6. THE MARTYRS OF
Letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne, ca. 177
This report of martyrdoms at Lyons in 177,
preserved by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, stands as one the earliest
of the surviving Passiones, i.e., narratives of martyrdom that
purportedly rely on eyewitnesses. It
provides a particularly detailed picture both of the character and motivation
of the martyrs and of their interaction with the populace and the government.
Source:
Eusebius, Church History, tr.
Arthur Cushman McGiffert, in A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers of the Christian Church, second series, vol. 1, ed. Philip Schaff
and Henry Wace (New York: The Christian
Literature Company; Oxford and London: Parker
& Company, 1890), 211-17.
1 [Eusebius introduces the letter:] The country in which the arena was prepared for [the martyrs
in question] was
2 The most celebrated churches in that
country sent an account of the witnesses to the churches in
I will give their own
words.
3 “The servants of Christ residing at
Vienne and Lyons, in Gaul, to the brethren through out Asia and Phrygia, who
hold the same faith and hope of redemption, peace and grace and glory from God
the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
4 Then, having related some other matters,
they begin their account in this manner: “The greatness of the tribulation in
this region, and the fury of the heathen against the saints, and the sufferings
of the blessed witnesses, we cannot recount accurately, nor indeed could they
possibly be recorded.
5 For with all his might the adversary
fell upon us, giving us a foretaste of his unbridled activity at his future
coming. He endeavored in every manner to practice and exercise his servants
against the servants of God, not only shutting us out from houses and baths and
markets, but forbidding any of us to be seen in any place whatever.
6 But the grace of God led the conflict
against him, and delivered the weak, and set them as firm pillars, able through
patience to endure all the wrath of the Evil One. And they joined battle with
him, undergoing all kinds of shame and injury; and regarding their great
sufferings as little, they hastened to Christ, manifesting truly that ‘the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed to us.’
7 First of all, they endured nobly the
injuries heaped upon them by the populace; clamors and blows and draggings and
robberies and stonings and imprisonments, and all things which an infuriated mob delight in inflicting on enemies and
adversaries.
8 Then, being taken to the forum by the
chiliarch and the authorities of the city, they were examined in the presence
of the whole multitude, and having confessed, they were imprisoned until the
arrival of the governor.
9 When, afterwards, they were brought
before him, and he treated us with the utmost cruelty, Vettius Epagathus, one
of the brethren, and a man filled with love for God and his neighbor,
interfered. His life was so consistent that, although young, he had attained a
reputation equal to that of the elder Zacharias: for he ‘walked in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless,’ and was untiring in every
good work for his neighbor, zealous for God and fervent in spirit. Such being
his character, he could not endure the unreasonable judgment against us, but
was filled with indignation, and asked to be permitted to testify in behalf of
his brethren, that there is among us nothing ungodly or impious.
10 But those about the judgment seat cried
out against him, for he was a man of distinction; and the governor refused to
grant his just request, and merely asked if he also were a Christian. And he,
confessing this with a loud voice, was himself taken into the order of the
witnesses, being called the Advocate of the Christians, but having the Advocate
in himself, the Spirit more abundantly than Zacharias.
He showed this by the fullness of his love, being well pleased even to lay down
his life in defense of the brethren. For he was and is a true
disciple of Christ, ‘following the Lamb wherever he goes.’
11 “Then the
others were divided, and the proto-witnesses were manifestly ready, and
finished their confession with all eagerness. But some appeared unprepared and untrained, weak as yet, and
unable to endure so great a conflict. About ten of these proved abortions,
causing us great grief and sorrow beyond measure, and impairing the zeal of the
others who had not yet been seized, but who, though suffering all kinds of
affliction, continued constantly with the witnesses and did not forsake them.
12 Then all of us feared greatly on
account of uncertainty as to their confession; not because we dreaded the
sufferings to be endured, but because we looked to the end, and were afraid
that some of them might fall away.
13 But those who were worthy were seized
day by day, filling up their number, so that all the zealous persons, and those
through whom especially our affairs had been established, were collected
together out of the two churches.
14 And some of our heathen servants also
were seized, as the governor had commanded that all of us should be examined
publicly. These, being ensnared by Satan, and fearing for themselves the
tortures which they beheld the saints endure, and being also urged on by the
soldiers, accused us falsely of Thyestean banquets and Œdipodean intercourse,
and of deeds which are not only unlawful for us to speak of or to think, but
which we cannot believe were ever done by men.
15 When these accusations were reported,
all the people raged like wild beasts against us, so that even if any had
before been moderate on account of friendship, they were now exceedingly
furious and gnashed their teeth against us. And that which was spoken by our
Lord was fulfilled: ‘The time will come when whosoever kills you will think
that he does God service.’
16 Then finally the holy witnesses endured
sufferings beyond description, Satan striving earnestly that some of the
slanders might be uttered by them also.
17 “But the whole wrath of the populace,
and governor, and soldiers was aroused exceedingly against Sanctus, the deacon
from Vienne, and Maturus, a late convert, yet a noble combatant, and against
Attalus, a native of Pergamus, where he had always been a pillar and
foundation, and Blandina, through whom Christ showed that things which appear
mean and obscure and despicable to men are with God of great glory, through
love toward him manifested in power, and not boasting in appearance.
18 For while we all trembled, and her
earthly mistress, who was herself also one of the witnesses, feared that on
account of the weakness of her body, she would be unable to make bold
confession, Blandina was filled with such power as to be delivered and raised
above those who were torturing her by turns from morning till evening in every
manner, so that they acknowledged that they were conquered, and could do
nothing more to her. And they were astonished at her endurance, as her entire
body was mangled and broken; and they testified that one of these forms of torture
was sufficient to destroy life, not to speak of so many and so great
sufferings.
19 But the blessed woman, like a noble
athlete, renewed her strength in her confession; and her comfort and recreation
and relief from the pain of her sufferings was in exclaiming, ‘I am a
Christian, and there is nothing vile done by us.’
20 “But Sanctus also endured marvelously
and superhumanly all the outrages which he suffered. While the wicked men
hoped, by the continuance and severity of his tortures to wring something from
him which he ought not to say, he girded himself against them with such
firmness that he would not even tell his name, or the nation or city to which
he belonged, or whether he was bond or free, but answered in the Roman tongue
to all their questions, ‘I am a Christian.’ He confessed this instead of name
and city and race and everything besides, and the people heard from him no
other word.
21 There arose therefore on the part of
the governor and his tormentors a great desire to conquer him; but having
nothing more that they could do to him, they finally
fastened red-hot brazen plates to the most tender parts of his body.
22 And these indeed were burned, but he
continued unbending and unyielding, firm in his confession, and refreshed and
strengthened by the heavenly fountain of the water of life, flowing from the
bowels of Christ.
23 And his body was a witness of his
sufferings, being one complete wound and bruise, drawn out of shape, and
altogether unlike a human form. Christ, suffering in him, manifested his glory,
delivering him from his adversary, and making him an example for the others,
showing that nothing is fearful where the love of the Father is, and nothing
painful where there is the glory of Christ.
24 For when the wicked men tortured him a
second time after some days, supposing that with his body swollen and inflamed
to such a degree that he could not bear the touch of a hand, if they should
again apply the same instruments, they would overcome him, or at least by his
death under his sufferings others would be made afraid, not only did not this
occur, but, contrary to all human expectation, his body arose and stood erect
in the midst of the subsequent torments, and resumed its original appearance
and the use of its limbs, so that, through the grace of Christ, these second
sufferings became to him, not torture, but healing.
25 “But the devil, thinking that he had
already consumed Biblias, who was one of those who had denied Christ, desiring
to increase her condemnation through the utterance of blasphemy, brought her
again to the torture, to compel her, as already feeble and weak, to report
impious things concerning us.
26 But she recovered herself under the
suffering, and as if awaking from a deep sleep, and reminded by the present
anguish of the eternal punishment in hell, she contradicted the blasphemers.
‘How,’ she said, ‘could those eat children who do not think it lawful to taste
the blood even of irrational animals?’ And thenceforward she confessed herself
a Christian, and was given a place in the order of the witnesses.
27 “But as the tyrannical tortures were
made by Christ of none effect through the patience of the blessed, the devil
invented other contrivances,—confinement in the dark and most loathsome parts
of the prison, stretching of the feet to the fifth hole in the stocks, and the
other outrages which his servants are accustomed to inflict upon the prisoners
when furious and filled with the devil. A great many were suffocated in prison,
being chosen by the Lord for this manner of death, that he might manifest in
them his glory.
28 For some, though they had been tortured
so cruelly that it seemed impossible that they could live, even with the most
careful nursing, yet, destitute of human attention, remained in the prison,
being strengthened by the Lord, and invigorated both in body and soul; and they
exhorted and encouraged the rest. But such as were young, and arrested
recently, so that their bodies had not become accustomed to torture, were
unable to endure the severity of their confinement, and died in prison. 29 “The blessed Pothinus, who had been entrusted with the bishopric
of
30 When he was brought by the soldiers to
the tribunal, accompanied by the civil magistrates and a multitude who shouted
against him in every manner as if he were Christ himself, he bore noble
witness.
31 Being asked by the governor, Who was the God of the Christians, he replied, ‘If you are
worthy, you shall know.’ Then he was dragged away harshly, and received blows
of every kind. Those near him struck him with their hands and feet, regardless
of his age; and those at a distance hurled at him whatever they could seize;
all of them thinking that they would be guilty of great wickedness and impiety
if any possible abuse were omitted. For thus they thought to
avenge their own deities. Scarcely able to breathe, he was cast into
prison and died after two days.
32 “Then a certain great dispensation of
God occurred, and the compassion of Jesus appeared beyond measure, in a manner
rarely seen among the brotherhood, but not beyond the power of Christ.
33 For those who had recanted at their
first arrest were imprisoned with the others, and endured terrible sufferings,
so that their denial was of no profit to them even for the present. But those
who confessed that they were imprisoned as Christians, no other accusation
being brought against them. But the first were treated afterwards as murderers
and defiled, and were punished twice as severely as the others.
34 For the joy of martyrdom, and the hope
of the promises, and love for Christ, and the Spirit of the Father supported
the latter; but their consciences so greatly distressed the former that they
were easily distinguishable from all the rest by their very countenances when
they were led forth.
35 For the first went out rejoicing, glory
and grace being blended in their faces, so that even their bonds seemed like
beautiful ornaments, as those of a bride adorned with variegated golden
fringes; and they were perfumed with the sweet savor of Christ, so that some
supposed they had been anointed with earthly ointment. But the others were
downcast and humble and dejected and filled with every kind of disgrace, and
they were reproached by the heathen as ignoble and weak, bearing the accusation
of murderers, and having lost the one honorable and glorious and life-giving
Name. The rest, beholding this, were strengthened, and when apprehended, they
confessed without hesitation, paying no attention to the persuasions of the
devil.”
36 After certain other words they
continue:
“After these things, finally, their
martyrdoms were divided into every form. For plaiting a crown of various colors
and of all kinds of flowers, they presented it to the Father. It was proper
therefore that the noble athletes, having endured a manifold strife, and
conquered grandly, should receive the crown, great and incorruptible.
37 “Maturus, therefore, and Sanctus and
Blandina and Attalus were led to the amphitheater to be exposed to the wild
beasts, and to give to the heathen public a spectacle of cruelty, a day for
fighting with wild beasts being specially appointed on account of our people.
38 Both Maturus and Sanctus passed again
through every torment in the amphitheater, as if they had suffered nothing
before, or rather, as if, having already conquered their antagonist in many
contests, they were now striving for the crown itself. They endured again the
customary running of the gauntlet and the violence of the wild beasts, and
everything which the furious people called for or desired, and at last, the
iron chair in which their bodies being roasted, tormented them with the fumes.
39 And not with this did the persecutors
cease, but were yet more mad against them, determined
to overcome their patience. But even thus they did not hear a word from Sanctus
except the confession which he had uttered from the beginning.
40 These, then, after their life had
continued for a long time through the great conflict, were at last sacrificed,
having been made throughout that day a spectacle to the world, in place of the
usual variety of combats.
41 “But Blandina was suspended on a stake,
and exposed to be devoured by the wild beasts who
should attack her. And because she appeared as if hanging on a cross, and
because of her earnest prayers, she inspired the combatants with great zeal.
For they looked on her in her conflict, and beheld with their outward eyes, in
the form of their sister, him who was crucified for them, that he might persuade
those who believe on him, that every one who suffers for the glory of Christ
has fellowship always with the living God.
42 As none of the wild beasts at that time
touched her, she was taken down from the stake, and cast again into prison. She
was preserved thus for another contest, that, being victorious in more
conflicts, she might make the punishment of the crooked serpent irrevocable;
and, though small and weak and despised, yet clothed with Christ the mighty and
conquering Athlete, she might arouse the zeal of the brethren, and, having
overcome the adversary many times might receive, through her conflict, the
crown incorruptible.
43 “But Attalus was called for loudly by
the people, because he was a person of distinction. He entered the contest
readily on account of a good conscience and his genuine practice in Christian
discipline, and as he had always been a witness for the truth among us.
44 He was led around the amphitheater, a
tablet being carried before him on which was written in the Roman language
‘This is Attalus the Christian,’ and the people were filled with indignation
against him. But when the governor learned that he was a Roman, he commanded
him to be taken back with the rest of those who were in prison concerning whom
he had written to Cæsar, and whose answer he was awaiting.
45 “But the intervening time was not wasted nor fruitless to them; for by their patience the
measureless compassion of Christ was manifested. For through
their continued life the dead were made alive, and the witnesses showed favor
to those who had failed to witness. And the virgin mother had much joy
in receiving alive those whom she had brought forth as dead.
46 For through their influence many who
had denied were restored, and re-begotten, and rekindled with life, and learned
to confess. And being made alive and strengthened, they went to the judgment
seat to be again interrogated by the governor; God, who desires not the death
of the sinner, but mercifully invites to repentance, treating them with
kindness.
47 For Cæsar commanded that they should be
put to death, but that any who might deny should be set free. Therefore, at the
beginning of the public festival which took place there, and which was attended
by crowds of men from all nations, the governor brought the blessed ones to the
judgment seat, to make of them a show and spectacle for the multitude.
Wherefore also he examined them again, and beheaded those who appeared to
possess Roman citizenship, but he sent the others to the wild beasts.
48 “And Christ was glorified greatly in
those who had formerly denied him, for, contrary to the expectation of the
heathen, they confessed. For they were examined by themselves, as about to be
set free; but confessing, they were added to the order of the witnesses. But
some continued without, who had never possessed a trace of faith, nor any apprehension of the wedding garment, nor an
understanding of the fear of God; but, as sons of perdition, they blasphemed
the Way through their apostasy.
49 But all the others were added to the
Church. While these were being examined, a certain Alexander, a Phrygian by
birth, and physician by profession, who had resided in Gaul for many years, and
was well known to all on account of his love to God and boldness of speech (for
he was not without a share of apostolic grace), standing before the judgment
seat, and by signs encouraging them to confess, appeared to those standing by
as if in travail.
50 But the people being enraged because
those who formerly denied now confessed, cried out against Alexander as if he
were the cause of this. Then the governor summoned him and inquired who he was.
And when he answered that he was a Christian, being very angry he condemned him
to the wild beasts. And on the next day he entered along with Attalus. For to
please the people, the governor had ordered Attalus again to the wild beasts.
51 And they were tortured in the
amphitheater with all the instruments contrived for that purpose, and having
endured a very great conflict, were at last sacrificed. Alexander neither
groaned nor murmured in any manner, but communed in his heart with God.
52 But when Attalus was placed in the iron
seat, and the fumes arose from his burning body, he said to the people in the
Roman language: ‘Lo! this which you do is devouring
people; but we do not devour people; nor do any other wicked thing.’ And being
asked, what name God has, he replied, ‘God has not a name as people have.’
53 “After
all these, on the last day of the contests, Blandina was again brought in, with
Ponticus, a boy about fifteen years old. They
had been brought every day to witness the sufferings of the others, and had
been pressed to swear by the idols. But because they remained steadfast and
despised them, the multitude became furious, so that they had no compassion for the youth of the boy nor respect for the
sex of the woman.
54 Therefore they exposed them to all the
terrible sufferings and took them through the entire round of torture,
repeatedly urging them to swear, but being unable to effect
this; for Ponticus, encouraged by his sister so that even the heathen could see
that she was confirming and strengthening him, having nobly endured every
torture, gave up the ghost.
55 But the blessed Blandina, last of all,
having, as a noble mother, encouraged her children and sent them before her
victorious to the King, endured herself all their conflicts and hastened after
them, glad and rejoicing in her departure as if called to a marriage supper,
rather than cast to wild beasts.
56 And, after the scourging, after the wild
beasts, after the roasting seat, she was finally enclosed in a net, and thrown
before a bull. And having been tossed about by the animal, but feeling none of
the things which were happening to her, on account of her hope and firm hold
upon what had been entrusted to her, and her communion with Christ, she also
was sacrificed. And the heathen themselves confessed that never among them had
a woman endured so many and such terrible tortures.
57 “But not even thus was
their madness and cruelty toward the saints satisfied. For, incited by the Wild
Beast, wild and barbarous tribes were not easily appeased, and their violence
found another peculiar opportunity in the dead bodies.
58 For, through their lack of manly
reason, the fact that they had been conquered did not put them to shame, but
rather the more enkindled their wrath as that of a wild beast, and aroused
alike the hatred of governor and people to treat us unjustly; that the
Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘He that is lawless, let him be lawless still, and
he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.’
59 For they cast to the dogs those who had
died of suffocation in the prison, carefully guarding them by night and day,
lest any one should be buried by us. And they exposed the remains left by the
wild beasts and by fire, mangled and charred, and placed the heads of the
others by their bodies, and guarded them in like manner from burial by a watch
of soldiers for many days.
60 And some raged and gnashed their teeth
against them, desiring to execute more severe vengeance upon them; but others
laughed and mocked at them, magnifying their own idols, and imputed to them the
punishment of the Christians. Even the more reasonable, and those who had
seemed to sympathize somewhat, reproached them often, saying, ‘Where is their
God, and what has their religion, which they have chosen rather than life,
profited them?’
61 So various was
their conduct toward us; but we were in deep affliction because we could not
bury the bodies. For neither did night avail us for this purpose, nor did money
persuade, nor entreaty move to compassion; but they kept watch in every way, as
if the prevention of the burial would be of some great advantage to them.”
In addition, they say after other things:
62 “The bodies of the martyrs, having thus
in every manner been exhibited and exposed for six days, were afterward burned
and reduced to ashes, and swept into the Rhone by the wicked men, so that no
trace of them might appear on the earth.
63 And this they did, as if able to
conquer God, and prevent their new birth; ‘that,’ as they said, ‘they may have
no hope of a resurrection, through trust in which they bring to us this foreign
and new religion, and despise terrible things, and are ready even to go to
death with joy. Now let us see if they will rise again, and if their God is
able to help them, and to deliver them out of our hands.’”