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History of the Martyrs in Palestine
Eusebius of Caesarea, tr. Cureton, 1861; longer recension
The Confession of Agapius, and of the Two Alexanders, and of the Two Dionysiuses, and of…
It was the festival at which all the people assembled themselves together in their cities. The same festival also was held in Cæsarea. And in the circus there was an exhibition of horse races, and a representation was performed in the theatre, and it was customary for impious and barbarous spectacles to take place in the Stadium: and there was a rumour and a report generally current, that Agapius, whose name we have mentioned above, and Theckla with him, together with the rest of the Phrygians,1 were to be sent into the theatre in the form of martyrs, in order that they might be devoured by the wild beasts; for the governor Urbanus would present this gift to the spectators. When the fame of these things was heard abroad, it happened further that other young men, perfect in stature, and brave in person (they were in number six) arrived. And as the governor was proceeding to the theatre, and passing through the city, these six men stood up courageously before him: and having bound their hands behind them, they drew near before the judge Urbanus, and, in fact, by binding themselves, shewed what was about to be done to them by others, and exhibited their excellent patience, and the readiness of their mind for martyrdom, for they confessed, crying aloud and saying, We are Christians; and beseeching the governor Urbanus that they also might be thrown to the wild beasts in the theatre in company with their brethren who appertained to Agapius. For all this confidence of Jesus our Saviour, in his own champions did He manifest to all men; extinguishing the menaces of the tyrants by his champion’s valour, and manifestly and clearly shewing, that neither fire, nor steel, nor even fierce wild beasts, were able to subdue his victorious servants, for He had girded them with the armour of righteousness, and strengthening them with victorious and invincible armour, he made them despise death. And they struck at once the governor and the whole band with him with astonishment at this their courage: and the governor gave command that they should be delivered up to prison; and there they were detained many days. And while they were in prison, Agapius, a meek and good man, the brother of one of the prisoners, arrived from the city of Gaza, and went frequently to the prison to visit his brother, and having already striven in many contests of confession before, he went with confidence to the place of imprisonment: and so he was denounced to the governor as a man prepared for martyrdom, and consequently was delivered over to bonds, in order that he might endure the trial of a second conflict. And things similar to these did Dionysius also suffer. And this good recompense was given to him from the martyrs of God as the reward of his service to them. And when the governor was made aware of this recompense of the compassion of Dionysius towards the martyrs, he gave the sentence of death against him. And thus he became associated with those who preceded him. And all together they were eight in number; namely, Timotheus,2 whose origin was from Pontus; and Dionysius, who came from the city of Tripolis; and Romulus, a sub-deacon3 of the church of the city of Diospolis; and two were Ægyptians, Paesis4 and Alexander; and again another Alexander, and those two respecting whom we have said that they were at last cast into prison.
All these were delivered up together at one time, to be beheaded. And this matter took place on the twenty-fourth of Adar. But there was, at the same time, a sudden change5 of the emperors, both of him who was the chief and emperor, and of him who was honoured in the next place after him: and those who had divested themselves of the power of empire and put on the ordinary dress, having given up the empire to their associates, were rent asunder from their love towards each other, and they raised against one another an implacable war; nor was any remedy given to this malady of their hostility, until the peace in our time, which was spread throughout the whole empire of the Romans; for it arose like light out of clouds of darkness, and forthwith the Church of the supreme God and the divine doctrine was extended throughout the whole world.6
Notes
- “The Phrygians.” There is no mention of Phrygians in the Greek; but in Ecc. Hist. book viii. ch. 11, Eusebius speaks of the destruction of a whole city of Christians in Phrygia. These, perhaps, were some of them who had been reserved for a spectacle in the theatre.
- “Timotheus.” The Greek has Τιμολαος. See Surius, at March 24th, and Baillet, at the same day.
- “A subdeacon.” Syriac ܕܦܪ݂̈ܝܩܐ evidently a blunder for ܦ ܚܩܝܐ. Greek υποδιακονος.
- “Paesis.” The Syriac is ܕ ܦܠܣܝܣ “Plasis,” which I have corrected here from the reading below, where it is ܦܝܚܣ ܣܘ, Paesis, or Pausis, for some Greek MSS. read Παησις and others Παυσις. Valesius notes (c)—“In the Maz. and Med. MSS. his name is Paesis. In the Greek Menology (which Canisius published) at the 5th of March, instead of Paesis he is called Publius.” Eng. Trans. p. 159. The variation in the Syriac doubtless arose from confounding A with A in the word IIAHCIC or IIAHCIC.
- “A sudden change.” See respecting this, Eusebius, Life of Constantine, book i. ch. 18, Eng. Trans. p. 537, where Valesius has the following note(a):—“This place is highly remarkable, for from it this conclusion may be made, that the persecution began in Dioclesian’s eighth, and Maximian’s seventh consulate, and not on the foregoing year, as Baronius will have it. Concerning which matter I have spent many words in my notes on Eusebius, Ecc. Hist. book viii. c. 2, note (c). For whereas Eusebius affirms that the Emperors Dioclesian and Maximian divested themselves of their purple in the year after the persecution was begun; and whereas it is manifest that they did that on the year of Christ 304; what I have said does necessarily follow, that Dioclesian’s persecution was begun in the year of Christ 303.” Ruinart has this note:—“Diocletianus scilicet prope Nicomediam, Herculius Mediolani, cogente Galerio Maximinano, non autem sponte, uti hactenus putabatur. Totam hunc historiam egregie describit Lactantius in lib. de Mortibus Persecut. cap. 18 seq. Acta Prim. Martt. p. 319.
- The Greek adds a passage, “But we will give an exact account of these matters at a more opportune place and time,” referring perhaps to the Life of Constantine.