Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Martyrs of Palestine (13.4-10), narrates the martyrdom of *Silvanos from Gaza and thirty-nine companions (martyrs of the Phaeno copper mines, S00193) on 19 September. Written in Greek at Caesarea (Palestine), in 311; a longer version of the text survives only in a later Syriac translation.
Evidence ID
E00388
Type of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
Major author/Major anonymous work
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine, 13.4-10
Summary:
On 19 September 310, bishop Silvanos, a veteran soldier from Gaza, who had been tortured and then condemned to the copper mines at Phaeno in Palestine by the governor Urbanus on 5 November 308 (Martyrs of Palestine 7:3 [short recension]), was beheaded. Together with him were executed another thirty-nine Christian prisoners, who due to deteriorated health or advanced age were no longer able to work in the mines. According to the short recension, one of these martyrs was a certain John from Egypt, who despite his blindness was able to memorise and recite all the books of the Old and New Testaments by heart.
Summary: Sergey Minov
Festivals
Saint’s feast
Non Liturgical ActivityComposing and translating saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
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 Silvanos and his companions: ed. Cureton 1861, pp. 50*-51* (long recension); ed. Schwartz et al. 1999, vol. 2, pp. 947-949 (short recension); English trans. Lawlor and Oulton 1927-1928, vol. 1, pp. 397-399.
For a full discussion of the Martyrs of Palestine, see E00294.
Discussion
This entry, typical of Eusebius' description of the martyrs of Palestine, consists of a brief account of torture and death, with no reference to miraculous events. Although there is no explicit reference to the martyrs' commemoration, the record of the date of their deaths might suggest that they were commemorated in an annual celebration in Caesarea.For a full discussion of the Egyptian Christians sentenced to the copper mines of Palestine, see E02383.
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).
Record Created By
Sergey Minov
Date of Entry
14/04/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00193 | Silvanos from Gaza and his companions, martyrs of the Phaeno copper mines | Σιλβανός | Certain |
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