others looking on, to be hung up and mangled with iron combs. But as he was being torn, his mother strengthened him with motherly words, and said: "Endure a little, my son, that thou mayest obtain a great crown, and be shown forth an heir of the immortal goods." The tearers of his body therefore went so far that his bones appeared bare, and that ground was filled with blood. In this torment, then, Theognis laid down his spirit in the hands of the angels.
[3] The second therefore is brought forward (he was the fair Agapius), and is urged to sacrifice. Then the second is mangled; and the third, But he said: "May it not befall me to forsake the truth and to sacrifice to demons: I will not deny thee, O Christ the King; I will not deny thee, best and dearest brother; but with great courage I will accompany thee." Then, at the command of the accursed governor, the head of the noble Martyr is (alas!) flayed, the skin being drawn off as far as the breast: and thus this Blessed one also was consummated. The third in order is brought forward, Pistus by name, a lover of God likewise. Who, being asked by what name he was called, said: "Pistus I was named by my mother, who herself also is truly faithful and prudent, as one may altogether learn from the name of each son. For love c, which has the faith of the knowledge of God d, is proved to be a firm foundation. Do therefore what thou hast in mind: for thou shalt not shake the tower of my faith."
[4] Then, therefore, some of the bystanders tried with flattering words to move him from his resolve, his legs being broken, is beheaded. saying: "Do not, best of youths, do not despise the ancestral laws and the gods themselves, who nourished thee, so to speak, in a father's bosom. What hast thou to do with thy mother's corrupted faith? Do this rather, that thou mayest become a friend of the gods, and especially of Jupiter, and sacrifice to them, and live well with us. For the governor, and the emperor himself, will deem thee worthy of many gifts and honors." So they. But that renowned Pistus said: "Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity: for ye know not how to give me good counsel. For what man in his right mind will prefer darkness to light?" Then those madmen, seized with fury, break his legs and arms: and he, lifting up his eyes to God and praying, and bearing the torments thankfully and bravely, is beheaded, and thus he too fulfills his martyrdom.
[5] But their most noble mother, Bassa, illustrious in victory, Their mother is committed to prison, in which, pouring out prayers to God, she asked that she too might complete the course of martyrdom. Seven days passed, and Vicentinus e the vicar, who on account of certain affairs was then with Aquilinus, being about to set out for Macedonia (for he governed that province), takes the holy woman with him: and as soon as he had come into his province and had ordered her to be set before him, he said: "I know full well, O Bassa, the folly of thy sons, who by their obstinacy drew death upon themselves: but do not thou suffer thyself to be led away by their madness; but come forward and sacrifice, and thou shalt live with us, and shalt gain this sweet and lovely light." And the Martyr said: "Be that praise not thine, impious man, that I, persuaded by thy words, should offer sacrifice to demons." Hearing these things the impious man rages, and orders a cauldron, as great and as deep as possible, to be brought, and it to be filled with water, and swords sharp on both sides to be set within it, and her to be cast into it, that, cut by these and choked by the water, she might the more quickly depart from life.
[6] This is done; but the Martyr is preserved in a marvelous manner, and is again brought to the tyrant's tribunal. And when he judged that this miracle had been wrought by magic, she is afflicted in vain with various torments, and again exhorted her to sacrifice, the Martyr, bearing a firm and unchangeable mind, again assailed his gods with reproaches and mockeries. The impious Governor, seized with fury beyond measure, orders a fire as great as possible to be kindled, and the Martyr to be cast into it. This too was done: but again the Martyr appeared unharmed, and in the midst of the fire was blessing Christ: by whose power the fire divided its own force; and to her indeed it became dew, but to the bystanders burning and flame. The malignant man kindles his fury, and commands her to be overwhelmed with stones. From these also God delivers her, not one of them touching her. Again she is brought to the impious man's tribunal, and is called to sacrifice to the demons: in a certain manner after this she leads the torturer into error, and strikes the temple of the idols mightily, and grinds it to pieces. "Behold," she says to the tyrant, "the power of thy gods. Are these not weak, who cannot help themselves?" Then he, burning with fury, orders her to be led away to the stadium, and wild beasts to be let loose against her. And so, when the beasts had been let loose, and by no means touched her, but rather made away with some of the bystanders, the malignant man orders her to be cast into the depth of the sea.
[7] until at last, her head being cut off, she is crowned with martyrdom. By the soldiers, therefore, she is cast into the midst of the sea; but angels of light take her up, and setting her in a small boat preserve her unharmed. But the soldiers, struck with amazement, and returning, announce these things to Vicentinus. Some days later the Martyr is brought forth on the island of Halone. There was a certain Philip, a scriniarius f, an inspector of the proconsul of Greece, who, having learned the matter, set out into Macedonia and announced to Vicentinus the vicar that Bassa was on the island of Halone among the Christians. Straightway therefore he writes in full to Flavius Laodicius, who governed the Hellespont, all that concerned her, and that she who had been caught in such great magic arts ought not to be seen alive. Without delay he, making for Halone g, after he had sought out the Martyr and ordered her to appear for examination, and had exhorted her to sacrifice to the idols, but with fruitless effort, commands her whole body to be crushed with solid staves, and thus her head to be cut off. No sooner said than done. But thou, O most illustrious Martyr, thy head being severed by the sword, didst deliver thy spirit into the hands of the God who formed thee. And Sophronius the priest h carried away thy body, worthy of all honor, and buried it splendidly, to the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the holy and consubstantial Trinity: to whom belongs glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.