Policetus

ON ST. POLICETUS, DEACON, MARTYR, AT CARAVIS IN SPAIN.

UNDER NERO.

Policetus, Deacon, Martyr, at Caravis in Spain (St.)

G. H.

[1] Caravis was a very ancient city of Hither Spain, destroyed long ago by barbarians -- whether Goths, Alans, Vandals, or Saracens. Caravis, a city near Caesaraugusta now destroyed, The Itinerary of Antoninus Augustus persuades us that its site was near Caesaraugusta, the metropolis of Aragon, for when the route from Asturica through Cantabria to Caesaraugusta is laid out, these places are noted in the following order: Numantia, Augustobriga, Turiaso, Caravis, Caesaraugusta. Andreas de Poza in his Chorography of the Ancient Cities of Spain places Caravis near the borders of Aragon and Navarre.

[2] At Caravis suffered St. Policetus, or Polycoetus, a Levite, whose memory has been almost obliterated along with the city itself. His Acts are contained in an ancient hymn, St. Policetus the Martyr fell in death, which John Tamayo Salazar published in his Spanish Martyrology for February 13 from a Breviary of the monastery of St. Nabor in Lorraine, sent to him by the most learned Father Dom Froalinus, a monk; but he prefixes this eulogy written by himself: At Caravis near Caesaraugusta in Spain, in the territory of the Sedetani, St. Policetus, who in the time of the Emperor Nero, professing the faith of Christ, and serving as a Levite under Athanasius, Bishop of Caesaraugusta, was seized by the pagans, imprisoned, and afflicted with hunger in his dungeon, and finally, as an intrepid champion, attained the glory of martyrdom by the stroke of the sword. Ferrarius also celebrates him in his General Catalogue of Saints in these words: At Caesaraugusta, in the territory, St. Policetus, Martyr -- and this, as he notes, from the Calendar and Tables of the Church of Caesaraugusta. Concerning Athanasius, the first Bishop of Caesaraugusta, whom they say was a disciple of St. James, after other Spanish authors, Ludovicus Lopez treats in part 1 of the Antiquities of Caesaraugusta, book 2, chapter 7, and states that he is venerated on the Kalends of November.

HYMN

Policetus, Deacon, Martyr, at Caravis in Spain (St.)

Hear, my God, the throngs of people, Whom holy Polycoetus unites and adorns: That with great gift and voices We, grateful and distinguished in deed, heart, and mouth, St. Policetus, May pay our due, and joyfully follow The faith of the faithful and gracious Martyr. Gaul, his great mother, bore him, Giving forth this witness-bearing citizen with love: born in Gaul, Whom Spain afterwards, full of honor, Saw suffer then in bloody gore. Therefore now, poured forth in faith, and among the Iberians he came to Spain Dwelling, straightway the weapons of the law to the sick He shows to the citizens by word, by signs: whence Afterward the whole fierce people of the region, Both noble and common, burns toward God: Namely, this people taught through the heroic James the ways of faith, Joined to Athanasius the Priest, to Athanasius, Bishop of Caesaraugusta, Who afterward as gracious Bishop of the city of Caesar Augustus and its See was willingly made. Polycoetus clings to this Prelate: Whose spirit, lovingly absorbing, He gave himself wholly to his salvation, And afterward all the steps of his Master This faithful hero willingly follows. But the gracious Father, from afar recognizing The wondrous virtues of this man, Imbued him with the sacred Levitical Order, preserving the holy rites with skill. he is ordained a Levite, Endowed with this great gift, the Saint Preaches Christ with mouth, voice, and heart: Until, willingly seized in the city of Caravis, at Caravis Become a Martyr, he rejoicing preserves the faith. These things came about in this manner. in the persecution of Nero For The Neronian fury at this time, Savagely devouring almost all The Christians of Spain, seizes them again with the sharp And fatal blow of the sword. Therefore Polycoetus, undaunted, by this fatal slain, Blow, a sacred champion, then cut down, Gladly received death through the midst: he lives in heaven, Whereafter he becomes an inhabitant of heaven. Amen.