Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Martyrs of Palestine (2.1-5), narrates the martyrdom of *Romanos (deacon of Caesarea, martyred at Antioch, S00120), on 17 November 303. Written in Greek at Caesarea (Palestine), in 311; a longer version in Syriac tells how the martyr continued to be able to speak after his tongue had been cut out.
E00298
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine, 2.1-5
Summary:
A native of Palestine, who ministered as deacon and exorcist in the church of Caesarea, Romanos happened to come to the city of Antioch at the time when the Diocletianic persecution had just been launched there. When he saw the local Christians yielding to pressure and offering sacrifices to pagan gods, Romanos intervened and rebuked them in public. He was immediately arrested and sentenced to death by fire. However, as Romanos was led to the place of his execution, the Emperor Diocletian, who was present in the city at the time, intervened and ordered that, instead of burning, the martyr should be punished by having his tongue cut out. After a certain period of incarceration, the martyr was executed by strangulation on the same day as the martyrs *Zakchaios from Gadara and Alpheios from Caesarea (S00119) [i.e. 17 November 303].
In the longer Syriac recension of this text, after Romanos has his tongue cut out, he miraculously retains his ability to speak and continues to preach and glorify God.
Summary: Sergey Minov
Saint’s feast
Non Liturgical ActivityComposing and translating saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle at martyrdom and death
Miracles experienced by the saint
Changing abilities and properties of the body (non-curative)
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - lesser clergy
Monarchs and their family
Source
In this work Eusebius presents an account of the suffering and death of Christian martyrs executed during the eight years of the Diocletianic (or Great) persecution, i.e. 303-311. Most of the martyrdoms described by Eusebius took place in Palestine, with the provincial capital city of Caesarea as the most prominent setting.Martyrdom of Romanos: ed. Cureton 1861, pp. 7*-9* (long recension); ed. Schwartz et al. 1999, vol. 2, p. 909 (short recension); English trans. Lawlor and Oulton 1927-1928, vol. 1, pp. 336-339.
For a full discussion of the Martyrs of Palestine, see E00294.
Discussion
Like most entries in Eusebius' description of the martyrs of Palestine, this entry consists of a brief account of torture and death. In its fuller Syriac version it deviates, however, from most such accounts by Eusebius, in containing the description of a miracle, when the martyr retained his ability to speak even after his tongue had been cut out. It has plausibly been suggested by some scholars that this detail was added by the Syriac translator on the basis of a later elaboration of the story (see below, and Barnes 2010, p. 390, n. 10). Although there is no explicit reference to the martyr's commemoration, the record of the date of his death might suggest that he was commemorated in Caesarea in an annual celebration on that day.Romanos was one of the very few martyrs recorded by Eusebius whose commemoration grew into a major cult. During the fourth century, the story told by Eusebius evolved into a more elaborate narrative, recounted by Prudentius, writing in Spain in around AD 400 (E00946), and in an anonymous Greek Martyrdom (E07083), with the fire intended to consume the martyr miraculously extinguished, a child martyr (with his mother) introduced, and the story of Romanos preaching without a tongue made central to the story.
Bibliography
Editions and translations:Cureton, W. (ed.), History of the Martyrs in Palestine, by Eusebius, Bishop in Caesarea, Discovered in a Very Ancient Syriac Manuscript (London / Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate / Paris: C. Borrani, 1861).
Lawlor, H.J., and Oulton, J.E.L. (trans.), The Ecclesiastical History and the Martyrs of Palestine. 2 vols (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1927-1928).
Schwartz, E., Mommsen, T., and Winkelmann, F. (eds.), Eusebius Werke, Band 2, Teil 2 (Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte NF 6/2; 2nd ed.; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1999).
Further reading:
Barnes, T.D., Early Christian Hagiography and Roman History (Tria corda 5; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010).
Sergey Minov
16/02/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00120 | Romanos, deacon of Caesarea, martyred at Antioch | ܪܘܡܢܘܤ | Certain |
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