ON ST. PHILONIDES, BISHOP AND MARTYR,
AT CURIUM IN THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS.
Under Diocletian.
Description of the place, his cult and martyrdom, from Greek manuscripts.
Philonides, bishop and martyr, at Curium in the island of Cyprus (St.)
BY J. P.
Curium, an episcopal city in the island of Cyprus, now called Piscopia, Topographical notice of Curium: on the testimony of Baudrand — and it is, as he adds, a large hamlet — had, according to Lusignan, Niger, and Porcacchi, whom he mentions, this holy Prelate and martyr. Concerning the same place Cellarius gathered various things in his Notice of the Ancient World, book 3, chapter 7, page 165: Next to Amathus, he says, in Strabo and Ptolemy, is Κουριὰς, the promontory Curias; and then Κούριον πόλις, the town of Curium, between which and the promontory Ptolemy places the mouths of the river Lycus. Pliny (book 5, chapter 31) calls the town Curias by a name common with the promontory: "Nea Paphos [], he says, Palaepaphus [], Curias, Citium," and the rest. Stephanus, however, agrees with Strabo and Ptolemy: Κυριον πόλις Κύπρου, the town of Curium in Cyprus… It was, as Strabo adds, Ἀργείων κτίσμα, a work of the Argives, that is, founded by the Argives. Ptolemy next has a promontory whose name is φρούριον, that is, a fortress and stronghold: at which the southern side ends. But Strabo assigned Curium also to the western side: Ἀρχὴ τοῦ δυσμικοῦ περίπλου τὸ Κούριον: "The beginning of the western circumnavigation is Curium." I should prefer, however, to leave it to the southern coast with Ptolemy, because that is altogether more suited to the figure of this island which recent map-makers set before us. Further, the same Cellarius exhibits a view of Curium on the geographical map attached to chapter 1 of the book just cited. Zeno, bishop of the same place, is mentioned in the Council of Ephesus of the year 431, as may be seen in Harduin, volume 1 of the Councils, columns 1426, 1529, and 1617.
[2] His cult from the Greek manuscript Calendars. Although indeed we cannot doubt that St. Philonides adorned his episcopal dignity admirably by his virtue and merits, we could nevertheless wish that we had more at hand than we now have, from which we might illustrate these things. Meanwhile, concerning his public cult we set down the following from the Greek Calendars. In our manuscript Sirmond-Chifflet Supplement to the Great Menaea published in print, he is announced thus on the XVII of June (from which day he has been deferred to this one, as may be seen there among the Passed Over): Μνήμη τοῦ ἁγίου ἱερομάρτυρος Φιλονείδους ἐπισκόπου τοῦ Κορίου. That is, The memory of the holy hieromartyr Philonides, bishop of Corium, for Curium. In the same Supplement he recurs again on the XXXI of August: Ἄθλησις τοῦ ἁγίου ἱερομάρτυρος Φιλονίδους. That is, The contest of the holy hieromartyr Philonides. He is also recorded in our excerpts from the manuscript Menaea of the Ambrosian Library at Milan, in the cited codex f. N. n. 178, and a brief narrative of his martyrdom is added. But we give it from our said Supplement, in which it is found from the Chifflet manuscript codex under the XVII of June:
[3] Οὗτος ὁ Ἅγιος ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Διοκλητιανοῦ ἀποκεκλεισμένος φυλακῇ διὰ τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν ὁμολογίαν μετὰ τοῦ Ἀριστοκλέος, his martyrdom Δημητριανοῦ καὶ Ἀθανασίου· κᾳκείνων τελειωθέντων ἐν μαρτυρίῳ, οὐ μετὰ πολλὰς ἡμέρας ὁ μιαρὸς Μαξιμιανὸς δόγμα ἐξέθετο τοῦ βιάζεσθαι τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς ὑπὸ ἀσώτων ἀνδρῶν μιαίνεσθαι τῇ φρουρᾷ τοῦ σώματος αὐτῶν. Τοῦτο μαθὼν ὁ ἅγιος Φιλονείδης, μὴ θέλων παρανομίᾳ ταύτῃ μιανθῆναι, ἀνελθὼν ἐφ᾽ ὑψιλοῦ τόπου, καὶ δήσας τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον καλύψας τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ἀναβολαίῳ, κλίνας τὸ γόνυ, καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ προτευξάμενος, ἐῤῥιψεν αὐτὸν ὄρθριον κάτω, καὶ πρὶν τὸ σῶμα κατελθεῖν, τῷ Κυρίῳ τὸ πνεῦμα παρέθετο.
[4] Ὁδοιπορούντων δέ τινων προπολλοῦ [] τόπου τῆς πόλεως ὤφθη τούτοις ὁ Ἅγιος ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῷν τρέχων γυμνὸς, from the Greek καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐστεμμένος, μύροιστε εὐώδεσι κατηλειμμένος, καὶ βαΐα κατέχων ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ βοῶν· Εὐχαριστῶ σοι, Χριστέ μου, ὅτι ἔν σοι νενίκηκα, καὶ ἀπὸ πύλης ἐπιγείου ἐπὶ τὰς πύλας οὐρανοῦ ἀνήγαγές με. Πλησίον δὲ γενομένων αὐτῷν τῆς πόλεως, ἀπέστη ἀπ᾽ αὐτῷν· καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον ἐλθόντες, ἐντα ἔκειτο τὸ λείψανον αὐτοῦ, ἐγνώρισαν αὐτόν. Ἐμβάλλεται δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ἑλλήνων εἰς σάκκον, καὶ ῥιπτεται εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ αὖθις ταραχθεῖσα ἡ θάλασσα ἐῤῥίπτει ἔξω τὸ τίμιον σῶμα, ὅπερ οἱ Χριστιανοὶ εὑρόντες ἀξίως ἐκήδευσαν. Ἀρίστων δὲ ὁ ἐπίσκοπός ποτε κρατηθεὶς, καὶ οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως οὐσθεὶς [] συνεγράψατο.
[5] In English This Saint, in the days of Diocletian, having been shut up in prison for the confession of Christ together with Aristocles, Demetrianus, and Athanasius, and these having been consummated in martyrdom, not many days afterward the impure Maximian issued an edict that Christians should be compelled to be defiled by lustful men in the keeping of their own bodies. Learning of this, holy Philonides, unwilling to be defiled by this iniquity, climbed a high place, and binding his head and covering his face with his cloak, on bended knees, and having prayed a long while, cast himself down at dawn; and before his body reached the ground he delivered up his spirit to God. And as some men from the suburban district were making their way to the city, the Saint was seen by them running before them naked, crowned upon the head, anointed with fragrant ointments, and holding palm branches in his hand, and crying out: I give thee thanks, my Christ, because in thee I have conquered, and thou hast led me out from an earthly gate to the gates of heaven. But when they were near the city, he departed from them; and coming to the place where his body had lain, they made him known. By the heathen, however, he was thrust into a sack and cast into the sea; and the sea, being troubled, cast the venerable body out again, which the Christians finding, they paid him fitting rites. But Ariston the bishop, being at some time apprehended, and I know not how slain, wrote these things down.
This narrative appears fabulous.
[6] rendered. Of SS. Aristocles the priest, Demetrianus the deacon, and Athanasius the lector we wrote on the XXIII of June, where they are marked as having suffered at Constantia in Cyprus. Yet I read nothing there of St. Philonides, who above was indicated as having been shut up in prison with them and as having consummated his martyrdom after them. But the manner in which he accomplished it must be referred to a singular inspiration of God, who, as Lord of human life and death, called this Saint to himself in the same way as he called many others — those, namely, kindled by a vehement flame of the Holy Spirit, and, at his bidding, forestalling by a voluntary death the violent hands of the executioners. As for that bishop Ariston, he is not known to us from any other source.
Annotations*. That is, New Paphos. *. That is, Old Paphos. *. προπολίου. *. Perhaps οὐτηθεὶς.