ON THE HOLY MARTYRS DIONYSIUS, AEMILIANUS, AND SEBASTIANUS, IN ARMENIA MINOR.
Preface.
Dionysius, Martyr in Armenia Minor (St.) Aemilianus, Martyr in Armenia Minor (St.) Sebastianus, Martyr in Armenia Minor (St.)
By I. B.
[1] Of the holy Martyrs Dionysius, Aemilianus, and Sebastianus, only their names are known, and the province ennobled by their contest. Concerning them, the following is found in the most ancient Roman Martyrology, which we commonly cite under the name of St. Jerome: "In Armenia Minor, the birthday of Dionysius, Sebastianus, and Aemilianus." Usuardus, Bede, Ado, Notkerus, Petrus of Equilium, Bellinus, Maurolycus, Galesinius, the Roman Martyrology, and the other printed and manuscript sources record them, scarcely in more words. Some of these present only Dionysius. Wandelbertus omits Sebastianus, for he has it thus:
"Dionysius and Aemilianus adorn the sixth day before the Ides."
An old manuscript in our possession substitutes Julianus for Aemilianus, for it reads: "In Armenia Minor, the birthday of Saints Dionysius, Julianus, and Sebastianus."
[2] Joannes Tamayo de Salazar claims Sebastianus for Spain, and declares the following about him in his Spanish Martyrology: "In Armenia Minor, St. Sebastianus, a soldier and inhabitant of the city of Italica in Further Spain, who, under the same Emperor Decius, was led there with other soldiers and, found to be a Christian, having laid down his baldric and cast aside his military belt, together with his fellow soldiers Dionysius and Aemilianus, was slain by the sword and attained glory as a champion." These things could seem sufficiently credible if they were supported by any ancient testimony. But the whole weight of probability rests on the authority of Julianus Petrus, who, writing about events that occurred nearly nine hundred years before his own age and adducing no ancient monument, cannot safely be given credence—especially since what is drawn from him is not even consistent. In the Paris edition of 1628, his Adversaria, number 188, reads as follows: "Sebastianus, whom Victor converted, became a Christian at Italica in Baetica; afterward he suffered martyrdom with others, on 8 February." Tamayo holds that Sebastianus was converted by Victor Photinus and belongs to 20 March; and that this is found in another manuscript copy in the possession of Laurentius Ramirezius: "Sebastianus, a soldier of the Victorious Legion, became a Christian at Italica in Baetica, and afterward suffered martyrdom with others in Armenia, on 8 February."
[3] We said under 28 January that on that day there are venerated at Trebia in Umbria the holy Martyrs Aemilianus, Bishop of that city, the monk Hilarianus, Aemilianus's teacher in sacred letters, and the noble youths Hermippus and Dionysius; and that some believe these to be the very ones who are commemorated on this day in nearly all the martyrologies. This was neither approved by us then nor is it now, even after we have read the Life published by Ludovicus Jacobillus of Foligno in his book on the Saints of Umbria, which makes the same assertion. For, to omit the point that it would seem strange for Aemilianus, a foreigner from a distant nation, who had stayed in Italy for so short a time that he could scarcely have learned the Latin language, to have been immediately made a Bishop—for it could be answered that he was indeed born in Armenia but of parents of Italian origin, as his name also indicates, and therefore was already familiar with the language, or had been taught it by Hilarianus.
[4] But how is it that on the day when he is asserted to have completed his most glorious martyrdom with his companions, no martyrologies commemorate them except that of Ferrarius, while very many record them under 8 February? All of these same sources assign them to Armenia Minor, none to Italy—since it is customary for the province or city that gave birth to Martyrs for heaven, rather than the one that produced them as mortals for the world, to be celebrated for their triumphs. What of the fact that no martyrologies express the name of Hilarianus or Hermippus? Finally—a point which is certainly not usually passed over, at least by all—the episcopal dignity, which the people of Trebia assert for their Aemilianus, is passed over in silence by all. For these reasons, we are of the opinion that the Bishop Aemilianus is one person, and the Dionysius who is said to have been crowned along with Hilarianus and Hermippus is another.
[5] Nevertheless, the Life of Saints Aemilianus and his companion Martyrs that we have said was published in Italian by Jacobillus, we shall here render in Latin—so that each person may adopt whatever opinion he wishes, and lest we seem to suppress anything. He attests that he drew it principally from an ancient Passional, or Lectionary, of the Cathedral Church of Spoleto. But he also cites two other writers from Trebia, one of whom published the deeds of St. Aemilianus in 1592 and the other in 1643—works which we have not yet seen. He also cites the old annals of the city of Gualdo, where the following is found: "St. Aemilianus, Bishop in the Lucanian city where it is called Trevium, established the faith of Christ and the Church; and there, having been martyred, he was laid to rest under the Emperor Maximian." By this testimony, however, it is not established that the Aemilianus who was renowned for his confession of Christ in Armenia Minor is one and the same as the one who founded the Church of Trebia.
ACTS
of these holy Martyrs, or rather of four others who are venerated on 28 January, written in Italian by Ludovicus Jacobillus.
Dionysius, Martyr in Armenia Minor (St.) Aemilianus, Martyr in Armenia Minor (St.) Sebastianus, Martyr in Armenia Minor (St.)
From the Italian of Ludovicus Jacobillus, translated by I. B.
CHAPTER I
The homeland, companions, and episcopate of St. Aemilianus.
[1] In Armenia Minor, an Asiatic province, St. Aemilianus was born to Christian and noble parents, and, having been trained in letters and piety by Hilarianus, a monk and Priest, a most devout man, he was leading a life of great repute for sanctity. At that time, news reached him of the most cruel persecution stirred up by the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian against the Christians in Europe. Eager therefore both to disseminate the faith and to undergo martyrdom for Christ, should the occasion present itself, he left his possessions and homeland, and taking as his companions Hilarianus his teacher and two noble youths, blood brothers, recently won for Christ—Dionysius and Hermippus (whose surname was Sebastianus)—he came to Italy around the year of Christ 296.
[2] Having found at Spoleto many Christians leading their lives according to the rule of Christian perfection, at their request he settled there with his companions, and for many months, providing to all an example of extraordinary sanctity, he devoted himself continually to prayer, vigils, and the preaching of divine matters. Meanwhile, since the people of Trebia lacked a Pastor—their city being also called by others Lucana or Trebia, and by some Matusca—having tested Aemilianus's virtue and learning by many proofs, they chose him as their Bishop and brought him to Rome to Pope Marcellinus, so that he might confirm the election and ordain him Bishop; which was done around the year 298.
[3] When he came from Rome to Trebia with his same companions and helpers—Hilarianus, Dionysius, and Hermippus—and the leading men of the Church of Trebia, he began by example and by sermons to kindle all to the love of Christ, not only in the city but throughout the entire diocese; and he drew very many to the faith, performing frequent miracles, though he was not very advanced in age, but one to whom his composure of character and the dignity of his virtues won the authority of any old age.
Notes:
CHAPTER II
The various tortures and miracles of St. Aemilianus. The slaughter of a thousand Martyrs.
[4] A certain Maximianus, a fierce man, governed Etruria and Umbria with the title of Governor or Proconsul. When he learned what Aemilianus was contriving for the overthrow of the worship of the gods, he hastened to Trebia and ordered him to be dragged before his tribunal, and addressed him with these words: "What do I hear about you, Aemilianus? Do you not realize that your madness is rushing you headlong into death? But if you wish to preserve your life, sacrifice to our gods." "I do not sacrifice to demons," said the holy Bishop, "for all the gods of the nations are demons, as the sacred books declare; and whoever sacrifices to them will bring upon himself the eternal torments of the underworld."
[5] The Governor, inflamed with fury, ordered him to be beaten, and meanwhile taunted him, saying that the God of the Christians possessed no power, and that the gods whom he himself worshipped were omnipotent. The Bishop answered with great spirit and firm faith: "Put it to the test, if you please, whether the power of Christ or of your gods is greater. Order a paralytic to be brought here, or someone afflicted with whatever other illness you wish; then let the priests of the pagan gods supplicate their gods; I shall pray to mine. He by whose divine power health is restored to the sick man shall truly be held to be God and shall be worshipped by all." Maximianus agreed to the challenge. An immense multitude of people gathered, eager to see the outcome of so great a matter.
[6] The paralytic was brought forward. Here the pagan priests invoked Aesculapius, Apollo, Jupiter, Mercury, and other gods, but to no avail, while Aemilianus mocked the wretched gods and their worshippers. At length, when the Governor ordered him to pray to his own God, if he hoped for any help from him, he prostrated himself on the ground and, stretching his hands toward heaven, prayed thus: "Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto You. Turn not Your face from me; in whatever day I call upon You, quickly hear me. Show, Lord, to all these people that You alone are God, and save those who believe in You." Then he arose, and seizing the paralytic by the hand, said: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, be healed." And the man was immediately made whole, and rising up he went home leaping for joy and praising God. The prodigy struck the spectators, many of whom gave their names to Christ, and it seemed that many more were about to do so, and even the Governor himself was wavering; but the priests of the idols warned him that this had been done by Aemilianus not by any divine power but by magical arts, and that therefore he should remove him, or the ancestral rites would be utterly uprooted by him.
[7] Moved by their persuasion, the Governor said: "Yield to me, Aemilianus; sacrifice to the gods. For those who refused to obey my counsels were killed in the past days by horrible torture." "Those men indeed," said Aemilianus, "refusing to sacrifice to the gods, underwent death for Christ, and now enjoy eternal goods with him." But the Governor replied: "Do not name Christ to me any more, but have pity on your own youth; for the greatest torments are prepared for you." The Saint responded that he was a servant of Christ and was bound to undergo whatever torments and even death itself for His honor. The Governor ordered him to be raised on the rack and burning torches to be applied to his sides. Though his limbs were being torn apart and his sides were being burned, the holy Bishop's mind remained firm and unmoved, praying meanwhile to God that He would be with him in these tortures. And indeed, divine goodness was present: for Christ presented Himself to be seen by him and thus addressed him: "Fear not, Aemilianus, for I am with you in all that you shall suffer." Suddenly the torches were extinguished, and the hands of the executioners were contracted.
[8] The Proconsul, astonished, ordered him to be taken down from the rack and addressed him thus: "What master's teaching taught you these things? I shall inflict greater torments upon you, and you shall not overcome them." The Saint replied: "My master is Christ. If you inflict greater torments, He will supply me with greater patience and strength." The Governor ordered him to be cast into a cauldron filled with boiling lead. Here the Bishop was singing psalms and praises to Christ, who appeared to him again and took him by the hand; and at once both the lead was poured out and the fire was extinguished. The Governor, together with his assessors, seized with astonishment and anger, ordered that a huge stone be tied to his neck and that he be cast outside the city into the river Clitumnus. Again Christ, taking him by the hand, gently drew him from the waters and set him on the bank, singing praises to God his Savior and Father.
[9] The Governor, nearly out of his mind after witnessing so many prodigies, ordered him to be brought before him and begged him to have regard for his vigorous and flourishing youth, and not to compel him to decree more severe punishments against him. When Aemilianus was in no way moved by his words, the Governor had lions, leopards, and other wild beasts brought from elsewhere, intending to expose the Saint to them. When they had arrived after a short interval and were enclosed within a certain enclosure or Circus, Aemilianus was sent in, with the entire populace watching. Christ was with him once more and thus addressed him: "Well done, Aemilianus, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful in a little, I will set you over greater things." The approaching beasts, when they saw him, began to fawn upon him with movements of their ears and tails, and to lick his hands and feet; nor did any depart from him until he had first blessed it.
[10] The multitude, astonished by all these miracles, cried out: "Great is the God of the Christians! Let His servant be freed!" And about a thousand people from the city and territory of Trebia who had gathered for the spectacle received the faith of Christ. The Governor, boiling with fury, ordered them all to be slaughtered, and even the beasts that had spared the Saint. The bodies of those thousand Martyrs lay unburied for many days, with no carnivorous animal daring to touch them. The other Christians, confirmed in the faith by this new miracle, honorably buried them in hidden places in the vicinity. These remains were afterward transferred by Abundantia, a noble widow, to Spoleto, her native city, and entombed in the church of St. Gregory. Aemilianus, beholding so great a spiritual fruit, exclaimed: "Glory to You, O Christ! For not only do human beings suffer for the honor of Your holy name, but even the wild beasts themselves were driven to undergo death rather than to inflict any harm upon Your servant."
Notes:
CHAPTER III
The death and burial of St. Aemilianus and his three companions.
[10] Maximianus, on the advice of his officials, ordered a new instrument of cruelty to be fabricated, namely a wheel girt all around with iron teeth, to which the Saint would be bound, so that when it was turned he would perish by a dreadful mangling. Meanwhile, he was thrust back into prison and spent his days and nights in hymns and spiritual canticles. When the machine was completed, Aemilianus was brought out for the public spectacle and bound to the wheel, so as to be rolled down from a precipitous place. Christ was present once more, and loosening his bonds, He preserved His servant free from all injury, the wheel being driven elsewhere and killing five hundred men.
[12] The Saint was asked by the Proconsul who his teacher had been. "Hilarianus," he said. The Proconsul ordered him to be taken back to prison, and Hilarianus, Hermippus, and Dionysius to be sought out, for they were hiding outside the city out of fear of the most bitter persecution. They were found, captured, and bound, and brought to Trebia and cast into the same prison in which Aemilianus was detained. It was a great consolation to all of them that they were suffering together for Christ, who had endured so much for their salvation. The holy old man Hilarianus revealed to them that it had been shown to him the previous night that he would shortly be granted the crown of martyrdom.
[13] When Hilarianus, Dionysius, and Hermippus were shortly afterward brought before the Governor, he declared to them that since they had imbued Aemilianus with the mysteries of their religion, they should now persuade him to turn his mind from them and purge himself of them; if they did so, he would count them among his intimates. When they refused, he threatened them with grievous torments. But Christ animated them with His presence, and suddenly an earthquake cast down and shattered the statues of the gods. The enraged Governor ordered them to be cruelly tortured and beheaded; and thus they won the diadem of martyrdom one day before Aemilianus.
[14] After they had perished, the Governor summoned the Bishop, to whom he had forbidden any report of what had happened to his companions; and, composing a fraud, he said: "Behold, your teacher and two companions have renounced Christ, and having been enrolled among my intimates, they have been sent by me to a certain city on some business of mine." The Holy Spirit revealed to the Bishop what had been done to his companions. Therefore he answered Maximianus thus: "You lie, O tyrant. Yet in this you speak truly: that they were sent by you into heaven, the city of God."
[15] The Governor was raging with fury; he finally ordered Aemilianus to be beheaded at a place one mile from Trebia and about three hundred paces from the river Clitumnus, called Carpianum, near which the church of St. Peter is now seen, with a noble monastery of the monks of Monte Oliveto. While he was being led to the place of martyrdom by the soldiers, he was singing psalms and hymns; then he poured forth prayers to God for his people and the other Christians, and especially for those who, after he had completed his contest, would honor his memory. The executioner, binding him to an olive tree, struck him with a blow of the sword to the head, but the sword bent like wax and inflicted no harm upon him. The executioners, moved by all these miracles, fell to their knees and begged forgiveness, and they too professed Christ, praying with tears that He would be merciful to them. Having granted them pardon, he too knelt and prayed to God to forgive them and to bestow upon them eternal life.
[16] When the prayer was completed, a voice was heard sent from heaven: "Well done, good and faithful servant; I have heard you in all that you have asked of me. Behold, at your prayer the heavens have been opened, choirs of Angels await you, a crown is prepared for you: enter therefore, O blessed one, into eternal rest. Henceforth you shall be called the Merciful, and you shall liberate very many; you shall be a hope to those who sail, a refuge to the oppressed, an advocate for the needy, a physician to the sick, and a most fierce persecutor of demons."
[17] Upon hearing these things, he gave thanks to God, and because he was possessed by an incredible desire for martyrdom, he earnestly prayed to God to allow him to end his life by the sword, repeating those words of the Apostle Paul: "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ" (Philippians 1:23). God granted these prayers also, for another executioner came and most readily severed his head. As soon as he breathed forth his soul, his body appeared most white, very like snow; and instead of blood, milk flowed from his severed neck. The tree to which he had been bound blossomed with new leaves and fruits. Very many pagans who had come to Trebia from the surrounding area for the spectacle, to honor the Proconsul, moved by all these many and great miracles, surrendered to the truth.
[18] The body was buried at night by the Christians, who were weeping profusely, embalmed with spices and wrapped in white linen, with a generous and precious burning of incense, near Carpianum, with a great portion of the citizenry, and indeed even of the diocese, gathering to pay it honor. It was subsequently transferred into the city and placed in a church dedicated to his honor, which later became the Cathedral.
[19] With the passage of time afterward, it was hidden—whether to preserve it from the fury of the barbarians plundering Italy, or by some other counsel of God. It certainly lies hidden, so that no one can now affirm in what place it rests; although a tradition prevails that it was laid in a small chapel situated above the said town of Carpianum, in an excavated cave, which Christians are thought to have secretly frequented in the most ancient times for the purpose of performing sacred rites.
[20] The martyrdom of St. Aemilianus occurred on 28 January in the year 302, under the rule of Diocletian and Maximian. His annual memorial is celebrated with a double Office not only in the city and territory of Trebia but also at Spoleto and throughout the entire diocese. Trebia is a walled town, but it now lacks a Bishop, its diocese—which was very small—having been united to that of Spoleto. Moreover, it venerates Aemilianus as its primary patron saint.