Lucian of Antiochia

ON ST. LUCIAN, PRIEST AND MARTYR

Year 312

Lucian, Priest of Antioch and Martyr (St.)

From various sources.

§ I. Lucian's holiness and Catholic doctrine.

[1] This glorious Martyr and Doctor is celebrated on January 7 by the Latins, and by the Greeks now on October 15, as is evident from the Menologion, the Menaea, and the Anthologion approved by Clement VIII; The birthday of St. Lucian. but formerly on the same day on which he died, January 7, as is clear from the sermon of St. John Chrysostom delivered in his praise on the day after Theophany. Concerning him Usuard writes: "On the same day, Blessed Lucian, Priest of the Church of Antioch and Martyr, sufficiently distinguished in learning and eloquence, suffered at Nicomedia for the confession of Christ in the persecution of Maximinus, and was buried at Helenopolis in Bithynia." Bellinus of Padua and the Roman Martyrology say nearly the same of him, except that they hold he suffered not under Maximinus but under Maximian. Bede and the printed edition of Ado have him suffering under Maximinus.

[2] Some write that he was cut into four parts. Notker and the MSS. Martyrologies of Ado — those of the monasteries of St. Lawrence at Liege and of Lobbes — have ^a more extended eulogy of him, slightly differing from the Acts that we shall give below: "And the Birthday of St. Lucian, Priest of the Church of Antioch and Martyr, ^a most learned and eloquent man, who suffered at Nicomedia for the confession of Christ, and was cut into four parts; each of these being bound to stones and cast into the sea, on another day his entire body was found at Helenopolis in Bithynia together with the stones themselves, and was honorably buried. This city, when it was formerly called Drepana, the Emperor Constantine restored in honor of the same Martyr and named Helenopolis after his mother." The MSS. of Laetium and St. Martin of Tournai, and the Florarium, have nearly the same. But the MSS. of St. Martin of Trier and St. Mary of Utrecht: "At Nicomedia, Lucian the Priest, who was broken into four parts, cast into the sea, and found whole." The old Roman Martyrology, the MS. of St. Jerome, Wandelbert, Maurolycus, Galesinius, and others also commemorate St. Lucian on this day.

[3] His eulogy from St. Jerome. St. Jerome, in his book On Illustrious Writers, Chapter 77, thus celebrates St. Lucian: "Lucian, ^a most eloquent man, Priest of the Church of Antioch, labored so greatly in the study of the Scriptures that to this day certain copies of the Scriptures are called Lucianic. His pamphlets on the faith and short letters to various persons are in circulation. He suffered at Nicomedia for the confession of Christ under the persecution of Maximinus, and was buried at Helenopolis in Bithynia." Honorius of Autun says nearly the same in his Chapter 77, but errs in writing that he was Bishop of Nicomedia.

[4] Two things concerning St. Lucian can be called into question: first, whether he held correct views on the orthodox faith; second, at what time he died. As to the first, because it is not our purpose to examine the writings of individual Saints, so long as it is established that they died in the Catholic faith and are reckoned by the Church among the blessed, we shall touch upon it here only briefly — especially since we know that our Peter Halloix will treat it more fully, for whom, ^a most learned man, I pray that God may be pleased to add many years. For the volumes he has already published on the deeds of the holy writers of the Eastern Church, both approved so wonderfully by that holy Abbot of Laetium, Antonius Wingius, and also praised by other most learned men, so that they declare they read no other writer with greater pleasure of mind — whatever some may think otherwise. But let us return to St. Lucian.

[5] When Lucian was most vigorously refuting the errors of the Sabellians, in the ardor of disputation he was carried so far as to seem to have inclined somewhat too freely in the opposite direction; and whereas those persons removed all distinction of persons in the Trinity, he so distinguished the persons that he seemed in ^a sense to separate the very substance. The same thing had happened to St. Dionysius of Alexandria (of whom we treat on November 17) Suspected of heresy. when arguing against Sabellius himself. And just as Dionysius was brought to account by the bishops of Libya, so that the case had to be referred to the Roman Pontiff, by whom he was absolved from all suspicion of heresy, so Lucian, vexed by the same cause and by three successive Bishops of Antioch, was also expelled from the Church. This is evident from the letter of St. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, which Theodoret relates in his Ecclesiastical History, Book 1, Chapter 4, where the following is read: "Then the pestilent teaching of Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch, who was expelled by ^a council of all bishops everywhere and by the judgment of the Church: of whose perverse doctrine Lucian became the successor, and for the space of many years — that is, while three bishops, one after the other, governed that church — He defended himself in writing. he remained excluded from the Church." But while Lucian endeavored to defend the integrity of his faith by written pamphlets, through the treachery of Pancratius the Sabellian he fell into the hands of the persecutors and was crowned with ^a glorious martyrdom.

[6] Acknowledged as Catholic by the Holy Fathers. But neither Jerome nor anyone else wrote of him except as ^a man eminently Catholic. Some of his disciples, however, and those who had formerly been stained with idolatry, declined into the sect of Arius; and Arius called his followers "Co-Lucianists." Nicephorus Callistus, Book 9, Chapter 5, reports that ^a certain formula of faith savoring of Arianism was falsely attributed to "Lucian, ^a divine man and one supremely learned in sacred letters above all others," by certain persons who wished to claim celebrity for their writing by the greatness of the Martyr. Sozomen, Book 3, Chapter 5, reports the same. The Macedonians likewise falsely boasted of St. Lucian as ^a supporter of their error, as St. Athanasius shows in his third Dialogue on the Holy Trinity — who nevertheless freely professes that he himself believes the same as Lucian; and in his Synopsis of Sacred Scripture he praises Lucian, as one standing on the side of the Catholics, with this illustrious eulogy, speaking of the edition of the sacred volumes which is called Lucianic: "The seventh and last," he says, "is that of St. Lucian the great ascetic and Martyr, who, having himself examined the aforementioned versions and the Hebrew books, and having diligently inspected what words were either wanting or exceeded the truth, and having corrected each in its proper place, published this version for his Christian brethren; The Lucianic version. which indeed, after his contest and martyrdom — which he endured under the tyrants Diocletian and Maximian — was found at Nicomedia under Constantine the Great King, among the Jews, in ^a book written in his own hand, in ^a niche in ^a wall sealed with plaster, where it had been placed for safekeeping." Concerning the same edition, Jerome writes in Epistle 107, which is his Preface to the Book of Paralipomenon addressed to Chromatius: "For Alexandria and Egypt in their copies of the Seventy praise Hesychius as their authority; Constantinople all the way to Antioch approves the copies of Lucian the Martyr; the provinces between these read the Palestinian codices, which were elaborated by Origen and published by Eusebius and Pamphilus; and the whole world contends with this threefold variety among itself." Baronius treats these matters at greater length in his Annals, Volume 3, at the year 311, number 11, and also at the year 318, number 74 and following, and in his Notes to the Martyrology.

§ II. The Acts and time of death of St. Lucian.

[7] The Acts of St. Lucian. The Acts of St. Lucian, described by an ancient author and inserted in the collection of Metaphrastes, and published in Latin by Lipomanus and Surius, Baronius at the year 311, number 3, calls genuine and commended by the perpetual testimony of writers. To these we shall subjoin certain passages from Rufinus's Ecclesiastical History, Book 9, Chapter 6. For what he, interpreting and occasionally amplifying Eusebius, relates in Chapter 2 and the following four chapters concerning the persecution stirred up again by Galerius Maximinus after the six months' truce granted to Christians by the edict of Galerius Maximian Armentarius — these were extant in the MS. of Ripatorium and the MS. of St. Maximin of Trier under the title of the Acts of St. Lucian, although in the Trier codex with wording slightly differing from Rufinus's published edition. We shall transcribe only those portions that pertain specifically to St. Lucian. We shall add what is recited about him in the Greek Menaea and Anthologion, and finally some passages from the Homily of St. John Chrysostom on the holy Martyr Lucian, which is number 46, Volume 3, of his works published in Greek and Latin by our Fronto Ducaeus.

[8] He suffered under Maximinus. Concerning the time of his martyrdom, Baronius writes these things in his Notes to the Martyrology: "That he suffered under Maximinus, Eusebius, then living and writing the deeds of the Martyrs, testifies in Book 9, Chapter 5. St. Jerome says the same in his On Illustrious Writers, under Lucian. It seems to have occurred through error that both Metaphrastes and Suidas say he died as ^a martyr under Maximian." But in his Annals, Baronius seems to have revised this position, writing at the year 311, number 3, that he suffered under Galerius Maximian (not Maximinus), in the consulship of Maximian VIII and Licinius, before the same Emperor forbade the persecution by edict. Dionysius Petavius of our Society asserts the same in his De Doctrina Temporum, Book 13. Both seem to have been led to this opinion because Eusebius in Book 8, Chapter 25, in listing the more celebrated Martyrs who obtained the palm of martyrdom in the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian, without yet having mentioned the cessation of that same persecution, also lists Lucian among them in these words: "Among the Martyrs of Antioch, Lucian, Priest of that diocese, most outstanding in his pious manner of life, who at Nicomedia in the presence of the Emperor himself first proclaimed the heavenly kingdom of Christ by ^a speech in the form of an Apology, and then by his deeds."

[9] The same persecution was called that of Maximian. But the persecution of Maximinus himself was not considered different from that which those men had formerly stirred up, although it was briefly interrupted around the time of the death of Maximian Armentarius; so that one who was killed by the order of Maximinus could be ascribed to the persecution of Maximian. By this reasoning they themselves are also compelled to explain what we brought from St. Athanasius above in number 6, who writes that St. Lucian was killed under Diocletian and Maximian. It seems, therefore, that Lucian was arrested after the persecution was renewed at Antioch toward the end of the year 311. And this will easily be proved to anyone who attentively reads the beginning of Book 9 of the Eusebian history. For when in Chapter 1 he has narrated the feigned relaxation of persecution; in Chapter 2, the fraud of Theotecnus; in Chapter 3, the new edicts issued by Maximinus; in Chapter 4, the forged Acts of Pilate; in Chapter 5 he at last recounts the slaughters perpetrated in various places, and in particular commemorates Silvanus, Bishop of Emesa, Peter of Alexandria, and Lucian. And of the last, Eusebius writes thus: "Likewise Lucian, Priest of the Church of Antioch, ^a man easily first in all other qualities, and distinguished for his self-control, long exercised in sacred learning, was brought to the city of Nicomedia, where the Emperor was then staying; and after he had recited before the Prefect of the city an apology for the doctrine of Christ, whose defense he had undertaken, he was cast into prison and there slain. So many and so grievous evils had been devised against us in ^a short span of time by Maximinus" (it is clearly evident from the context that the reference is to Galerius Maximinus, not to Armentarius), "the enemy of virtue and honesty, so that this latter persecution then aroused seemed to us much more bitter than the former." Thus Eusebius. Since Baronius could not refute these words, he denies that they were written by Eusebius and claims they were interpolated by another.

[10] The Acts of Pilate, forged by Maximinus, are refuted by Lucian. Concerning St. Peter of Alexandria we shall treat on November 26, where the arguments of Baronius, which pertain chiefly to him, will be examined. But regarding Lucian it is clearly proven that he was not killed until the persecution was renewed under Maximinus. For, as both Petavius and Baronius themselves acknowledge, those infamous Acts of Pilate were forged by the order of Maximinus; yet St. Lucian refuted them, as we shall say below from Rufinus; therefore he had not been removed before that new persecution arose under Maximinus. I do not see how this argument can be overturned — unless perhaps it should occur to someone that these things were fabricated by Rufinus, or interpolated into his work. By such reasoning anything could be denied. Nicephorus also, in his Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, Chapter 27, expressly reports that these events took place under Maximinus, although in Chapter 16, following Eusebius, when he lists the illustrious Martyrs killed in the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian, he also counts Lucian among them.

[11] But enough of these matters. In addition to those cited and those to be cited in the Notes, Vincent of Beauvais treats of St. Lucian in Book 13, Chapters 13 and 14. Peter de Natalibus must be corrected, however, when he writes that Lucian suffered under Maximian in the time of Pope Antherus. St. Antherus was killed under Julius Maximinus in the year 236, as we said on January 3; St. Lucian suffered under Galerius Maximinus in the year 312, when St. Miltiades sat at Rome, of whom we treat on December 10. Marianus Victorius mentions Lucian in his notes on Epistle 107 of St. Jerome. Cornelius Grasius does so in Volume 1 of his Lives of the Saints. Our Heribertus Rosweydus published his Acts in Flemish; Gabriel Flamma somewhat more copiously in Italian; Renatus Benedictus most accurately in French. Finally, the author of the Commentaries on Job, which are attributed to Origen, mentions him — although it is evident from this alone that they are not his, since Origen died long before Lucian, or else these words were certainly added by some copyist, and indeed (as it seems) ^a Latin one. This writer, whoever he may be, writes as follows in Book 2 on Job, near the middle: "Thus was the blessed and glorious Lucian perfected, The etymology of Lucian's name. bright in life, bright also in faith, bright also in the consummation of his endurance. For he was surnamed Lucian as if 'bright' (lucidus), either shining by his own light to himself, or giving light to others. For this blessed man, stretched upon shards of ground pottery for twelve days, was perfected on the thirteenth day." What "shards of ground pottery" (testae pollinae) are, I do not know. Baronius reads "many shards" (testas multas), as if it were written by the author ostraka polla (ὄστρακα πολλά). What if we should interpret it as the dust of shards, or shards ground to powder?

[12] That the relics of St. Lucian were translated to Gaul is testified by Andreas Saussay in his Gallican Martyrology, writing thus: "Birthday of St. Lucian, Priest of Antioch and Martyr, most distinguished in learning, eloquence, and holiness, who suffered at Nicomedia under Maximinus Caesar for the confession of Christ and was cut into four parts; each of which being bound to stones and cast into the sea, the next day at Helenopolis in Bithynia his body was found whole together with the stones themselves, and was buried with the greatest veneration of the faithful. Relics translated to Arles. But after several centuries had passed, Charlemagne brought it from the East and placed it at Arles, and having built ^a church in his honor, he had it honorably deposited there through Turpin, Archbishop of Reims; on account of which, at Arles the festive memorial of so great ^a Martyr is celebrated today according to ancient custom."

ACTS

BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR

From Simeon Metaphrastes.

Lucian, Priest of Antioch and Martyr (St.)

From Metaphrastes, by an anonymous author.

CHAPTER I.

The homeland, virtues, and learning of St. Lucian.

[1] Samosata is ^a city of Syria, past which the Euphrates flows. The homeland and education of St. Lucian. That city was the homeland of Lucian, where he was born of honorable rank, as this discourse, which will treat of him, will show. His parents were Christians. And it was the great concern of his parents to instruct Lucian from his earliest age in religion and piety toward God. Both departing from life, they left him ^a boy of twelve years. He, however, having found this as his sole consolation, on account of the loss of his parents took refuge in ^a certain sacred temple, having distributed all his possessions to the poor; and in his earliest years, having associated and lived with Macarius, who dwelt at Edessa and interpreted the sacred books, he gathered in ^a short time whatever was most excellent in them.

[2] And when he had first come to the bath of regeneration, having been regenerated through water and the Spirit, he turned to the monastic life. Then, when it seemed good to him to abstain entirely from wine and the eating of delicacies, he immediately, as if from starting-gates, fought against all the pleasures of the flesh. Forming himself by fasts, he brought himself to this firm and steady habit, that he would eat once ^a day at the ninth hour. His abstinence. He also had certain fixed cycles of days in which he would remain fasting for an entire week. He devoted the greater part of his time to prayers and tears. He was as far from buffoonery and laughter as he judged such things to be truly ridiculous. His gravity. On the other hand, he strove to imitate those who mourned, and considered them worthy of the Beatitudes. Having embraced silence His silence. and devoted to continual meditation, he always seemed thoughtful and full of sadness to those who approached him, even though in spirit he perpetually exulted and rejoiced within himself. If ever ^a word seemed to escape from his mouth, the divine Scriptures were what he spoke. Meditation on divine things. For so great ^a divine love of them had seized him that he hardly wished to take sleep on account of his continual meditation upon them. And whenever he wished to rest his body ^a little, he would not take sleep without intense prayer, nor without fervent tears and bending of the knees. But these things were rightly done by the Saint while he was still in his boyhood.

[3] His zeal for chastity. But after he had passed beyond that age and began to be ^a youth, he rendered the flesh incapable of any sedition against the spirit through the operation of the Holy Spirit; and he refreshed his body with certain foods that were very meager, to the point that for many days he would eat only bread — and not even bread for many of them, but things even more meager for nourishment than that. Water was his sweetest drink. Sometimes he even abstained from the use of fire.

[4] And having thus attained every human virtue, he was quickly the most renowned of all men of his time. He therefore gave himself to the Church of Antioch; and having advanced to the priesthood, he established there ^a great school of learning, with the most studious men from everywhere coming to him from other places. He opens ^a school at Antioch. He was practiced in rapid writing, and what he acquired from it he used both for his own sustenance and to supply the poor. For he considered it unjust that others should not share in the food he sought with his hands before he himself ate. He, therefore, having observed that the sacred books were greatly corrupted — both because time had corrupted much in them, and because the continual translation from one language to another, and certain most wicked men who presided over paganism, had attempted to pervert their meaning — he took them all up again and renewed them from the Hebrew language, He translates the Scripture from the Hebrew. which he also knew most accurately, devoting the greatest labor to correcting them. Furthermore, who could find that the purity of divine doctrines was better preserved by anyone of that time than by him?

CHAPTER II.

St. Lucian is arrested. The constancy of the boys.

[5] When the Emperor Maximian was seized with the greatest rage against the Church of Christ and was striving to destroy the Christian name from among men — seeking to remove as far as possible those who were the greatest among all — he heard of him as one whose great fame pervaded all parts; and ^a great desire seized him to bring that man under his power. Betrayed by the Sabellians, he is arrested. He therefore sent men to arrest him. But Lucian, when he learned of this, did not deliberately throw himself into danger, but took care as much as lay in his power, lest he should seem to approach dangers recklessly, or bring great sorrow upon the Church on his account. He therefore guarded himself to the best of his ability, inasmuch as the Lord had also done and said the same, and his disciples likewise. Leaving the city, therefore, he hid in ^a certain field. But ^a certain Pancratius of Antioch, who had attained the honor of Priest but held the same opinions as Sabellius, having long envied his glory, betrayed him to those who were searching.

[6] And so he was led to Nicomedia to die. For Maximian was there, who was carrying out ^a great slaughter of every kind against those who refused to deny Christ. For he had also killed Anthimus, who was Bishop of that same Nicomedia, and had delivered him to the fire, and Peter, the Bishop of Alexandria, and many other distinguished and valiant men. The cruelty of Maximian, even against boys. Indeed, he proceeded to such cruelty that he did not even spare infants, but killed them too; since he could not even persuade them to taste things that were sacrificed to demons. For he did not persuade them, but the boys resisted, openly strengthened by some help that did not visibly appear — to the further proof of the not only wickedness but also weakness of the demons and those who serve them. For it was ^a mark of manifest weakness that they could not make their will firm and prevailing, especially when they desired everything and tried everything. But it was the greatest support for those who fought thoughtfully and with judgment — the fortitude and constancy of the boys even unto death — so that they would be ashamed if they were seen to be inferior to boys, not resisting when grave and harsh things were inflicted, as those boys had done. And whoever in turn was broken by dangers, the sufferings of the boys brought them reproach — because it appeared that they were overcome not so much by the severity of the evils as by the softness of their souls. Thus nothing is, was, or ever shall be done rashly or without the best reason among the things granted by God and his providence. In this way, many varied and manifold things occurred at that time among boys, of which I shall narrate one that is most worthy to be committed to memory. For thus it happened:

[7] Two boys refuse to eat food sacrificed to idols. When Maximian had caused two boys who were brothers by birth, of illustrious rank, to be brought before him, he first attempted to ensnare them with certain promises by which he supposed boys would be most attracted. Then he ordered that some of the sacrifices that were before him, and which he had sacrificed in the sight of the boys, be brought to them, so that they might taste them and suffer no harm. But when they turned away and wept and said as best they could, with stammering tongue, that they had not been so taught by their parents, but that there was another manner which those parents followed, he threatened them, changed by anger, and even struck them with various blows. But when the boys resisted bravely and by no means yielded, being strengthened indeed by divine power, ^a certain Sophist who was present there with the Emperor, and who most eagerly incited and urged him to these things, promised that he would immediately make them eat. For he said it was ridiculous if the Emperors of the Romans should appear to be overcome by boys still stammering. He therefore contrived the following: having devised ^a most pungent and unbearable preparation of mustard, he first stripped the hair from their heads; and then, having smeared the thickest portion of the preparation on them, so that from the greater quantity ^a sudden and greater force might penetrate to the depth, They are cruelly tormented. he placed them in ^a heated bath. In that place the boys, their heads struck as if by ^a bolt of lightning, were at that very hour bowed down to the ground. Not long after, the younger of them by age fell and died first, They die piously. unable to resist the intensity of the flame kindled upon his skull. But when the other saw that his brother had fallen, he uttered blessed words with the loudest voice he could, exulting in his brother's victory, and embraced and kissed him, and proclaimed him the victor, crying out continually: "My brother, you have conquered!" — until, speaking this word and embracing and kissing him, he too expired and lay there, now holding his brother in his arms. This suffering, the greatest of that time and most pitiable to those who witnessed it, occurred then — their very age drawing the hearts of very many to compassion. And those who were related to them by birth took them up and buried them with other boys, on account of the shared cause. And this is the martyrdom near Nicomedia which is called the Martyrdom of the Infants, to this very day.

CHAPTER III.

Lucian converts many; he is cast into prison.

[8] When Lucian, while being led away, had come into Cappadocia and had encountered certain soldiers there who were indeed Christians St. Lucian converts 40 lapsed Christians in Cappadocia. but had been forced to apostatize, he recalled their minds, showing and explaining that it is the most shameful thing of all for men — and soldiers at that — to appear cowardly and faint-hearted, and most timid in facing the danger of death, when certain women and even boys had already proved themselves their superiors. "How," he said, "will you face dangers for ^a perishable and earthly King, you who have so quickly betrayed the heavenly one? And what protection or safeguard of salvation will you have if he should soon summon you hence? Do you not consider that he both governs and administers this whole universe, and that he is both the dispenser of life and the Lord of death? It is therefore far better, caring less for the present life, to attain that blessedness which never ceases with him, than by embracing the life that is here, to fall from it nonetheless — since you will perhaps both be deprived of this life by your enemies, and fail to attain that one, and moreover pay penalties of immortal punishment." When they heard these things, therefore, they came to their senses, and they repented of having denied. And when they had returned to themselves and spoken freely, very many suffered death for Christ, being no fewer than forty in number; some, however, having fought against every kind of torture, continued to live, having shown nothing base or cowardly in their second trial, but having blotted out the earlier judgment of their denial by their henceforth invincible constancy for the faith.

[9] But Lucian, having accomplished these and many similar things during the passage of his journey, was brought to Nicomedia. Others at Nicomedia. This man had many associates, and some of them were present with him during his contest at Nicomedia. Some of these, when those who were compelling Christians to follow the rites of the pagans came to them, at first yielded, being unable to endure the torments; but when the divine Lucian (for he was still alive) summoned them to himself and corrected their souls with every kind of discourse, and showed them how great the danger of transgression is, and that no one who has betrayed his confession of Christ will escape the flame of Gehenna that cannot be extinguished, they were led by repentance and brought back by him into the Church.

[10] Among those who had come to Lucian at Nicomedia was also Antoninus, the most beloved of his disciples, whom, after he arrived, he used as ^a secretary for writing letters, as Lucian himself shows in one of his epistles. Among those who were absent, there were indeed many men, and among the women, Eustolia, Dorothea, and Severa. They say that Pelagia also was among his disciples, Various disciples of his. who lived at Antioch in Syria; who is also said to have thrown herself from ^a very high roof when those who were about to arrest her approached, fearing lest she suffer something abominable by violence (for she was ^a virgin), and to have died in that way; whom even to this day those who are lovers of Martyrs honor as ^a Martyr.

[11] The tyrant fears the majesty of his countenance. Moreover, when Maximian heard from many that such reverence dwelt in Lucian's face that if he merely saw him he would be in danger of becoming ^a Christian, after he ordered him to be brought, fearing lest some such thing should happen to him, he interposed ^a curtain to separate their conference, and sent his words to him from afar, using an intermediary as the minister of speech. And first he promised that he would bestow innumerable gifts upon him, and would make him ^a counselor in the conduct of affairs, and ^a Father of the Imperial dignity, and ^a partner in the care undertaken for the highest matters; and many other such things — for all of which he said he asked only one thing, namely that he sacrifice to the gods. But when Lucian, having heard the magnitude of the gifts that were spoken of concerning them, regarded them as nothing, and said that not even the whole world was to be compared with piety toward God, then the Emperor, now changed, threatened to inflict upon him whatever punishment ^a long time might discover, and whatever he himself could devise that was new and unheard of. But when Lucian opposed to these threats an undaunted boldness and was ready to go forth into battle, the Emperor, greatly enraged, did not wish to put him to death immediately — for he thought he would thus be doing him ^a favor, as one who would at once free him from evils — but ordered that he be cast into prison and tortured in various ways.

CHAPTER IV.

He dies under torments.

[12] He is tortured in various ways. When those to whom this had been commanded received him, they afflicted him with many and various torments, by which he would indeed suffer grievous pain, but would endure for ^a long time in his sufferings. And now they would place both his feet into the stocks (which is ^a kind of elongated torture instrument), stretching them apart to four holes — which is the most grievous part of this punishment, when the hip joints on both sides are violently dislocated. And now they maliciously spread dense and continuous sharp points of potsherds over his entire back; and so that the just man might not even be permitted to turn himself or even move while being wounded by such points, they extended his hands and bound them to ^a certain beam that was placed above his head. Moreover, they afflicted him with many other insults and indignities, and they also barred him from all food unless he was willing to eat what they sacrificed — for that they offered in abundance. But he would have preferred to undergo even innumerable deaths, and more gladly remaining hungry would have been gradually consumed by famine, than to have merely suffered the sight of those things. Thus the servant of Christ remained, being consumed by hunger for ^a full fourteen days, doing his customary things, and with words of teaching encouraging those who were imprisoned for Christ, and strengthening them with most constant and continual prayers.

[13] He predicts the day of his death. When some days had already passed since he was afflicted in the manner we have described, and the feast day of Theophany was already approaching — but sadness had come upon the disciples (for many were now present from Antioch and gathered from other places), reflecting that their master, unable to resist the prolonged famine, would soon leave them, while they themselves would by no means be deemed worthy to celebrate the feast day of Theophany with him — for it seemed to them to be still very far off, and the master's body could not endure until that day, since starvation had already consumed it for the most part — that illustrious man consoled them and bade them be of good cheer: "For I shall be with you," he said, "and shall celebrate the feast day of Theophany with you; but I shall depart on the day after." And what he had said was brought to fulfillment, divine power being clearly manifested in this.

[14] He celebrates the Mass, using his own breast as an altar. When therefore the feast day that was awaited had arrived, the disciples desired to receive from their master this last celebration of the divine mystery. But it seemed doubtful how they might bring ^a table into the prison, or escape the notice of the eyes of the impious, since many were partly present there and partly coming in. But he said: "The table shall be for you this breast of mine — not, I think, less honorable to God than one made of inanimate material. And you shall be my holy temple, surrounding me on every side." And so these things were done in this manner. For, since the Saint was near the end of his life, the guards had become lax — God, as I believe, who wished to honor the Martyr and could not bear the inconsolable longing of his disciples to appear unsatisfied, bringing it about that what had been proposed might proceed without impediment. For when the Martyr had made them all stand in ^a circle, so that standing near one another they might safely enclose him, he commanded the sacred elements of the divine sacrifice to be placed upon his breast. After they had done this, he straightaway lifted his gaze to heaven, though he could now scarcely raise it, and performed the customary prayers. Then, after he had spoken many divine words and completed all the sacred rites that had been proposed, he himself both partook of the Sacraments and sent them to those who were absent, as he himself also shows in his last letter to them. And so he spent that day with them, just as he had promised.

[15] He dies in holiness. But on the following day, when certain men came from the Emperor to see whether he was still alive (for it seemed to them ^a great wonder that he had prolonged his life this far), after he looked upon those who had come and stood near him, having stretched himself out as far as he could, and having said three times, "I am ^a Christian" — together with the last utterance he gave up his spirit.

CHAPTER V.

His burial. The city of Helenopolis.

[16] There are some who say that he was cast into the depths of the sea while still breathing. For Maximian, having marveled at his perpetual constancy to the end, ordered those who minister in such matters to throw him into the sea, having fastened ^a great stone to his right arm, so that being submerged he would appear nowhere, and his body would obtain no burial, nor would funeral rites be performed for him. His body is cast into the sea. And he was indeed in the deep for fourteen days — the same number as he had fought in prison against the various sufferings of the body. But on the fifteenth day ^a dolphin brought him to shore in this manner: while his disciples were going about the banks and shores, each in different places, to see if they could somehow find him cast up from the sea — and since it was wintertime and the sea was very stormy — the long time had caused them to despair utterly of being able to find him.

[17] Meanwhile, however, on the fifteenth day the Martyr appeared in ^a dream to ^a certain Glycerius, his true disciple, who was then in ^a region across from the mainland of Nicomedia, and said to him: "O you, as soon as you arise in the morning, go to this place" (showing ^a place on the shore), "for I shall meet you," he said, "when you come there." But he, as soon as sleep released him — because of the great vividness and wonder of what had been shown — and the day was already dawning, arose, and taking with him certain other pious men, came with them to the place that had been indicated to him. A dolphin carries the body to land. And there ^a huge dolphin was rising from the sea, already emerging from it; being stretched out upon the surface of the water, it was breathing heavily and making for the shore; and there was much foam about it, and the murmur of waves that were being parted by it. It bore the body stretched out, as if lying on ^a bed. And it was ^a wonderful spectacle: the dead man remaining quietly upon ^a body so slippery and round, neither rolled off from the vehicle that bore him by his own weight nor by the force of the waves. When the dolphin had come near the mainland, it was lifted high by ^a wave and brought the body to land. And then it immediately expired.

[18] The dead man, straightaway carried onto the sand, lay there safe and entirely whole, except that the right hand, The right hand is later reunited with the body. to which the stone had been fastened, had not followed the rest of the body. And there are some who say that it was not afterwards cast forth from the sea either, but remained in the deep, having become what God willed. Others, however, say that it too was returned not long after, when the bond had loosened from it, and being carried to land and taken up by those present, was restored once more to the same frame of the body. This happened to the hand because God, as I think, wished to honor it separately, as one who valued the labor that had been undertaken through it in the correction of the Scriptures. For in the sufferings he had endured for Christ, the greater part was held in greater honor.

[19] But let no one suppose that the dead body was brought by the dolphin by chance, nor that this happened by mere fortune. For that the dolphin did indeed carry him forth in the manner described seems most manifest, since many who lived at that time made mention of it. Indeed I myself know that from my earliest age this verse was customarily sung about him, of which this is the final part:

> "Carrying him on its back from the sea to the land, the dolphin expired."

But that this did not happen by chance These things did not happen by chance, but by the sure providence of God. is shown above all by the very magnitude of the miracle that occurred. Also the dream that happened on its account. And indeed the things that were shown afterwards. For the body carried forth from the sea was ^a remarkable miracle to those who gazed upon it — since, beyond what had happened in the sea, it remained otherwise unharmed, and neither had the sea in so many days damaged it, nor had any fish touched it, nor did any foul odor issue from it — so that it was manifest in every way that what had happened was divine. And it was neither from any previous contempt, nor because he could not defend him, that God permitted the Martyr to undergo such dangers; nor now was it without the most just cause that he who had worked so many miracles through him allowed the hand to be severed from the rest of the body. But then, being about to adorn his virtue in its entirety, he called him to the fellowship of the sufferings of his Son, providing him with the best and most just occasion for this — that he might also share in the glory of the Son. And this is my common reasoning concerning all Martyrs, that is, witnesses of the truth. But now, wishing to confirm that the effort he had devoted to the Sacred Scriptures was ^a work of the highest value, God wished to honor even with its own special sufferings the hand that had particularly served him in this matter — just as, I think, spectators are accustomed to crown with garlands the arms of athletes. But if anyone should also believe that the hand remained in the sea, he may consider both these things and the fact that God often mingles with miracles things that proceed from nature, so that through the former the power that works miracles may be shown, while through the latter credence may also be given to nature. But these things, and for what reason each happens, he who administers them will purely know at last. Moreover, in each of the things that are wonderfully done and accomplished by him, one may learn that there is also another reason — hidden and above us — and ^a most excellent administration that cannot be comprehended, and that nothing happens rashly or by chance.

[20] St. Lucian is buried. Then, therefore, the body thus brought forth from the sea by the dolphin was carried onto the sand. The disciples, running together, first saluted it as was fitting, coming from every direction, and kissed and embraced it, each according to his ability, out of the ready and eager affection of their souls. Then, having taken it up and borne it out with their own hands, and having performed all the customary funeral rites, they deposited it in ^a distinguished place. And at that time they erected ^a tomb for him, such as they could, as the urgency of the time demanded. But afterward, the venerable Helena, who restored to us the saving Cross of the Lord and gave birth to the great Constantine among illustrious Emperors, when she was returning from Jerusalem, honoring the place, founded ^a city there, summoning inhabitants from the regions round about and making them participants in the works, and encircled it with strong walls, Helenopolis founded at his tomb. and built ^a very great temple for the Martyr — which even now is seen, conspicuous and beautifully constructed, by those who enter and sail by both land and sea — to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and of those who contended for his sake; because to him belongs glory forever and ever, Amen.

ON THE SAME HOLY MARTYR

From Rufinus and MSS.

Lucian, Priest of Antioch and Martyr (St.) BHL Number: 5007

From various sources.

[1] St. Lucian renders an account of our faith before the Judge. Lucian, ^a man outstanding in character, self-control, and learning, ^a Priest of Antioch, when he had been brought before the tribunal of the Judge, the Governor said to him: "Why do you, ^a rational and prudent man, follow ^a sect of which you cannot give an account? Or if there is one, let us hear it." Then he, having been given the opportunity to speak, is said to have delivered an oration of this kind concerning our faith: "It is not hidden that we Christians worship one God, announced to us through Christ and inspired in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. For we are not, as you suppose, constrained by the error of some human persuasion; nor are we, like others, deceived by the unexamined tradition of our parents. Our authority concerning God is God himself. For that sublime Majesty could not have entered the perceptions of the human mind unless it had been conveyed by the power of his own Spirit, or revealed by the interpretations of his Word and Wisdom. I confess, we too once erred; and we thought the idols we ourselves had fashioned were the creators of heaven and earth. But the fragile nature of their substance, the consecration furnished by our own hands, convicted them — in whom there was only as much veneration as the hands of craftsmen had bestowed beauty. But that almighty God — whom we did not fashion with our hands, but whose handiwork it was fitting that we should be — pitying the errors of mortals, sent his Wisdom into this world, clothed in flesh, which taught us to seek the God who made heaven and earth not in things made by hands but in things eternal and invisible. He also established for us the laws of life and the precepts of discipline: to preserve temperance, to rejoice in poverty, to cultivate gentleness, to pursue peace, to embrace purity of heart, to guard patience. But he also predicted that all these things which you now conduct against us were to come upon us: that we would be led before Kings and placed before the tribunals of judges, and slaughtered like victims."

[2] "For this reason," he continued, "he himself, who was immortal, being the Word and Wisdom of God, offered himself to death, so that, placed in ^a body, he might provide us with an example of patience. But neither did he deceive us by his death — for he rose again after the third day; not as those falsely composed Acts of Pilate contain, He refutes the forged Acts of Pilate. but innocent, spotless, and pure, he accepted death for this sole purpose: that he might conquer it by rising again. But what I say was not done in an obscure place, nor does it lack witnesses. Almost the greater part of the world now attests to this truth — entire cities. Or if anything in these seems suspect, the rustic populace, ignorant of fabrication, also bears witness to these things. If this is still not believed, I shall also bring you the testimony of the very place where the event occurred. The place itself in Jerusalem attests to these things — and the rock of Golgotha, split under the weight of the cross; and that cave which, the gates of hell having been torn away, gave back the body once more alive, so that it might be borne more purely thence to heaven. Or if these things still seem to you insufficiently worthy — things which bear substance on earth — receive also from heaven ^a faithful witness. I bring forth the sun itself as my witness of these things, which, when it saw these things being done on earth by the impious, hid its light at midday in heaven. Search in your Annals: you will find that in the time of Pilate, while Christ was suffering, the sun was put to flight and the day was interrupted by darkness. But if you do not grant credence to the earth, the sky, or the blood of those from whom you seek the truth through torments, how will you believe my words and arguments?"

[3] And when he had almost begun to persuade his hearers with these words, he was ordered to be snatched away to prison, and there killed as if without public tumult. Immediately the ministers of iniquity, carrying out the Governor's command, He is killed. cut off his venerable head; and the angels carried his victorious soul with joy to heaven. And his body was buried at Helenopolis in Bithynia, He is buried at Helenopolis. to the praise and glory of almighty God, whose reign and dominion endure without end, forever and ever, Amen. This city also, in which the blessed Martyr of God, Lucian, is buried, was formerly called Drepana, but the Emperor Constantine, servant of God, restoring it to greater splendor in honor of the same Martyr of Christ, named it Helenopolis, from the name of his mother.

ON THE SAME

From the Anthologion of the Greeks.

Lucian, Priest of Antioch and Martyr (St.)

Born of religious parents, Lucian, from the time of their death, poured out all his wealth upon the needy and devoted himself entirely to the meditation of sacred literature. For this reason he drew many, both of Jews and Greeks, to the faith of Christ. St. Lucian converts many. Then, having left his paternal home and set out for Nicomedia, he there raised up and confirmed the Christians who were wavering from fear of punishments and defecting from the faith to undertake the contest. And since he wrote most elegantly, he left to the Church of Nicomedia ^a volume distinguished by three columns of pages, in which he encompassed the entire Old and New Testament of sacred literature. He is invisible to whomever he wishes. He was so much higher than ordinary men that when he walked through the city, he was seen by those he wished, and not perceived by those he did not wish. When Maximian learned of this and feared to look upon his face directly, he conversed with him while hiding behind ^a curtain. He is starved to death. And when he observed the invincible constancy of his spirit, he condemned him to prolonged starvation. Therefore, deprived of all food and drink for many days, he expired in prison. His body by the Prefect's order was cast into the sea. But ^a dolphin, by divine providence, received it upon its back and brought it to land.

ON THE SAME

From St. John Chrysostom.

Lucian, Priest of Antioch and Martyr (St.)

From St. John Chrysostom.

[1] The feast of St. Lucian on the day after Theophany. Yesterday our Lord was baptized in water; today his servant is baptized in blood. Yesterday the gates of heaven were opened; today the gates of hell were trampled underfoot. And let us not wonder that we call martyrdom ^a baptism; for here too the Spirit comes with great abundance, and there is an abolition of sins and ^a certain wonderful and astonishing purification of the soul. And just as those who are baptized are washed with water, so those who suffer martyrdom are washed with their own blood — which indeed also happened in this man's case.

[2] St. Lucian laughs at every torment. But before we speak of the killing, it is worthwhile to discuss the cunning of the devil. For when he observed that every kind of torture and punishment was laughed at by the Saint — and that he had not been able to overcome the Saint's philosophy either by ^a blazing furnace, or by ^a dug-out chasm, or by ^a prepared wheel, or by hoisting him on the rack, or by hurling him from precipices, or by exposing him to the teeth of beasts — he devised another more bitter kind of punishment. Searching about, he went looking for ^a punishment that would be at once the most bitter and the longest. For since punishments that are unbearable have this effect, that we are freed from them very quickly, while those that last longer subtract something from the pain, he strove to find ^a punishment in which both things would be present together — both duration and an intolerable excess of pain — He is tormented by hunger. so that both the intensity and the length of time might dislodge his steadfast soul from its ground. What then does he do? He exposes this holy man to hunger. But when you hear of hunger, do not pass over what is said carelessly; for it is the most bitter of all deaths, as those who have experienced it testify. God forbid that we should ever experience it; for we have been rightly taught to pray that we enter not into temptation. For like an executioner dwelling within the viscera, it tears apart all the limbs, corroding the body on every side more savagely than any fire or beast, and branding it with inexplicable pain.

[3] And so that you may understand how great ^a thing hunger is, even mothers have often devoured their own children, being unable to bear the violence of this evil. And the Prophet, lamenting this calamity, said: "The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children; those whom they had borne they ate" Lamentations 4:10 — and the womb of the mother who bore them became the tomb of the infants born, and hunger surpassed nature; He overcomes it. or rather, not only nature but also the will. Yet it did not overcome the generosity of this Saint. Who then, having heard these things, would not be struck with amazement? And yet what is more powerful than nature? And what, on the other hand, more changeable than the will? But that you may know nothing is stronger than the fear of God, the will appeared to be something more vehement than nature; and it conquered mothers and compelled them to forget their offspring; yet it was unable to supplant this Saint. Neither did the punishment conquer his philosophy, nor did the penalty overcome his fortitude; but he remained firmer than any adamant, and took comfort in good hope. He gloried in having obtained material for his contests, and was consoled by the opportunity of struggles that was offered, especially hearing Paul saying each day: "In hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness" 2 Corinthians 11:27; and again: "Even unto this hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted" 1 Corinthians 4:11. For he knew — indeed he knew well — that saying: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" Matthew 4:4.

[4] He turns away from the food sacrificed to idols set before him. But when the wicked demon saw that he was not broken by such great necessity, he made the torment worse; for having taken food sacrificed to idols and loaded ^a table with it, he had it placed before his sight, so that the opportunity of eating might break the strength of his soul. For we are not so easily ensnared when the things by which we are attracted do not appear as when they are set before our eyes — since even the desire for women one may more easily overcome while not seeing ^a beautiful woman than if one continually fixes one's eyes upon her. Nevertheless the Just Man overcame even these snares, and what the devil thought would break his fortitude actually strengthened and prepared him more for the contests. For not only was he not harmed at all by the sight of the food sacrificed to idols, but he turned away from it and hated it all the more for that reason. And just as we are disposed toward enemies — whom, because we see them, we pursue with all the greater hatred and aversion — so also he was then disposed toward that impure offering: he detested and shrank from it all the more because he saw it. And the sight of the food set before him aroused greater hatred and aversion in him. And while hunger was urging him within with ^a loud voice and bidding him taste what was set before him, then the fear of God restrained his hands and made him forget his very nature. And while he gazed upon the polluted and execrable table, he remembered another table — the one that is awe-inspiring and overflowing with the Spirit — and was so inflamed that he determined to endure and suffer anything rather than taste those impure foods.

[5] He encourages himself by the example of the three youths. He also remembered that table of the three youths, who, young men taken captive and deprived of all protection, in ^a foreign and barbarous land showed such philosophy that to this very day their fortitude is celebrated. And whereas the Jews, while they still possessed their own land, were impious toward God, and while they frequented the Temple, worshipped idols, those young men, transplanted into ^a barbarous land where there were idols and every occasion of impiety, perpetually maintained their ancestral rites. "If then captives, servants, and youths, before the law of grace, displayed such philosophy," he said, "what pardon shall we deserve if we cannot even attain to the same virtue as they?" Therefore, pondering these things, he mocked the malice of the devil, despised his cunning, and was not swayed by anything that he saw.

[6] To every question he responds: "I am ^a Christian." After the wicked one saw that he was accomplishing nothing, he brought him back before the tribunal, and added continuous interrogations to the torments he applied. But to each question he answered only this: "I am ^a Christian." And when the torturer asked, "From what country do you come?" he said, "I am ^a Christian." "What craft do you practice?" "I am ^a Christian." "From what parents were you born?" And to all things he said, "I am ^a Christian" — striking the head of the devil with this one simple word and inflicting upon him continuous and successive wounds. Although he had indeed been imbued with secular learning, he well knew that in such contests there was no need of eloquence but of faith; not of the faculty of speech but of ^a soul inflamed with the love of God. One word, he said, suffices to put the entire army of the devil to flight. And indeed it seems to those who do not examine the matter carefully to be ^a rather unfitting response; but if anyone considers it more attentively, from this too he will perceive the wisdom of the Martyr. For he who said "I am ^a Christian" declared his homeland, his lineage, the profession of his craft, and everything. How so? I shall tell you. The Christian has no city on earth, but "the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother" Galatians 4:26. The Christian has no earthly profession of ^a craft, but his conversation pertains to the heavenly life above. "For our citizenship is in heaven" Philippians 3:20. The Christian has as kindred all the Saints and fellow citizens. "For we are fellow citizens of the Saints and members of the household of God" Ephesians 2:19. And so with one word he taught most precisely both who he was, and whence, and from whom, and what he was accustomed to do; and he ended his life with this utterance, and departed bearing safely back to Christ the deposit entrusted to him, and left to posterity from what he suffered an exhortation to persevere and to fear nothing except sin and denial alone.

[7] Therefore, since we too know these things, let us in time of peace exercise ourselves in the affairs of war, How we may imitate him. so that when the time of war arrives, we too may erect ^a glorious trophy. He despised hunger; let us too despise delicacies and overturn the tyranny of the belly — so that if ^a time should come that demands such fortitude of us, having been previously exercised in lesser matters, we may appear distinguished in the arena (skamma). He spoke boldly before Princes and Kings; let us do the same even now. And if we sit in the gatherings of wealthy and illustrious pagans, let us profess our faith with confidence and mock their errors. But if they undertake to extol their own affairs and to belittle ours, let us not be silent or bear it lightly; but exposing their shame, let us with great wisdom and confidence exalt all the affairs of Christians with praises. And as the Emperor carries ^a diadem on his head, so let us everywhere carry about the confession of our faith. For ^a crown does not adorn him as much as faith and its confession customarily adorn us. Let us do this not only with words but also with deeds, and in all things let us show ^a life worthy of our confession; lest we disgrace our doctrines by the wickedness of our works, but glorifying our Lord in all things, may we obtain the honor both of this age and of that which is to come — which may we all attain, by the grace and benevolence of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, dominion, and honor, together with the holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always, forever and ever, Amen.