The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

Martyrdom of the Ten Martyrs of Crete (BHG 1196)

Summary

§ 1 [Prologue]. ὅ τε γὰρ πίστει τὴν ψυχὴν κεκοσμημένος ἐλάττονα νομίσοι λέγειν τὸν διηγούμενον, ὡς πεπονθέναι τοὺς ἁγίους πιστεύειν. ὁ δὲ ἐλαφρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸ θεῖον προαίρεσιν ἀσθενὴς μικρὰ πράγματα λόγοις ἐξευρεῖν νομίσοι τὸν διηγούμενον. (p.389.6–10)

'The one adorned with faith in his soul might think that the author accounts less than what he [= the faithful] believes that the saints had undergone. On the contrary, the other, who is shallow in soul and weak in his leaning towards the divine, might think that the author invents paltry things in words.'

It is therefore no easy task to recount the following martyrdom story, of the saints Theodoulos, Satornilos, Euporos, Gelasios, Eunikianos, Zotikos, Pompios, Agathopous, Basilides and Euarestos, which took place in Gortyn, Crete.

§§ 2-3: Under the reign of Decius, ten Christian men refuse to participate in the dedication of a pagan temple to the deity Tyche and begin preaching the Kingdom of Heaven in the thick of the crowd. The pagan proconsul Platimaios apprehends the ten men: five hailed from the metropolis of Gortyn, specifically from Hermaion (Ἑρμαῖον), namely Theodoulos, Satornilos, Euporos, Gelasios and Eunikianos; the other five came from different cities: Zotikos from Knossos, Pompios from Lebena, Agathopous from Panormos, Basilides from Kydonia and Euarestos from Heraklion. They are imprisoned, interrogated and variously tortured by both the Roman judge and pagan people.

§§ 4-8: While in prison, the Christian men are encouraged by an angel who appears in their shared vision and promises them 'the crown of immortality' (στέφανος τῆς ἀφθαρσίας). The next morning, they, almost completely naked, are brought again before the court. As the representative of the entire group of martyrs, the eldest, Theodoulos, makes it clear that they will neither offer sacrifice to lifeless idols nor take part in pagan ceremonies. These words exasperate both the crowd and the proconsul who orders that the accused be whipped and scraped with claws.

§§ 9-10: Finally, they are transferred to a region called Alonion (Ἁλώνιον) outside of Gortyn to be executed in succession by the sword. The ten men address a common prayer to God before dying a martyr's death. Euporos recognises a pious woman among the crowd and gives her his ring and the Holy Gospel that he carried, which, according to the hagiographer, is still preserved in the shrine devoted to the saints. When the pagan soldiers moved on, Christian people buried the bodies ('relics'/λείψανα) of the martyrs on the spot.

§§ 11-12: Around sixty years after the martyrdom of the saints [i.e., in the first years of the reign of Constantine the Great], Paul, the bishop of Gortyn, travels to Rome to obtain permission from Emperor Constantine to transfer the relics of the martyrs from Alonion to Gortyn. Before leaving Rome, he heals a possessed young woman and receives the permission he sought. He then returns to Crete and, along with other Christians (some of whom had witnessed the martyrdom of the saints), exhumes the dead bodies of the martyrs which were found to be incorrupt. The relics are reburied in the cemetery of Gortyn, where, according to the hagiographer, 'they remain until today'.

Text: Franchi de' Cavalieri (1962), 389-400.
Summary and translation: C. Papavarnavas.

Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave

Miracle after death
Bodily incorruptibility
Exorcism

Bodily relic - entire body
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Contact relic - saint’s possession and clothes

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Discussion

Bibliography