Basil of Caesarea, in his Letter 248 of 376, to Amphilochios of Ikonion/Iconium, mentions the death of the priest *Asklepios (S00950) who denied communion to the Arians, suffered a beating, and died form the effects. Basil regards him as a martyr. Written in Greek at Kaisareia/Caesarea of Cappadocia (central Asia Minor).
E00777
Literary - Letters
Basil of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea, Letters (CPG 2900), Letter 248
ΑΜΦΙΛΟΧΙῼ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠῼ ΙΚΟΝΙΟΥ
Ὅταν μὲν πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν αὐτῶν ἐπιθυμίαν ἀπίδωμεν, ἀχθόμεθα τοσοῦτον διῳκισμένοι τῆς εὐλαβείας σου· ὅταν δὲ πρὸς τὸ εἰρηνικὸν τῆς σαυτοῦ διαγωγῆς, εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ Κυρίῳ, τῷ ἐξελομένῳ τὴν εὐλάβειάν σου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐμπρησμοῦ τούτου ὃς πλέον ἐπενείματο τὴν καθ’ ἡμᾶς παροικίαν. Ἔδωκε γὰρ ἡμῖν κατὰ τὰ ἔργα ἡμῶν ὁ Δικαιοκρίτης ἄγγελον Σατὰν ἱκανῶς ἡμᾶς κατακονδυλίζοντα καὶ σφοδρῶς μὲν ἐκδικοῦντα τὴν αἵρεσιν, μέχρι τοσούτου δὲ τὸν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐξαγαγόντα πόλεμον ὥστε μηδὲ αἵματος φείσασθαι τῶν εἰς Θεὸν πεπιστευκότων. Πάντως γὰρ οὐκ ἔλαθέ σου τὴν ἀγάπην ὅτι Ἀσκλήπιός τις διὰ τὸ μὴ ἑλέσθαι τὴν πρὸς τὸν Δωὴκ κοινωνίαν τυπτόμενος παρ’ αὐτῶν ταῖς πληγαῖς ἐναπέθανεν, μᾶλλον δὲ διὰ τῶν πληγῶν εἰς τὴν ζωὴν μετετέθη. Ἀκόλουθα δὲ ἐκείνῳ πάντα οἴου γίνεσθαι τὰ λοιπά· διωγμοὺς πρεσβυτέρων καὶ διδασκάλων, τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα ἂν ποιήσειαν ἄνθρωποι τῇ ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς δυναστείᾳ πρὸς τὸ ἑαυτῶν βούλημα κεχρημένοι. (.......)
'To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium
Whenever we regard our own yearning we are annoyed for living so far away from your Piety, but whenever we regard the peacefulness of your life, we give thanks to the Lord for having removed your Piety from this conflagration which has been increasingly consuming the district in our charge. For the just Judge in accordance with our works has given us “an angel of Satan” (2 Corinthians 12.7), who sufficiently buffets us and vehemently defends the heresy; and he carries on the war against us to such a degree that he does not even spare the blood of those who have placed their trust in God. For surely it has not escaped your Charity that a certain Asklēpios, for not having chosen communion with Doeg (1 Samuel, 21, 22), was struck by them and died of the blows, or rather by means of the blows was translated to life. And realize that consistent with this are all the rest of their actions: persecutions of presbyters and teachers, and all other such things as men might do who make use of the power of government in accordance with their will. (........)'
Text: Courtonne, vol. 3 (1966), 86-87. Translation: Deferrari, vol. 3, p. 478-483 (modified).
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Born around 330 to an aristocratic Christian family of Neokaisareia/Neocaesarea of Pontus Polemoniacus (Anatolia), Basil was educated in Kaisareia/Caesarea, Antioch, and Athens. After his studies, he spent time in the monasteries in Egypt, before returning to Pontus, where he organised an ascetic community on his family estate in Pontus. In the 360s, Basil was ordained in Kaisareia/Caesarea, and, on 14 June 370, he was consecrated bishop there. He died on 1 January 379. Basil was a prolific writer, composing homilies, theological, ascetical, and liturgical works. His 369 letters form a major corpus on ecclesiastical politics and the broader history of Anatolia and the Christian East.On the manuscript tradition, editions and translations of this letter, see:
Fedwick, P.J., Bibliotheca Basiliana Universalis. 5 vols. Vol. I (Corpus Christianorum; Turnhout: Brepols, 1993), 323.
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/5913/
Discussion
This brief letter provides Basil’s answer to his disciple and fellow bishop of Ikonion/Iconium, Amphilochios, in which he deplores the turbulent situation in his own bishopric in contrast to the much quieter see of his correspondent. Basil updates Amphilochios on tensions with the ‘Arian’ authorities. In this and other letters, Basil refers to violence against Nicene clerics, some of whom, like Asklēpios of this passage, die as a result of violent attack, and whom Basil regards as martyrs. Elsewhere (E00773), our author stresses that several people suffer as martyrs in his times, but those of them that indeed die as martyrs are not venerated, because the persecutors are Christians. Here Basil refers to a local Arian official as Doeg the Edomite, a biblical figure that killed several priests (1 Samuel, 21, 22). It seems that the priest Asklēpios refused to admit him to communion and was beaten for his act. It is unknown if this Asklēpios ever received veneration as a martyr.Bibliography
Text edition and French Translation:Courtonne, Y., Saint Basile. Lettres. 3 vols (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1957-1966).
Text and English Translations:
Deferrari, R. J. Saint Basil, the Letters. 4 vols. Vol. 2 (Loeb Classical Library; Cambridge, MA/London: Harvard University Press, 1928).
Way, A.C., Saint Basil. Letters, Volume 1 (1‒185) (Fathers of the Church 13; Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1951).
Further Reading:
Courtonne, Y., Un témoin du IVe siècle oriental: saint Basile et son temps d'après sa correspondance (Collection d'études anciennes; Paris: Les Belles lettres, 1973), esp. 356-359.
Radde-Gallwitz, A., "The Letter Collection of Basil of Caesarea," in: C. Sogno, B.K. Storin, and E. Watts (eds.), Late Antique Letter Collections: A Critical Introduction and Reference Guide (Oakland: University of California Press, 2017), 69-80.
Rousseau, P., Basil of Caesarea (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994).
Efthymios Rizos
19/11/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00950 | Asklepios, martyred priest in Caesarea of Cappadocia, ob. c. 375 | Ἀσκληπιός | Certain |
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