THE FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTEA (A.D. 320) THE Emperor Licinius who at one time had extended a measure of toleration to Christians, reversed his policy after his breach with his brother-in-law Constantine and a fresh persecution was begun. In Cappadocia he published a decree ordering every Christian, on pain of death, to abandon his religion. When Agricolaus, the governor of Cappadocia and Lesser Armenia, communicated this decree to the army, forty young soldiers of various nationalities stationed at Sebastea refused to sacrifice to idols. The forty, who are said to have all belonged to the famous Thundering Legion , appeared before the tribunal at Sebastea (now Sivas in Turkey) saying that they were Christians and that no torments would induce them to forsake their religion. The governor at first tried persuasion, representing to them the disgrace which would follow upon their refusal to obey and promising promotion if they would conform. Finding them inexorable, he commanded that they should be tortured and cast into prison. Here they sang together Psalm xc, He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High shall abide under the protection of the God of Heaven, and they were comforted by a vision of oUr Lord who encouraged them to persevere. Then the governor, incensed at their obstinacy, subjected them to a strange ordeal which he had devised. The cold in Armenia is very severe, especially in March when the north wind rages. Under the walls of the city stood a pond or lake which was frozen hard, and on it the prisoners were condemned to be exposed quite naked and to be left there night and day. Agricolaus also ordered that a fire and a warm bath should be prepared on the edge of the lake to tempt them to apostasy. The martyrs, without waiting to be stripped, undressed themselves, encouraging each other and saying that one bad night would purchase for them a happy eternity. Together they prayed, Lord, we are forty who are engaged in this conflict: grant that forty may be crowned and that we may not fall short of that sacred number. Their guards were continually urging them to offer up sacrifice and so to pass on to the fire and the warm bath, but all in vain. St Gregory 541 March 10] TIlE LIVES OF THE SAINTS of Nyssa asserts that they endured for three days and three nights this lingering death. Out of the whole number, only one faile4 and allowed himself to be led to the shore. As it turned out, the reaction of the heat after the intense cold was too great and he died in the bath, thus losing the life he had striven to save as well as the palm of victory. This defection greatly grieved the others, but they were consoled by seeing his place filled and their number miraculously completed. One of the soldiers who had been set to guard the prisoners, being off duty, sat down by the fire, and he fell asleep and had a strange dream. He seemed to be standing by the lake when suddenly the sky was filled with beautiful angelic forms. One by one they descended upon the ice bearing robes and crowns with which they invested the martyrs. The soldier counted: there were thirty-nine crowns. This vision and the desertion and fate of the apostate wrought his instantaneous conversion. By a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, he flung off his clothes, stepped on to the ice, and took his place among the survivors, proclaiming himself a Christian. By his martyrdom he obtained the grace of what is known as the baptism of blood as well as the fortieth crown which had been forfeited by the deserter. God had indeed heard the petition of His servants and had answered it in this wholly unexpected way. By the following morning most of the victims were dead, but a few stip lingered on, notably Melito, the youngest. Agricolaus ordered that the arms and legs of the survivors should be broken and the bodies cast into a furnace where they would be consumed. With their dying lips they sang faintly, Our soul hath escaped from the snare of the fowler: the snare is broken and we are set free. The officials left Melito to the last: they pitied his youth and hoped that he.would give way when he found himself alone, but his mother, a poor widow, reproached the executioners for their mistaken kindness. As she drew near to her son he looked up at her with his dimmed eyes, and being unable to smile he made a little sign of recognition with his feeble hand. Fortified by the Holy Ghost, she urged him to persevere to the end, and lifted him up and placed him herself upon the waggon with the rest of the victims. The bodies of the martyrs were burned and their ashes thrown into the river, but the Christians managed secretly to rescue some of the charred remains or bought them with money. A portion of the precious relics were kept at Caesarea, and St Basil says of them, Like bulwarks they are our protection against the inroads of enemies. He adds that everyone implored the succour of the martyrs, who raised up those who had fallen, strengthened the weak and increased the fervour of the saints. St Basil the Elder and St Emmelia, the parents of the four saints, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Peter of Sebastea and Macrina, procured a share of these relics some of which Emmelia gave to the church she built near Annesis. The enthusiasm with which they were received was extraordinary, and according to St Gregory of Nyssa they were honoured by miracles. He adds, I buried the bodies of my parents by the relics of these holy martyrs, that in the resurrection they may rise with the encouragers of their faith; for I know they have great power with God, of which I have seen clear proofs and undoubted testimonies. St Gaudentius, Bishop of Brescia, writes in his sermons on these martyrs, God gave me a share of these venerable relics and granted me to found this church in their honour. He says that as he passed through Caesarea on his way to Jerusalem they were pn~sented to him by the two nieces of St Basil, who had received them frem their THE FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTEA [March 10 uncle. Portions of their relics were also taken to Constantinople, as we learn from Sozomen and Procopius. Perhaps the most interesting feature connected with the memory of these champions of the faith is the preservation of a document known as The Testament of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Christ. The Greek text has been in print for more than a couple of centuries, but it is only of recent years that its authenticity has come to be recognized. It is a unique but perfectly genuine relic of the age of persecution. Though it cannot well be here inserted entire, the summary account written by Father H. Delehaye, the Bollandist, will not be out of place. Meletios, Aetios and Eutykhios, prisoners of Christ, salute the bishops, presbyters, deacons, confessors and other ecclesiastics of the whole Christian world, and make known their wishes regarding the disposal of their mortal remains after the consummation of their martyrdom. They desire that all their relics be placed in the care of the priest Proidos and certain other persons, in order that they may repose together in Sareim near Zela. Meletios writes this exordium in the name of all. At this point Aetios and Eutykhios, speaking for their companions, conjure the families of the martyrs not to give way to excessive grief, and carefully to fulfil their last wishes as to the disposal of their remains. When their ashes shall be gathered together, let no one retain any particle for himself, but deliver everything to the persons designated. Should anyone disobey this injunction, they hope he may fail of obtaining the favours which he looks for from the possession of the relics. The martyrs then express their solicitude for one of their number, a young man named Eunoikos, whose tender age might probably move the persecutors to clemency. If, say they, he shall win the palm of martyrdom with us, let him repose with us. In case he should be spared, let him remain faithful to the law of Christ, in order that, on the day of the resurrection, he may enjoy the blessed lot of those whose sufferings he has shared. Here, it seems, Meletios again takes the pen. He addresses himself to his brothers, Krispinos and Gordios, exhorting them to be on their guard against the deceitful pleasures of this world, and to hold themselves in constant readiness by a strict adherence to the precepts of our Lord. He wishes these exhortations to be taken to heart by all the followers of Christ. Then begins a list of salutations: We salute the lord priest Philip, and Proklianos and Diogenes and at the same time the holy church. We salute the lord Proklianos of Phydela with the holy church and all who are his. We salute Maximos with the church, Magnos with the church. We salute Domnos with his, and lIes our father, Valens with the church. Again Meletios intervenes: And I, Meletios, salute my relations Lutanios, Krispos and Gordios, etc. There follow other salutations, general and particular; and finally: \\le salute you, we the forty brethren united in captivity, with the forty names. We, the forty prisoners of Christ, have signed by the hand of Meletios, one of us; we have confirmed all that has been written, for we were all in full agreement with it. It is extremely improbable that all, or even many, of the forty would have been able to write for themselves. Therefore Meletios set down the names in their place. But the names preserved in the acta are those of the Testament, and we may fairly draw the inference that there was sound historical evidence for part of the story, though not necessarily for such extravagant excrescences as that the stones hurled at thelTI recoiled upon the throwers or that their ashes were recovered after being cast into the \vater.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:50:18 +0000
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