The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

The Martyrdom of Polychronius, Sixtus, Laurence, Hippolytus and Others is a long hagiographical cycle narrating a number of martyrdoms that are often fragmented in manuscripts and thus receive separate BHL numbers. Here a summary of the whole cycle is given, with headings that refer to the corresponding BHL numbers.

Martyrdom of Polychronius, Parmenius, Elimas and Chrisotelus, Lucas and Mucus, Olympiades and Maximus (BHL 6884)

Summary:

§ 1: Under Decius, at the time when Galba is governing in the city of Rome (praesidens in urbe Roma), the emperor makes war on Persia, kills many Persians and captures large territories, where he finds and kills many Christians. At that time, Polychronius is bishop of Babylonia, with the priests Parmenius, Elimas, Chrisotelus, and the deacons, Lucas and Mucus. They are captured by Decius, and ordered to sacrifice to idols. They are incarcerated, while Decius builds a temple to Saturn, erects idols, and writes to the prefect Turgius Apolonius Valerianus on the benefits of the goodwill of the gods, asking him to impose on Christians compulsory sacrifice, and punish any transgressors.

§ 2: Decius orders Polychronius and his clergy to be brought into his presence. He interrogates them about their impiety. Polychronius stays silent; Decius wonders why. The priest Parmenius tells him that, following the commandment of Jesus Christ, he does not want to cast pearls before swine and to be polluted. Decius orders Parmenius’ tongue to be cut off, who, however, then asks Polychronius to pray for him. Polychronius is asked to sacrifice, but again he stays silent. Decius orders his bones [or mouth: os] to be crushed and he dies. Decius leaves his body before the temple and goes to the city of Cordula, on the 13th day of the Calends of March [= 19 February]. The same night Polychronius’ body is stolen by two princelings (subreguli), who secretly were Christians, and buried before the walls of Babylon. Decius brings the priests and deacons with him, in chains.

§ 3: In Cordula, Decius orders the priests and deacons to be brought before him. Sacrifice is once again demanded, but Parmenius rejects the emperor’s reasoning, and preaches against the idols. Decius orders the Christians to be tortured on a rack, but they do not give in to his demands; Parmenius prays to God, all replying ‘Amen’. As their stubbornness persists, Decius orders more punishments, while thinking that they are using magic to endure suffering. When red hot plates are placed around them, a voice from heaven is heard calling them. Then their sides are burnt and they are lacerated with claws. Finally they are beheaded, and their bodies thrown on the road. At night, the princelings Abdon and Sennes come, take the bodies of the priests Parmenius, Elimas and Chrisotelus and of the deacons Lucas and Mucus and bury them on their estate near the city of Cordula, on the 10th day of the Calends of May [= 22 April].

Martyrdom of Abdon and Sennes (BHL 6)

§ 4: Decius, now inquiring about the Christians, extends his authority over all Persia. Pagans (pagani) reveal that Abdon and Sennes have buried Christians on their estate and are themselves Christian. They are brought before the emperor, who grows exasperated with their stubbornness. Abdon and Sennes are imprisoned.

§ 5: The same day, the Christian and most noble men (nobilissimi viri) Olympiadis and Maximus are betrayed to Decius. Decius orders them to be beaten without being interrogated first, noting that they deserve it as they abandoned the gods in favour of a dead man [Jesus Christ]. Maximus replies that he forgot to mention that resurrection followed. Decius asks them to hand over their possessions, Olympiadis says that Christ is their gold, gems and silver, and tries to convince Decius to show humility before God the creator and his son Jesus Christ. Decius tells his soldiers to beat them with cudgels. Maximus glorifies the Lord for counting them among his servants. Decius orders them to be tortured with lead-weighted scourges, but they are glad to suffer.

§ 6: Decius orders his soldiers to torture Olympiadis and Maximus on iron beds put over burning coals. They are given over to Vitellius Anisius, a vicarius, in order to get them to sacrifice, but without success. Vitellius orders their execution, and their bodies are thrown to the dogs. However the dogs do not touch the holy bodies. Five days later, their remains are collected by kinsmen of Abdon and Sennes and buried in their house on the 12th day of the Calends of April [= 21 March].

§ 7: At this point, Decius, on hearing of Galba’s death, returns to Rome, where he arrives four months later, bringing the princelings Abdon and Sennes with him in chains. He orders Valerianus to arrest the Christians, and he incarcerates Pope Sixtus (Xystus) and all his clergy for several days. Even so, many come to receive the sacraments (sacramenti) from them in prison; many pagans are baptised by Sixtus.

§ 8: Decius convokes the senate in Tellure, with the prefect Valerianus, on the 5th day of the Calends of August [= 28 July]. He brings Abdon and Sennes before the senate, and, with a speech, highlights the threat posed by the Christians as enemies of Rome. The senate, however, pities them. The pontiff of the Capitol, Claudius, offers them wealth and honours to convince them to sacrifice, but once again they refuse. Decius orders bears and lions to be made ready; even so, Abdon and Sennes are immovable.

§ 9: The next day Decius’ plans are confounded by the deaths of the bears and lions in the enclosures (caveae) of the amphitheatre; so he orders that Abdon and Sennes be prepared for an amphitheatrical spectacle (editio). Decius does not enter the amphitheatre but sends the prefect Valerianus, ordering that Abdon and Sennes should be brought to sacrifice to Sol or otherwise be killed by wild beasts. Valerianus asks them to sacrifice, but they persist in their refusal to comply. Valerianus has them stripped and led to the temple of Sol near the amphitheatre, where the soldiers have been ordered to compel them to sacrifice. As they refuse once more and spit on the statue of the god, Valerianus orders them to be tortured with leaded scourges and brought to the amphitheatre to be killed by wild beasts. As they enter the arena they announce that they will be crowned with martyrdom and make a sign of the cross. They are naked but wear Christ’s body. Valerianus sends two lions and four bears, but they come to their feet and stay there to protect them. Valerianus says that it is magic, and nobody is able to reach them because of the wild beasts.

§ 10: Valerianus, full of rage, orders gladiators to enter the arena with their tridents. Abdon and Sennes are killed and their bodies are displayed for three days before the statue of Sol near the amphitheatre. Then Quirinus, a Christian subdeacon, collects their bodies by night and conceals them in a lead coffin (arca plumbea) in his house on the 3rd day of the Calends of August [= 30 July]. There their bodies remained for many years until the time of Constantine, when, the martyrs revealed the location of their bodies; they were exhumed and brought to the cemetery of Pontianus (coemeterium Pontiani).

Martyrdom of Sixtus (BHL 7801)

§ 11: At the same time, the emperor Decius and the prefect Valerianus order the presence of bishop Sixtus/Xystus and his clergy at night in Tellure. Sixtus was born and educated in Athens; at first he was a philosopher and then he became a disciple of Christ. Sixtus addresses his clergy, telling them not to fear suffering, which was endured by all saints to obtain eternal life, and by Christ himself. The deacons Felicissimus and Agapitus are ready to follow Sixtus.

§ 12: Sixtus, with the two deacons, is brought before Decius and Valerianus at night. Decius tries to reason with Sixtus in order that he might offer sacrifice to the gods; Sixtus, however, argues that he already makes sacrifice to the almighty God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit. Decius orders that Sixtus be taken by soldiers to the temple of Mars, be made to sacrifice to the god, and sent to the Mamertine prison (privata Mamertina) if he refuses. As he refuses and even tries to convince the soldiers to abandon the idols, Sixtus, with Felicissimus and Agapitus, is incarcerated, but in a private prison (privata custodia), thus not as ordered by Decius.

§ 13: Laurence, the blessed archdeacon, hears of Sixtus’ imprisonment and reproaches him for having left him behind. He also refers to the problems caused by the pope’s separation from the body of clergy. Laurence evokes the examples of Abraham and his son, and of Peter and Stephen, to exhort Sixtus to lead him, his son, to share martyrdom. Sixtus replies, telling Laurence that he will not abandon him, and that a greater struggle awaits Laurence, who will follow him in martyrdom three days later. He evokes the example of Elijah and Elisha (Eliseus), then entrusts to Laurence’s care the possessions of the Church.

§ 14: Laurence begins his new ministry by seeking out secreted members of the clergy and of the poor, and taking care of them according to their needs, with the wealth entrusted to him. He goes to the Caelian hill to meet a widow who was married for eleven years, but had remained a widow for thirty-two. Her house was a hideaway for Christians, priests and clerics. When he hears about this place, Laurence goes there by night, bringing clothes and treasures. On his arrival, he finds a multitude of Christians in the widow Cyriaca’s house, and starts washing their feet. Cyriaca beseeches him to lay hands upon her because she is suffering infirmities. Laurentius obliges: he makes the sign of the cross over her head and places on it a linen cloth that he had been using to wash the feet of the holy ones. She is cured of her illnesses.

§ 15: The same night, he enquires where the Christians congregate, whether in houses or in catacombs (criptae). He comes to the vicus Canarius, and finds many Christians in the house of a certain Narcissus. On entering the house in tears, he washes the feet of all the Christians there and gives to them from the treasure entrusted to him by Sixtus. A certain blind man called Crescontio is in the same house and entreats Laurence to cure him by the laying on of hands. Laurence makes the sign of the cross on Crescontio’s eyes and he is cured.

§ 16: Laurence then hears of Christians congregating in the crypta Nepotiana in the vicus Patricii. There he encounters sixty-three individuals of both sexes to whom he grants peace. He meets Iustinus, a priest ordained by Sixtus, and they kiss each other's feet. Laurence asks to be granted permission to wash the feet of all the holy ones. Iustinus agrees, a basin with water is brought and Laurence washes the feet of them all.

§ 17: About this time, Sixtus is led ad Tellurem, to be judged, along with Felicissimus and Agapitus, by Decius and Valerianus. Again the emperor is exasperated by the bishop, who refuses to comply and even asks him to do penance for the saints killed. The emperor consults Valerianus about what to do; he suggests execution. At this point, they are admonished by Felicissimus and Agapitus, who advise Decius and Valerianus that, through their refusal to listen to Sixtus, they risk eternal torments. The Christians are led outside the walls of the porta Appia and ordered to sacrifice at a temple of Mars. Sixtus speaks against worshipping idols, and tells the temple that it will be destroyed by Christ the son of God. All the Christians reply ‘Amen’, whereupon part of the temple falls down and it crumbles away.

§ 18: At this point, Laurence cries out, asking Sixtus not to forsake him, for he has already spent the treasures entrusted to him. Hearing about the treasures, soldiers immediately seize him. Meanwhile, Sixtus, Felicissimus and Agapitus are led to the clivus Martis before the temple and beheaded, their bodies being cast by the roadside, on the 8th day of the Ides of August [= 6 August]. At night, however, clerics, priests, deacons and the greatest part of the Christians (maxima pars christianorum) collect the bodies. The martyr Sixtus is buried in the cemetery of Callixtus on the same road [via Appia]; the two holy martyrs and deacons Felicissimus and Agapitus are buried in the cemetery of Praetextatus; all this on the 8th day of the Ides of August [= 6 August].

Martyrdom of Laurence (BHL 4753)

§ 19: Laurence is led into the presence of the tribune, Parthenius. He tells Decius that Laurence has the care of the treasures of Sixtus. Decius rejoices and summons Laurence. Decius demands to know the whereabouts of the church treasures. When he gets no response, he hands Laurence over to Valerianus, instructing him to interrogate, and if necessary torture him. Valerianus in turn entrusts him to a certain vicarius named Hippolytus, who puts him into custody with several other people.

§ 20: Incarcerated with Laurence is Lucillus, a pagan who has become blind by dint of continuous weeping. Laurence tells him that if he believes in Jesus Christ and is baptised, he will be enlightened. Lucillus states that he desires baptism, professes his faith in Christ and repudiates the vain idols. Hippolytus hears all that is being said. Laurence catechises Lucillus, receives water and asks him to reply ‘I believe’ when asked. He blesses the water, Lucillus strips, and Laurence pours water over his head asking him successively whether he believes in God, in Jesus Christ who died, and in Jesus Christ who resurrected and ascended to heaven, Lucillus each time responding ‘I believe’. Laurence baptises him and covers him in a linen cloth; his sight is restored and he blesses Jesus Christ. As a consequence, many blind people seek out Laurence in prison and are given sight through the laying on of hands.

§ 21: Hippolytus demands that Laurence show him the Church’s treasures. Laurence replies that he will show them to him if he believes in God the Father Almighty and his son Jesus Christ. Hippolytus agrees. Laurence speaks against the idols and exhorts him to baptism. He catechises him following custom. As Hippolytus comes out of the baptismal water, he tells Laurence that he has seen the joyful souls of innocent people. He asks Laurence to baptise all his household. Nineteen people of both sexes are baptised. Then Valerianus demands that Hippolytus sends Laurence to the palace; Hippolytus warns Laurence of this, but Laurence suggests that they go to the palace together and prepare themselves for glory. As they arrive, Valerianus begins his interrogation, demanding the Church’s treasures. Laurence asks for two or three days of time to allow him to deliver.

§ 22: Laurence assembles lame, blind and poor people and hides them in the house of Hippolytus. Valerianus tells Decius that Laurence has been given three days to hand over the treasures. After three days, Laurence presents himself at the Sallustian palace (palatium salustianum). With Valerianus present, Decius demands the treasures from him. Laurence leads in the poor and lame and announces that these are the eternal treasures. Valerianus tells Laurence to sacrifice and abandon magic, but Laurence refuses, telling Decius that God, the Father of Jesus Christ, is the creator of all things and he cannot adore stones.

§ 23: Decius orders Laurence to be stripped and tortured with scorpions (scorpiones). Laurence thanks God for being one of his servants and tells Decius that he will suffer. Decius prepares further tortures (iron plates, beds, leaded scourges and combs). Laurence’s resolve does not, however, break.

§ 24: Decius has Laurence brought in chains to the palace of Tiberius (palatium Tyberii) for further interrogation in the basilica of Jupiter (basilica Iovis). Decius orders Laurence to tell him where there are other unholy people, and to sacrifice to the gods. Laurence persists in his resistance and Decius orders him to be stripped and cudgelled, and have hot iron plates applied to him. Laurence endures the tortures and tells Jesus Christ that he has not denied him, but has confessed him when interrogated. Decius accuses Laurence of practising magic to delude him, and gives Laurence the choice between sacrificing and being killed. Laurence tells him that he does not fear tortures and exhorts him to continue the tortures. He is beaten with leaded scourges for a long time.

§ 25: Laurence calls upon Christ to receive his spirit. A heavenly voice calls out, saying that further struggle awaits him. Decius hears this voice also and cries out in indignation. Laurence is now cast upon a gridiron (prostratus in catasta), but joyfully says a prayer of blessing to Jesus Christ.

§ 26: At that moment, one of the soldiers, called Romanus, hearing the words of Laurence, comes to believe in Christ. He tells Laurence that he sees a most beautiful man washing Laurence’s body with a linen cloth. He exhorts Laurence not to abandon him, since Christ sent an angel to him. This enrages Decius who cries out, 'We are vanquished by witchcraft!', and orders Laurence to be taken off the gridiron. Romanus prepares a water ewer, which he plans to offer to Laurence. Decius hands Laurence over to Hippolytus. Romanus comes to Laurence, places the water ewer at his feet and begs to be baptised; his request is granted. Decius hears of this and summons Romanus. Before being interrogated he proclaims that he is a Christian. Decius orders him to be beheaded. He is brought outside the walls, to the porta Salaria, and beheaded on the 5th day of the ides of August [= 9 August]. During the night, the priest Iustinus collects his body and buries it in a crypt in the ager Veranus.

§ 27: Laurence is ordered to be brought into Decius’ and Valerianus’ presence again, this time at a tribunal in the baths of Olympiadis near the Sallustian palace (palatium Salustii). Hippolytus is disconsolate, as he also wants to proclaim that he is Christian, but Laurence tells him to be joyful and stay quiet: his turn will come. Decius orders all manner of tortures to be used: leaded scourges, cudgels, iron plates, nails (ungues), beds (lecti), and fire-pans (batili). Decius asks him to abandon magic and to tell him about his nobility (generositas). Laurence tells him that he is from Spain, educated in Rome, Christian since infancy, and learned in the divine law. He also tells Decius that he does not fear any torture. When Laurence again refuses to comply with Decius’ demands, the emperor orders that he be stoned. Laurence continues to thank God.

§ 28: Decius orders an iron bed to be prepared upon which Laurence might relax; it is in the form of a gridiron (craticula). Laurence is stripped and stretched upon it, and fire-pans (batuli) with burning coals are put under it. Laurence is also tortured with iron forks. Decius orders him to sacrifice to the gods, but Laurence refuses. He tells Decius that the burning coals refresh him, but that Decius will receive eternal punishment for it. He notes that he did not deny the Lord, and confessed Christ when interrogated. Now, grilled, he gives thanks. Further haranguing Decius and Valerianus, he tells Decius: 'See, you wretch, you have roasted one part; turn over the other and eat' (ecce, miser, assasti tibi partem unam; regira aliam et manduca). Thanking Jesus Christ, Laurence dies.

§ 29: Laurence’s body is collected by Hippolytus at first light, who embalms it with linen cloth and perfume at his own expense. He tells the priest Iustinus what happened to Laurence. Then, Hippolytus and Iustinus bring the body to the via Tiburtina, to the estate of the widow Cyriaca on the ager Veranus, and here, in the evening, they bury it in a crypt, on the 4th day of the Ides of August [= 10 August]. They fast and hold vigils for three nights with a multitude of Christians. The priest Iustinus offers the sacrifice of praise [Eucharist] and all take part.

Martyrdom of Hippolytus (BHL 3961)

§ 30: Hippolytus returns to his own house after the third day, gives peace to all there, even his slaves and maidservants, and tells them about Laurence’s sacrifice. Before he is able to take any food, he is taken by soldiers to Decius, who smiles at him and asks if he too has fallen under the magician’s spell, as his secretion of Laurentius’ body would suggest. Hippolytus replies that he did this not as a magician but as a Christian. This provokes Decius to anger, who orders that he be stoned and stripped, since he is wearing Christian clothing, and orders him to offer sacrifice. There follows the customary interrogation of Hippolytus, which serves only to enrage Decius further and provoke him to order further punishments. As he is tortured, Hippolytus proclaims that he is Christian; he is dressed as a military man, as he was when he was a pagan. Hippolytus says that his military duty is now to visit infirm Christians, and that he wishes to attain the palm of martyrdom.

§ 31: Decius orders Valerianus to seize all of Hippolytus’ wealth and to torture and kill him. Valerianus goes to Hippolytus’ house, finds out that the whole household is Christian and summons them. Among them is Hippolytus’ nurse, a Christian called Concordia, and her husband. In the presence of Decius and Hippolytus, Valerianus tells them that they risk perishing with Hippolytus. Concordia replies that they are ready to die with their master. Valerianus notes that this will not change their status as slaves and orders her to be beaten with leaded scourges. She dies in front of Hippolytus, who thanks the Lord. Valerianus orders that Hippolytus be brought outside the walls at the porta Tiburtina with his household. Nineteen people of both sexes are beheaded, however Hippolytus’ feet are tied to wild horses and dragged around until he dies. They leave the bodies next to the fountain near the ager Veranus, on the Ides of August [= 13 August].

§ 32: That night, the priest Iustinus collects the bodies and buries them in the same place. He also seeks out the body of the blessed martyr Concordia, but with no success. Some thirteen days after Hippolytus’ martyrdom, a soldier called Porfyrius, searching for Concordia’s body in the hope of getting hold of gold and jewels that might be found on her clothes, approaches a man working in the sewers (cloacarius) and tells him that he has a secret to reveal, if he can keep it. The man agrees. Then Porfyrius tells him that Concordia had been killed with leaded scourges and thrown into a sewer (cloaca). He hopes now to retrieve some pearls or gold hidden in her clothes. The man is secretly a faithful Christian; he asks Porfyrius to show him the location and at night he will look for it and tell him when it is found. The man is called Irenaeus (Hereneus). He goes to see Iustinus and tells him everything that Porfyrius has told him. Iustinus thanks God and Jesus Christ and wants to go to the sewer that night together with Irenaeus, but Irenaeus tells him that he will first see Porfyrius. Irenaeus is shown the location that same night by Porfyrius. He finds the body intact, and, as they search her clothes, they find nothing. Porfyrius flees, while Ireneaus calls a Christian named Abundius and they take the body of the blessed Concordia and bring it to Iustinus, who gives thanks to God and buries it next to Hippolytus and the other saints. The next day, Valerianus, who has heard of this, arrests Irenaeus and Abundius and orders them to be thrown alive into the sewer. They are killed on the 7th day of the Calends of September [= 26 August]. Iustinus later recovers their bodies and buries them, close to Laurence, in the crypt in the ager Veranus.

§ 33: On the twenty-eighth day after the martyrdom of the aforementioned saints, Decius orders public games (munera) to be held in the amphitheatre, where he and Valerianus arrive in a golden carriage. As he arrives and many are martyred in the games, Decius is possessed by a demon and shouts that Hippolytus holds him captive. Valerianus shouts that Laurence drags him with burning chains. Valerianus dies in front of Decius; then Decius returns to his palace and is tormented by the demon for three days, imploring Laurence to stop it. Seeing this, his wife Triphonia, a cruel pagan, orders that all the saints who are imprisoned should be released. At this precise moment, Decius dies, whereupon Triphonia and her daughter Cyrilla beseech Iustinus with tears that they might be baptised. Iustinus receives them gladly, and prompts them to fast for seven days, after which he baptises them. The whole world hears about it. The next day, however, as she is praying, Triphonia dies, and her body is buried in the same crypt where Hippolytus was buried, on the 15th day of the Calends of November [= 18 October]. Iustinus then starts to seek out the hidden bodies of saints and offers rewards to soldiers. Some forty-six soldiers, on hearing of the conversion of Triphonia and Cyrilla, ask Iustinus to baptise them also.

§ 34: Then the blessed Iustinus calls all the clergy together and asks who should succeed to the pontificate after Sixtus. The venerable Dionysius is ordained by Maximus, bishop of Ostia. Iustinus offers the forty-six baptised soldiers to Dionysius, bishop of Rome, and he baptises them in the name of the Trinity. Hearing this, the emperor Claudius, filled with indignation, has Cyrilla and the baptised troops arrested and orders them to perform sacrifice. When all refuse, he orders them to be sent into custody, but he summons Cyrilla. As she states that she is Christian and has abandoned the demons, and as she refuses to sacrifice and marry because she has Christ as her husband, Claudius orders that she be slaughtered and her body left to dogs. The blessed priest Iustinus, however, collects her body and buries it beside that of her mother in the same place where Laurence was buried, on the 5th day of the Calends of November [= 28 October].

§ 35: Around the same time, Claudius orders the baptised soldiers to be led by armed troops assembled in the Sallustian palace (palatio Salustii) outside the walls of the porta Salaria, to the city of Figlina, where they are beheaded. The priest Iustinus and Iohannes collect the bodies at night and bury them, amongst a multitude of Christians, on the via Salaria on the clivus Cucumeris, on the 8th day of the Calends of November [= 25 October], where their prayers flourish up to this day, with another 120 martyrs, among them the four soldiers of Christ, Theodosius, Lucius, Marcus and Petrus.


Text (BHL 6884 + BHL 6 + BHL 7801 + BHL 4753 + BHL 3961): Delehaye 1933, 72-98.
Summary: M. Humphries, The Roman Martyrs Project, Manchester University, revised and expanded by M. Pignot.
Translation: Lapidge 2018, 342.

Eucharist associated with cult

Saint’s feast

Burial site of a saint - unspecified
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Burial site of a saint - sarcophagus/coffin

Prayer/supplication/invocation
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Distribution of alms
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Vigils
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Miracle at martyrdom and death
Miracles experienced by the saint
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Punishing miracle
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Miracle with animals and plants
Healing diseases and disabilities
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Miraculous sound, smell, light
Other miracles with demons and demonic creatures

Bodily relic - entire body
Discovering, finding, invention and gathering of relics
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Women
Ecclesiastics - bishops
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Pagans
Foreigners (including Barbarians)
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