Martyrs Trophimus and Thalus

ON THE HOLY MARTYRS TROPHIMUS AND THALUS, AT LAODICEA IN ASIA MINOR.

AROUND THE YEAR 300.

Trophimus, Martyr, at Laodicea in Asia Minor (Saint)

Thalus, Martyr, at Laodicea in Asia Minor (Saint)

[1] Since there are many cities of this name, concerning which Ortelius writes in his Geographical Thesaurus: nevertheless, we are persuaded that the one in Caria was especially illustrious through the contest of these Martyrs, by reason of the proximity of the city of Stratonicea in the same region: from which those Saints are said to have originated in the eulogy which we append below; and to which they are recorded to have been translated after their triumph. The greater celebrity, however, of the Laodicea which is in Syria led Baronius, as the first to write with no predecessor, to record: Their memory in the sacred Calendars on the 11th At Laodicea in Syria, of the holy Martyrs Trophimus and Thalus, who in the persecution of Diocletian, after many and cruel torments, obtained the crowns of glory: which Galesin had previously written in somewhat more words, to the same effect: At Laodicea, of the holy Martyrs Trophimus and Thalus, who in the persecution of Diocletian, accused of the Christian religion, and for that reason variously and grievously tortured, by more freely professing the faith of Christ in the utmost severity of torments, were adorned with the distinguished crown of martyrdom. No mention of Syria here: nor among the Greeks, whose Menologion for this day reads: Of the holy Martyrs Trophimus and Thalaeus, who under the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, under the Governor Asclepius of Laodicea, suffered for the Christian faith: and 16 March. Baronius, citing in his annotations the same Menologion, calls him Asclepiades: with the same accuracy with which he had previously assigned Laodicea to Syria. They are reported again, with no place indicated, on the sixteenth of March in the Menologion of the Emperor Basil, the Synaxarion of the College of Clermont, and other manuscript Menaea.

[2] At Laodicea, not in Syria Moreover, the city of Caria which we have mentioned is situated between the Lycus and the Maeander, rivers of Asia Minor, which converge four or five miles from the western side of the city, on the borders of Caria and Lydia, to which it is also attributed by the Suda: but Philostratus and Ptolemy assign it to Lydia: at the fifty-ninth degree of longitude, and the thirty-eighth of latitude; and it was formerly called Rhoas, and even earlier Diospolis, if we are to believe Pliny: Ortelius believes it is today Laudichia: Leunclavius interprets it as Noue-Leske: but in Caria from this city, Stratonicea is removed by no more than about ninety miles, or thirty hourly leagues, in the very heart of the region, situated to the south of Laodicea: and in the midway space between the two there seems to have been another Stratonicea of the same name, unknown to Ptolemy but known to Strabo and Stephanus, and called by the cognomen "at the Taurus" for the sake of distinction; whose farthest ridges project into Caria, and receive the particular name of Cadmus according to Ptolemy. In Syria you will find none of this name: and so scarcely any doubt remains that the Martyrs, sprung from one or the other, are Carians, and suffered in Caria; for whom the Menaea and, from the Menaea, Maximus of Cythera recite this eulogy, which our Matthaeus Rader rendered into Latin as follows.

EULOGY FROM THE MENAEA

Trophimus, Martyr, at Laodicea in Asia Minor (Saint)

Thalus, Martyr, at Laodicea in Asia Minor (Saint)

In the times of Diocletian and Maximian, under the Governor Asclepius at Laodicea, when the tyranny was raging against Christians, Trophimus and Thalus were seized, after their first torments, they were dismissed, and for the Christian faith were hung from stones for many hours, but defended by the shield of divine protection, they remained unharmed. Marveling at them, the Governor, with his Council, venerated them and for a time dismissed them to act with impunity, but again they were accused and dragged before the tribunal of judges, and when they publicly testified with free voice that Christ was the true God and rejected idols, and condemned their worshippers and tyrants, they roused all to anger, so that they hung them naked from the rack and violently beat and tore their bodies. But the Saints, intent upon their prayers, mocked the pagans, and again captured, and drove the Governor nearly to madness. Thereupon, having passed sentence, he ordered them to be crucified; and as they were led to the place of execution, a very great multitude of people accompanied them. The Saints, moreover, suspended from the cross, prayed and discoursed with the people concerning matters pertaining to the salvation of souls. Thus the crowd hastened to touch their sacred bodies; and crucified, some snatched drops of their blood, others their napkins, others their rings, and others other things, out of piety and veneration, as amulets against all evils. The Saints, indeed, commended their souls to God by sending them ahead with all their prayers. Then certain religious and pious men anointed their relics with ointment and, having wrapped them in linens, placed them in a temple. their bodies brought to Stratonicea. The wife of the Governor Asclepius himself, having filled the tomb of the Saints with precious perfumes, clothed it with the noblest fabric. Certain men, however, Zosimus and Artemius, formerly fellow townsmen and citizens of the Saints, carried the sacred urn of relics with them to their own city, Stratonicea, and placed it in the stone quarries, one mile removed from the city.

ON THE VERY MANY HOLY MARTYRS WHO SUFFERED AT ANTIOCH.

AROUND THE YEAR 304.

Very many Martyrs, at Antioch in Syria (Saints)

[1] Eusebius, in book VIII of his Ecclesiastical History, as though weary of listing Martyrs, thus begins chapter 24 according to the ancient edition, or certainly chapter 12, as Valesius separated the Martyrs of Palestine: "What need is there now," he says, "to name the rest individually, or to recount the multitude of men, or to paint with the brush of speech the various kinds of torments?" And after briefly touching upon the Martyrs in Arabia, Martyrdom reported, Cappadocia, Mesopotamia, and Alexandria who were crowned for the faith of Christ, he adds what pertains to this matter: "And now, as for the things done at Antioch, what need is there to recall them to memory, where some were placed upon gridirons, not to be roasted to death, but for the prolongation of their torment. Others preferred to thrust their right hands into the fire rather than to touch impious libations." So far that passage: which is narrated thus by Nicephorus: "Who indeed would recount the tortures at Antioch? where fires and gridirons were made, not hastening death at once, but gradually roasting the bodies of the Martyrs, and prolonging the torments and punishments. There were also those who would sooner thrust their right hands into the burning fire than attend to accursed rites and sacrifices." Rufinus also touches upon these martyrdoms in book 8, chapter 12, of his Ecclesiastical History.

[2] There is no doubt in our minds that often in this our

work, mention is made of these Martyrs, also by their proper names, in ancient Martyrologies, both Latin and Greek, inscribed in the Martyrology both handwritten and printed; nevertheless, lest their memory fail, it is renewed in the Roman Martyrology for this eleventh of March in these words: At Antioch, the commemoration of very many holy Martyrs, of whom some, by the command of the Emperor Maximian, were placed upon burning gridirons, not to be roasted to death but for prolonged torment, and others, subjected to other most cruel punishments, attained the palm of martyrdom. Bishop Brautius celebrates them in this distich in his Poetical Martyrology:

"Not all endured the same torments; the crown Of martyrdom they certainly earned alike."