DE S. ZOSIMO THE SOLDIER, MARTYR IN PISIDIA, ABOUT THE YEAR CX.
PREVIOUS COMMENTARY
On his Acts, and the places named therein, the Elogia from the Synaxaria.
Zosimus the Soldier, Martyr in Pisidia (S.)
BY G. H.
Pisidia, a most well-known region of Asia, by some called the Northern part of Pamphylia, has four cities mentioned below in the Acts of S. Zosimus. Of these the chief is Antioch, the metropolis of the Province itself, and the Seat of the Praeses Dometianus, The places of Pisidia: Antioch, Apollonias, Sozopolis. under the Emperor Trajan, under whom that one suffered Martyrdom. The other cities are Apollonia or Apollonias and Sozopolis, in one of which S. Zosimus dwelt. There came therefore Demetianus the Praeses ἐν τῇ Απολλωνίᾳ διὰ τῆς Σωζουπολιτῶν πόλεως — to Apollonia through the city of the Sozopolitans, as the Greek Acts have below, or as is read in the Menologium of Basil the Emperor, ἐξ Ἀπολλονιάδος τῆς ἐν Σωζοπόλει — from Apollonias which is at Sozopolis. In which way also it is read in the Ms. Synaxarium of the Church of Constantinople, and in the printed Menaea; so that S. Zosimus seems to have been found at Sozopolis, and afflicted with various torments; and for this cause he was ascribed to Sozopolis in the Roman Martyrology in these words: At Sozopolis, of S. Zosimus the Martyr, who in the persecution of Trajan, under the Praeses Dometianus, after bitter tortures with his head cut off, victorious passed over to the Lord. Galesinius in his Martyrology ascribed him to Apollonia. But thence he was led away to Conana, and there completed his martyrdom. Molanus in the Additions to Usuard; In the city of the Conanenses, of S. Zosimus the Martyr. Below in the Greek Acts it is called Κονανέων Πόλις, the city of the Conanenses, at num. 6 and 9 where ἐτελεώθη ἐν τῇ Κονανέων Πόλει — he was perfected in the city of the Conanenses. There is in the Geography of Ptolemy Conna, a city of Pisidia toward Perga, in the tract of Pamphylia and Pisidia: for which is also wrongly written Comana, which is of Cappadocia.
[2] Trajan, under whom Zosimus suffered, reigned from the year XCVIII up to the year CXVII: The time of the martyrdom completed at Conana. he moved to persecution against the Christians, which is held the third, in the year CVII, so that in this or the following years S. Zosimus seems to have been crowned with martyrdom; and this under the Praeses Dometianus (as he is called by all the Greeks) not Domitianus, as in the Latin version it is written.
[3] We found the Greek Acts in the Vatican Library codex 1667 as we give them, and rendered into Latin by Cardinal Sirleto, Aloysius Lipomanus Bishop of Verona published them, The Greek Acts in Ms. in part 2 of tome 7 of the Lives of the Holy Fathers, and from him Laurentius Surius at this XIX June. Lipomanus cites the Greek under the name of Metaphrastes: but Allatius, in his work on the writings of the Simeons p. 122, counts them in the class of those which are not Metaphrastes's. Illustrious compendia meanwhile have been published by the Greeks, of which we set forth that which in the Menologium of Basil the Emperor Porphyrogenitus, written in the tenth century of Christ, exists in this manner: Ζώσιμος, ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Μάρτυς ὑπῆρχεν ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας Τραἳάνου ἐξ Ἀπολλονιάδος τῆς ἐν Ζωσοπόλει· Στρατευόμενος δὲ ὑπὸ τῷ τῆς Ἀντιοχειας τῆς Πισιδίας Ἡγεμόνι Δωμετιανῳ, ῥίψας τὰ ὄπλα, καὶ προσφυγὼν τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐκκλησία, τοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ ἀξιοῦται βαπτίσματος. Κρατηθεὶς οὖν ἤχθη δέσμιος πρὸς τὸν Ἡγεμόνα· καὶ ἐρωτηθεὶς, καὶ ἑαυτὸν Χριστιανὸν εἶναι ὁμολογήσας, ταθεὶς ἐκ τεσσάρων, ἐτύφθη σφοδρῶς· καὶ κρεμασθεὶς ἐπὶ ξύλου ἐξέσθη, καὶ ἐπὶ κράββατον πεπυρακτωμένον ἐτέθη· μεταβληθέντος δὲ τοῦ πυρὸς εἰς δρόσον, πολλοὶ τῶν ἀπίστων καταπλαγέντες, ἐπίστευσαν εἰς Χριστόν. Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα κρηπίσι καθηλωθεὶς, καὶ ἵπποις νέοις προσδεθεὶς, ἠναγκάσθη συντρεχειν τῷ Ἡγεμόνι· καὶ εἰς τὴν Κανεωτῶν πόλιν ἐλαύνεται ἄσιτος διαμείνας ἐπὶ τρισὶν ἡμέραις. Καὶ πάλιν εἰς ἐξέτασιν ἀχθεὶς, καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ὁμολογήσας παῤῥησίᾳ, ἐτμήθη τὴν κεφαλήν. [Zosimus, the Martyr of Christ, lived under the reign of Trajan, from Apollonias which is at Sozopolis; and serving as a soldier under Dometianus the Governor of Antioch of Pisidia, he cast away his arms, and taking refuge in the Church of Christ, was deemed worthy of baptism in Christ. Seized therefore he was brought bound to the Governor; and being questioned, and confessing himself to be a Christian, stretched out from four, he was beaten severely; and hung upon wood he was scraped, and set upon a heated grate; but the fire being changed into dew, many of the unbelievers, astonished, believed in Christ. And after these things, fastened with nailed shoes, and bound to young horses, he was forced to run along with the Governor; and into the city of the Caneotae he was driven, remaining without food for three days. And again brought to examination, and confessing Christ openly, he was cut in the head.]
[4] Zosimus, the Martyr of Christ, was under the Empire of Trajan, from Apollonias, Compendium from the Menologium of Basil the Emperor, seized at Sozopolis by Dometianus the Praeses of Antioch of Pisidia. He, having thrown away his arms, had fled to the Church of God, deemed worthy of the sacred baptism of Christ. Captured therefore and bound, he was led to the Praeses and examined; and professing himself to be a Christian, stretched out from four parts he is cruelly cut, and hung upon wood he is scorched, and cast upon a kindled iron grate, but the fire being changed into dew many of the unbelievers converted believed in Christ. Afterward, clad in shoes pierced with nails, and tied to young horses, he is forced to run after the Praeses. Having set out to the City of the Caneotae he remained there three days without any food: and again brought to interrogation, and having professed Christ with great constancy, he is struck in the head. These things there.
[5] The Ms. Synaxarium of the Church of Constantinople, which belongs to the Parisian college of the Society of Jesus, as also the printed Menaea, have almost all the same things in the same words, in the Ms. Synaxarium of C. P. and the Menaea, fuller toward the end, and name the city of the Κανιτῶν or Κονανιτῶν, where the tolerated torments are more diffusely explained and it is added, that when he had remained three days unfed, θέοθεν δὲ δυὸ παιδῶν ἐπιφανέντων αὐτῷ· καὶ τοῦ μὲν ἄρτον, τοῦ δὲ ἐν ἀγγείῳ ὕδωρ κομίζοντος αὐτῷ, εὐχαριστήσας τῷ Θεῷ τούτων μετέλαβεν. Ἀχθεὶς δὲ εἰς ἐξέτασν πάλιν κρεμασθεὶς ξέεται, καὶ λαμπάσι πυρὸς κατακαίεται, καὶ σιδήροις ὀξέσι κατακεντᾶται τὸν νῶτον, καὶ * ξηρωτέμνεται τὰ νεῦρα, καὶ τὰ οστὰ συντρίβεται σιδηραῖς σφοίραις· καὶ οὑτως τὸν αὐχενα τμηθεὶς, τὸν τοῦ μαρτυρίου κομίζεται στέφανον. [but two boys appearing to him from God; and one bringing him bread, the other water in a vessel, having given thanks to God he partook of these. And brought again to examination, hung up he is scraped, and is burned with torches of fire, and is pierced in the back with sharp irons, and the sinews are cut, and the bones are crushed with iron balls; and thus, cut in the neck, he receives the crown of martyrdom.]
[6] With two boys appearing to him from heaven, of whom the one supplied bread, the other a small vessel of water, with these, after thanks given to God, he was refreshed. Led back thence to interrogation, perhaps taken from other Acts, again hung up he is burned, and tormented with lighted torches, and pricked in the back with sharp spits, the sinews of his hams are cut, his bones are crushed with iron balls, and in this manner with his neck cut off, he is honored with the crown of martyrdom. Similar things we find in very many other Mss. cited by us here and there, from which is composed the elogium in the Menologium of Sirleto,
But of those last torments the Acts which we give have nothing: and they do not say that the nailed shoes were applied to the Martyr in leading him to the city of the Conanenses; but that in that very city, having been led back to the tribunal, they were applied: which appears less probable: whence it comes that we suspect, that those Elogia were received not from the Acts which we shall give, but from others more ancient and more sincere.
Noted* perhaps σκελοτεμνεται, by various torments
ACTS OF THE MARTYRDOM
From Greek Mss., collated with the translation of Cardinal Sirleto.
Μαρτύριον τοῦ ἁγίου μάρτυρος Ζωσίμου. The Martyrdom of the holy martyr Zosimus.
Zosimus the Soldier, Martyr in Pisidia (S.)
FROM GREEK MSS., INTERPRETED BY SIRLETO
[1] In those times, under the Emperor Trajan, the great madness and error of the idols, and great blindness, held the Greeks, and many persecutions against the church of God were stirred up. And a certain Dometianus, governing Antioch of Pisidia, having approached the Emperor Trajan, asked for power against the Christians, that he might subject to dreadful punishment everyone who did not sacrifice to the gods. He, having received such power, and having put on the whole armor of the devil, raged like a lion against those who maintained the confession of God unto death; and he came to Apollonia through the city of the Sozopolitans.
[2] When the persecution was now pressing, a certain Zosimus, who was a soldier, having heard the faith of the Christians, threw away his weapons of war, and took refuge in the most holy Church; and being deemed worthy of faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and having received the bath of incorruption in great faith and purity, having prayed to God in much fasting he strove. After many days had passed, with Dometianus living in the aforesaid city, a certain man approached him and informed him concerning the most holy Zosimus, that: a certain Zosimus, being a soldier, despising the Emperor and your authority, having thrown away his arms, and renounced his soldiery, which he had received from the Emperor Trajan, says that he himself is of the religion of the Christians, reckoning our gods to be nothing, but also abominating the constitutions of the Emperor, despises his authority. And the Governor ordered him to be presented, saying: Let the so-called Zosimus be brought before the tribunal. And the men of the order, departing according to the command of the Governor, seized Zosimus, and set him before the tribunal. The Governor questioned him saying, Art thou the one called Zosimus? And he answering said, I am Zosimus the servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. And the Governor says to him: First confess of what fortune thou art, and so dost thou declare thyself a servant. Zosimus said, I am a soldier in dignity, and I left your gods of destruction, and have become a Christian. Dometianus the Governor said: Most unholy Zosimus, profiting nothing by that name, come forward and sacrifice to the gods, that thy former contempt also may be forgiven thee, that thou hast insulted the Emperor and our master Trajan, who granted thee the rank of soldiery. Zosimus says, I do not sacrifice to demons. Dometianus says: Let him be led away to prison.
[3] And on the next day he orders him to be brought to the tribunal. And the attendants, having bound his hands behind, set him before the Governor. And the Governor orders him to be hung upon the wood. And when he was hung up, he says to him, Sacrifice, most unholy Zosimus, before, taking hold of thy members, I destroy thee. Zosimus says, Not only promising in words, but even if thou shalt do this in deeds, thou shalt not persuade me to sacrifice. Dometianus says: Let him be beaten as a soldier. And when the Blessed one had been beaten much, he says to the Governor: Why do thy attendants strive in vain? for through God who strengthens me, I do not feel thy blows. And being beaten much, and the ground being filled with his blood, with a great voice he says, O Lord almighty, who sittest on an unshaken throne, who didst stretch out the heaven, and found the earth, who didst gather all the waters into one gathering, thou the hope of us thy servants; hear me beseeching thee, and do not let me be overcome by his threat, that through me all may learn who do not know thy name, that thou art the only God. And when he had prayed these things, there came to him a voice from the heavens saying, Zosimus, be strong, and play the man; for I am with thee, and no one shall add to harm thee. And this voice being brought forth, Dometianus hearing, and certain of those standing there, said: That he is a magician; but some said, Not so, but great is the God of the Christians, and his is the voice that came to him.
[4] And the Governor again ordered him bound to be stretched from four. And the Martyr being stretched very severely, lifting up his eye to heaven, began to say: O Lord God, who knowest the mind of men, the hope of the Christians, the refuge and the rest of the afflicted, deliver me from the design of the destroyer and devil Dometianus, that those standing by may know, that thou art God, the living and pre-existing and abiding unto the ages. And many of those standing by, seeing the endurance of the Martyr, believed in God. And the Governor knowing what had happened, that all were about to believe in the Lord, ashamed and gnashing, considered by what death he might destroy him.
[5] And he ordered a bronze grate to be brought, and to be heated severely; and with a great flame burning, he ordered the Blessed one to be stripped and cast into it. And the Saint having made the figure of the cross, and being cast down, immediately the Lord changed the fire into dew, for through Angels the help of God appeared; and all those standing by said, that from the great fire he had expired. But the Angels of God, having come, lifted the holy Martyr from the grate, and set him before all. And the crowd, having seen the wonders of God, gave a hymn to the Lord, who had sent forth his Angels, and ransomed him from such a flame; and again very many believed in the Lord.
[6] And the Governor, having summoned the holy Martyr, says to him: Be persuaded by me, Zosimus, and sacrifice to the gods. Zosimus says: Most defiled of all men, to what gods dost thou command me to sacrifice? And the Governor says: To Zeus and to Hera. Zosimus says: I do not serve many gods, for I acknowledge one living God, him alone I serve piously. And the Governor hearing, says to him: I told thee, Zosimus, approaching the fire I will burn thee. Zosimus says, Senseless one, once I told thee, that I serve the Lord alone, him who is in the heavens. And the Governor rising from the tribunal, being about to make the journey to the city of the Conanenses, ordered the bound Martyr to follow, that there he might be given over to the fire. And when Dometianus had come to the city, and had seated himself on the tribunal, he ordered nailed shoes to be made, and to be fastened together to the feet of the Martyr, and chains to be put on, and bound to colts to travel at a run. And he, bound to the colts, did not give way in traveling, but ran on before the colts; for God was with him, having become his helper; and opening his mouth he said: O Lord who makest my feet like a deer's, grant me perfect endurance. And the Governor, seeing the endurance of the Martyr, ordered him to be shut up enclosed and no food at all to be given to him.
[7] And three days having passed, and he not having received food, there were seen in the prison two boys, the one carrying bread, the other a vessel of water, and they say to the Martyr: Receive this pearl sent to thee by the Lord thy God, and having received it, having given thanks to God, he ate, saying, I bless thee, O Lord, that thou hast had mercy on me, and hast not overlooked me, but hast filled me with thy heavenly food; I hymn and glorify thy greatness unto the ages, amen. And morning having come, the Governor, having sat on the tribunal, ordered the holy Martyr to be presented. And the holy Zosimus stood forth with a cheerful face in great steadfastness. And the Governor became astonished, that having endured so great a torment of the feet, he had not fallen in face; and the Governor answering says: Zosimus, sacrifice now to the gods, that thou die not ill by being tormented. Zosimus says, if thou wishest to sacrifice to thine equals, sacrifice; for I, as I said before, serve the Lord my God. And Dometianus becoming mad, says, Let him be hung upon the wood. And when he was hung up, the Governor says to him: Wretch, dost thou see how many instruments of torture lie before thee, and thou dost not obey me so as to sacrifice? Zosimus says, those who love the living God care not for these things. And the Governor says: Let the most unholy one be scraped. And being scraped he cried out praying and saying: I know yet more the compassion of thy mercy, O Christ, giver of light, that thou art the one who taught me not to blaspheme, that yet more I may learn thy divinity through these torments.
[8] And when he had said these things, and the Governor not even so having received his fill, ordered him to be brought down and to come nearest to the tribunal; and when he had come before the tribunal, Dometianus says to him, Afflicted with many torments for the name of Christ, and having profited thyself nothing, at least now come forward, and sacrifice to the gods. Zosimus says, Dometianus, cruel and inhuman, and guilty of all impiety, fear the God who is in the heavens, and forget the error that holds thee, and call not the carved images gods, which are certain demons. And the Governor says: Most unholy one, dost thou dare to call our gods demons, through whom the world keeps festival? Zosimus says, let thy Emperor have their festival, and those who believe in them. The Governor says, Zosimus, dost thou withstand the gods, provoking them to anger, so that from thy blasphemy we too may perish miserably? Zosimus says, for the sake of piety, and of the confession toward God, I withstand and oppose thee. The Governor says, Bringing fiery torches to him, apply them to his belly. Zosimus says, Not only by bringing torches to me; but even if thou burn my whole body, thou shalt not conquer me; for Christ is present strengthening me; and I will be eager even to be slain by thee; for this is my boast in Christ.
[9] And the Governor no longer knowing what to do, and especially knowing also from the thoughts of the Saint that it profited nothing,
he ordered him to be beheaded. And the Martyr being led away to be perfected, began to say: O Lord my God, look upon me the sinner, and receive my soul with those who from of old have been well-pleasing to thee, for thou art my boast, from now and unto the ages. And the holy Zosimus was perfected on the month of June 19, in the city of the Conanenses, under the Emperor Trajan, but with our Lord Jesus Christ reigning over us, whose is the glory and the power, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
[1] In which times Trajan the Emperor held the Empire of the Romans, Under Trajan much madness and error of idols, and much blindness held the Gentiles. And great persecution was stirred up against the Church of God. And there was a certain Dometianus, Praeses of Antioch of Pisidia: who when he had approached the Emperor Trajan, sought for himself to be given power against Christian men, and the Praeses Dometianus, that whoever was unwilling to sacrifice to the gods should be afflicted with grave punishment. He when he had received such power, and had put on the armor of the devil, raged like a certain lion against those, who unto death kept the confession of God. And he came to the city of Apollonia, through the city of the Sozopolitans.
[2] Zosimus the soldier piously There already before, when the persecution was threatening; a certain soldier Zosimus, desiring to follow his faith, had cast away his weapons of war, and had fled to the most holy Church, and instructed in the faith of Christ, having received the bath of immortality, in the works of faith and in chastity, and in many fastings and prayers diligently exercised himself b. But when many days had passed, and Dometianus was in that city, which we mentioned above, a certain man approached him, and denouncing Zosimus: There is, he said, a certain Zosimus, a Soldier, who despises both the Emperor and your authority: and since he has cast away his arms, and renounced the soldiery, into which he had been enrolled by the Emperor Trajan, he says that he follows the religion of the Christians, accounting our gods as nothing: nay, he even execrates the constitutions of the Emperor, and despises his authority. having long before confessed the faith before the tribunal. Then the Praeses said: Let Zosimus be led here to the tribunal. The cohort therefore goes off, as it had been commanded, and led Zosimus seized to the tribunal. Whom the Praeses questioning; Art thou, he said, the one who is called Zosimus? He answered: I myself am Zosimus, servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. To this the Praeses: Confess first, of what condition a man thou art, and afterward thou shalt say, whose servant thou art. Then he: I am a Soldier, as pertains to human condition, who have abandoned those most ruined gods of yours, and have become a Christian. But Dometianus: Most wicked Zosimus, he said, that name shall profit thee nothing. Go, and sacrifice to the gods, that this sin be forgiven thee, that thou hast despised the Emperor our Lord Trajan, who granted thee the military ornament. To this Zosimus: I do not at all sacrifice to demons. Let him be led away, said Dometianus, into prison.
[3] he is cruelly cut; But on the next day he ordered him to be led to the tribunal. His hands therefore bound behind his back, they set him before the Praeses. Then the Praeses ordered him to be hung on the wood, and to him hung up he said: Sacrifice, wicked Zosimus, before thy members be destroyed. To this Zosimus: Not only, he said, by words, but neither by deeds wilt thou be able to persuade me, to sacrifice. Then Dometianus: Let him be beaten vehemently in c military manner. And when B. Zosimus had been beaten a long while, he said to the Praeses: In vain do thy ministers labor, for by the will of God strengthening me I do not feel thy blows. When therefore he had been beaten so long, he is confirmed by a heavenly voice: until he alone was filled with blood, crying with a great voice he said: O Lord God almighty, who sittest on the firmest throne, who didst stretch out the heaven and found the earth, who didst gather all the waters into one place, thou, the hope of us thy servants, hear me, who pray to thee; neither permit me to be overcome by this man's threats; that all who do not know thy name, may through me learn that thou alone art God. Thus when he had prayed, there came a voice from heaven, saying: Zosimus, be strong and robust, for I am with thee, neither shall anyone be able to hurt thee. When Dometianus, and certain others who were with him, had heard this voice: Surely, they say, this man is a magician. Others said: He is by no means a magician, but great is the God of the Christians, and from him this voice was sent to this man.
[4] The Praeses again ordered him bound to be stretched to four stakes d. Who when he was greatly stretched, stretched, by his patience he converts many: raised his eyes to heaven, and said: O Lord God, who hast known the minds of men, thou the hope of the Christians, the refuge and rest of those who are in straits, free me from the fraud of the pestilent and devilish Dometianus; that all who are present may know, thee to be God, who ever living wast before and shalt be unto the ages. When many of those who were present, had recognized the excellent patience of the Martyr, they were converted to the faith of Christ. But the Praeses seeing that deed, and fearing, lest all be converted to the same faith, blushed; and gnashing his teeth, considered by what kind of death he might kill the man.
[5] He ordered therefore a bronze grate to be brought, and much fire to be placed under it: cast on the kindled grate he is freed by an Angel: but with a great flame ascending, he ordered B. Zosimus naked to be cast thither. But when the holy Martyr had fortified himself with the figure of the Cross, and had been cast on the grate: immediately the Lord turned the fire into dew: because through Angels the divine help appeared: but all those present supposed that on account of that excessive fire Zosimus had breathed out his soul. But the Angels sent by God, having lifted the holy Martyr from the grate, set him outside the grate with all looking on: but the crowd, when it had seen the admirable deeds of God, praised together his glory, who sent his Angels, and snatched that man from such a flame. And so very many were converted to the faith of Christ.
[6] Then the Praeses, when he had called the holy Martyr to himself; Obey me, he said, Zosimus, and sacrifice to the gods. To this Zosimus: Foulest of all men, led to Conana to what gods dost thou bid me sacrifice? To Jupiter, said he, and to Juno. Then Zosimus: I do not worship those many gods of yours: for I know one living God, and to him alone I piously serve. When the Praeses had heard this; Zosimus, he said, I told thee, to approach the altar and sacrifice: if not, I will consume thee with fire. To this Zosimus: Fool, once I told thee, that I serve my God, who is in the heavens. But when the Praeses had risen from the tribunal, and was about to make a journey to the city of the Conanenses f, he ordered the bound Martyr to follow there, that there he might be cast into the fire. And when Dometianus had come to that city, and sat for the tribunal, he ordered nails to be fitted in certain shoes, g and the feet of the Martyr to be fastened with those shoes, he is shod with nailed shoes: and bound with chains to most fierce horses, to which bound he was not slow to make the journey, but anticipating the horses themselves he ran before: for God was with him, who offered himself as a helper. And so he uttered these words: O Lord God, who hast made my feet like the deer's, suggest to me perfect patience. But the Praeses, when he had seen the patience of the Martyr, ordered him to be kept shut in prison, and no food at all to be given to him.
[7] But when three days had passed, and Zosimus had not tasted food, two boys came into the prison, of whom one carried bread, the other a vessel of water, and they said to the Martyr: Receive this pearl h, sent to thee from the Lord thy God. refreshed after three days by the Eucharist brought by an Angel, When he had received this, he tasted food, and said: I bless thee, O Lord, since thou hast had mercy on me, and hast not neglected me, but hast satisfied me with thy heavenly food: I praise and celebrate thy glory and magnificence unto the ages, Amen. But when day had dawned, the Praeses sitting for the tribunal, ordered the holy Martyr to be led to him. And S. Zosimus was at hand with a cheerful countenance i. But the Praeses was affected with great astonishment, that he had endured such great tortures of the feet, and had not changed his countenance. Then he: Zosimus, he said, sacrifice at last to the gods, lest mangled with many wounds, thou die most wretchedly. To this Zosimus: If thou wishest to sacrifice to those like thee, sacrifice: I, as I said above, serve my God. Then kindled with fury Dometianus: Let him be hung, he said, on the wood. But when he had been hung up the Praeses said to him: Dost thou see, wretch, how many kinds of torments are set before thee: Wilt thou not obey me, to sacrifice to the gods? To this Zosimus: Those who love the living god care nothing for these your torments. and led back to the tribunal, and hung up Then the Praeses: Let this nefarious man, he said, be torn with an iron comb. But when the Martyr was being torn, praying to God with a loud voice he said: Indeed now I more acknowledge the bowels of thy mercy, O Christ, author of light; since thou art he, who taught me to pronounce no blasphemy, that through these torments I might more know thy divinity.
[8] When he had said this, and the Praeses was not affected with satiety of torments, he is torn with an iron comb: he ordered the man to be led before the tribunal, to whom he said this: Afflicted with many tortures for the name of Christ, thou hast obtained no benefit: at least now come forward and sacrifice to the gods. Then Zosimus: Dometianus, he said, most savage and inhuman, and most full of all impiety, fear that heavenly God, and forget the error which holds thee, neither call those images gods; for they are demons, not gods. Then the Praeses: Dost thou, O most wicked one, dare to call our gods demons, through whom the world itself celebrates feast days? Then Zosimus: What kind of feast day, and constant in the confession of faith, he said, do those gods keep, of whom thou speakest; such let thy Emperor, and those who believe in them, keep. But the Praeses: Dost thou see, Zosimus, how thou resistest the gods, and provokest them to anger? Cease to say these things, lest on account of thy blasphemy, we too perish most wretchedly. For the cause of piety, he said, and of divine confession I resist and oppose thee. Then the Praeses said: Bring lighted torches, and burn his belly. Not only, he said, do thou order torches to be applied to my belly, but even, if it please, burn my whole body: ordered his belly to be burned he offers his whole body. for never wilt thou conquer me: Christ is at hand, who strengthens me. Lo, I greatly desire to be killed by thee: for this is my glorying in Christ Jesus.
[9] The Praeses when he no longer knew what to do, and understood that from those words of S. Zosimus he would accomplish nothing, ordered the man to be struck with the axe. But when the Martyr was being led to undergo martyrdom, he began to say: O Lord
my God, look upon me the sinner, and receive my soul, with those who from all ages have pleased thee: since thou art my glory, from this time, and unto eternal ages, Amen. S. Zosimus completed his martyrdom on the nineteenth day of the month of June, in the city of the Conanenses, under the Emperor Trajan, but with our Lord Jesus Christ reigning over us: to whom be glory and dominion world without end, Amen.