Two anonymous Latin Martyrdoms of *Andrew (the Apostle, S00288) are composed between the mid 5th and late 6th century, known as 'The Letter of the Presbyters and Deacons of Achaea' (BHL 428), and 'Conversante et docente' (BHL 429).
E07881
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
The Letter of the Presbyters and Deacons of Achaea (BHL 428)
Summary:
(1.) The Martyrdom is written in the name of 'all the presbyters and deacons of the churches of Achaea' (omnes presbiteri et diacones ecclesiarum Achaiae), who saw Andrew's martyrdom with their own eyes (quam oculis nostris vidimus), addressed to all the churches that believe in the Trinity and the correct relation between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The authors state that they learned this doctrine from Andrew the Apostle, whose martyrdom, which they witnessed in person (cuius passionem, quam coram positi vidimus) they will now relate.
(2.) The proconsul Aegeas came to Patras and began to force Christians to sacrifice to idols. Meeting him, Andrew said that a judge of men should recognise his true judge in heaven. Aegeas asked if he was Andrew, who had been destroying temples and persuading people to join a sect that the Roman emperors (Romani principes) had ordered to be exterminated. Andrew replied that the Roman emperors did not know that idols were not gods, but demons and enemies of the human race.
(3.) Aegeas replied that because Jesus preached such vain and superstitious words, the Jews had him fixed to a cross. Andrew replied that Jesus was crucified willingly, out of love for the human race. Jesus had said this himself to Andrew and the other Apostles. Andrew relates incidents in the Gospels when Jesus spoke about his death [Matt. 16:21ff., 26:21ff; Jn. 10:17-18].
(4-5.) Aegeas replied that he could not believe a sensible man (prudentem virum) would follow someone who had been crucified. Andrew replied that the cross was a great mystery, which he would explain to Aegeas, so that he believed, for the sake of his soul's renewal (ad restaurationem tuae animae). Aegeas replied that the soul is not renewed but perishes. Andrew replied that the first man brought death into the world through the wood of [the tree of] transgression (per lignum praevaricationis), so it was necessary for death to be driven from the world by the wood of the passion (per lignum passionis); the first man, who brought death, came from the untouched earth (de inmaculata terra), so the perfect man, in whom the son of God, who had made the first man, was mingled (perfectus homo in quo dei filius, qui primum hominem fecerat, mixtus), had to be born from an untouched virgin (de inmaculata virgine). Receiving in himself our mortality, he would confer his immortality on us.
(6.) Aegeas dismissed Andrew's arguments and threatened that unless he sacrificed to the gods he would be fixed to the cross which he praised. Andrew replied that as a Christian he did not sacrifice incense or bulls or goats, but every day he sacrificed the immaculate lamb on the altar of the cross (inmaculatum agnum cotidie in altare crucis sacrifico), whose flesh was then eaten and blood drunk by all believers, while the sacrificed lamb lived on, whole and untouched. Aegeas asked how this was possible, and Andrew told him that in order to understand he had to become Andrew's disciple. Aegeas replied that he would force the answer from Andrew by torture. Andrew derided the idea that he would divulge the mystery under torture, and told Aegeas that it would be revealed to him only if he believed in Jesus Christ.
(7.) Aegeas had Andrew imprisoned. A multitude of people gathered and wanted to kill Aegeas and release Andrew, but Andrew instructed them to be calm. He told them not to impede his martyrdom, and that if they were persecuted themselves they should respond peacefully, since anything they suffered would be transient compared to the joys of heaven or the eternal suffering that would be inflicted on people like Aegeas.
(8.) Andrew continued to preach to the people through the night. The next morning he was brought before Aegeas' tribunal. Aegeas asked whether he had changed his mind. Andrew said that he would rejoice if Aegeas rejected pagan cult. Aegeas replied that the temples of the gods had been abandoned in all the cities of Achaea, and that by making Andrew sacrifice he would restore their worship, so that they would be placated and remain friendly. If Andrew refused he would be tortured and then hung on the cross he praised. Andrew replied that he would be more acceptable to Jesus Christ the more he suffered in his name.
(9.) Aegeas ordered Andrew to be flogged, and then said that this was his last chance to avoid crucifixion. Andrew replied that he was the servant of the cross and did not fear it but longed for it; Aegeas would face eternal crucifixion unless he believed in Christ.
(10.) Aegeas ordered Andrew to be fixed to the cross, tied with ropes rather than nailed to it, so that his crucifixion would last longer. A crowd of people gathered as he was led to the cross. Andrew told them not to hinder his martyrdom. When he saw the cross, he addressed it in a speech, proclaiming that it had been dedicated in the body of Christ, turned from an object of earthly fear to one of heavenly love. He had always been its lover and desired to embrace it (amator tuus semper fui et desideraui amplecti te); through the cross he would be received by the one who through the cross had redeemed him (per te me recipiat qui per te redemit me). He then ascended the cross.
(11.) The crowd of twenty thousand people, among them Aegeas' brother Stratocles, cried out that a just man was being unjustly punished. Andrew comforted them, reminding them that earthly suffering was nothing compared to an eternal reward.
(12-13.) A crowd came to Aegeas' house, angrily complaining about his punishment of Andrew. Aegeas was afraid and promised to free Andrew. But when Andrew saw him approaching, he angrily rejected any idea that he should be released.
(14.) When those sent to take him down tried to remove Andrew from the cross, their arms were paralysed (stupebant enim brachia eorum). Andrew beseeched Christ not to allow him to be taken from the cross, and prayed for Christ to receive him. When he did so he was surrounded by a heavenly light, too bright for human eyes to bear. This lasted for half an hour and then Andrew gave up his spirit.
(15.) Aegeas was seized by a demon and dropped dead in the street. His brother, holding Andrew's body, escaped (frater uero eius tenens corpus sancti Andreae euasit). So much fear (tantus autem timor) seized everyone that there was no one left who did not believe in God, who wishes everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth [1 Tim. 2:4]. (The text ends at this point: there is no epistolary-style closure to match the opening.)
Text: Bonnet 1898.
Summary: David Lambert.
Conversante et docente (BHL 429)
Summary:
(1.) Conversing and teaching and preaching through Achaea, Andrew was arrested by the proconsul Aegeates in the city of Patras. Aegeates asked if he was Andrew, who had been destroying temples and persuading people to join a superstitious sect. Andrew proclaimed that he was teaching the word of truth and the Lord Jesus Christ, so that people would reject idols made by human hands and recognise the true creator. Aegeates replied that because Jesus preached such vain and superstitious words, he had been crucified. Andrew replied that Jesus was crucified willingly, to free human beings from death. The proconsul ordered him to be held in prison.
(2.) A large crowd gathered at the prison and Andrew preached to them through the night. He told them that he was an apostle sent by the Lord to recall human beings to the way of life and truth. He told them not to grieve for his martyrdom: it was written that followers of Jesus Christ would suffer and be tortured and would stand before judges, but those who persevered to the end would be saved.
(3.) The next morning he was brought before Aegeates' tribunal. Aegeates questioned him again and threatened him with execution, but Andrew insisted that he would never stop preaching and was prepared to be killed.
(4.) The proconsul ordered him to be flogged and crucified. He was to be tied rather than nailed to the cross, so that his crucifixion would last longer. Andrew approached the cross, accompanied by a large crowd to whom he preached with many words. When he saw the cross he greeted it in a speech: it had waited long for him and would rejoice to receive the disciple of the one who had hung on it; he came to it rejoicing, and had long desired to see it; he saw in it the promises of his Lord, and it would transport him to Jesus. He ascended the cross. A crowd of twenty thousand people stood round, including Aegeates' brother, Stratocles. Andrew preached to them and continued to preach for a night and a day.
(5.) The next day, crowds came to Aegeates' tribunal and begged him to release Andrew. Aegeates was scared by the crowd and decided to free Andrew. He went to the place of execution, but when Andrew saw him he proclaimed that he did not wish to be released from crucifixion.
(6.) Aegeates ordered Andrew to be taken down from the cross. Andrew beseeched Christ not to allow him to be taken from the cross by Aegeates, and prayed for Christ to receive him. He then gave up his spirit.
(7.) A senator's wife named Maximilla (quaedam Maximilla senatrix), received Andrews body, embalmed it, and buried it in a fine place (corpusculum conditum aromatibus optimo in loco sepelivit). Aegeates was seized by a demon and threw himself from a great height. His brother Stratocles refused to receive his possessions, saying that Jesus Christ was sufficient for him, whom he came to know through Andrew.
(8.) Andrew the Apostle was martyred in Achaea at the city of Patras, under Aegeates the proconsul, on 30 November (pridie kl. decemb.).
Text: Bonnet 1894.
Summary: David Lambert.
Saint’s feast
Non Liturgical ActivityComposing and translating saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle at martyrdom and death
Miraculous sound, smell, light
Changing abilities and properties of the body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesPagans
Officials
Crowds
Source
There are two Latin Martyrdoms of Andrew. The longer of the two is traditionally known as the 'Letter of the Presbyters and Deacons of Achaea' (BHL 428). The other, from its opening words, as 'Conversante et docente' (BHL 429). Gregory of Tours, in his Miracles of Andrew (E07877), stated that he would not describe Andrew's martyrdom in detail because an account already existed, presumably referring to one of these texts. Both versions of the Martyrdom were frequently copied alongside Gregory's work in collections of hagiographic texts.The Letter of the Presbyters and Deacons of Achaea (BHL 428)
This text was very popular in the middle ages and exists in a very large number of manuscripts: 180 appear in the non-exhaustive list provided by BHLms (bhlms.fltr.ucl.ac.be), of which four date from the 9th century and twelve from the 10th. It also appeared in numerous printed editions from the Renaissance onwards, before the modern critical edition was produced by Max Bonnet in the 1890s. Two Greek versions of this text exist (BHG 93 and 94). In earlier scholarship it was often assumed that one of these was the original, but Bonnet demonstrated that both Greek versions were based on the Latin (Bonnet 1894 and 1898), with BHG 93 being a direct translation, and BHG 94 containing additional, interpolated material (other Greek Martyrdoms of Andrew exist which were composed independently).
There is no direct evidence as to when or where the Martyrdom was composed, but the ideas it expresses on issues such as the Trinity and the relationship between the divine and human natures of Christ imply that it was written no earlier than the mid 5th century. It must have been in existence by the late 6th century, since Venantius Fortunatus refers in one of his poems (8.3, ll. 141-2; E06245) to a miracle (the light around Andrew's cross) that is unique to this Martyrdom.
In most manuscripts this Martyrdom appears as an independent text, but in a substantial minority (at least 43 out of about 180) it is copied together with Gregory's Miracles of Andrew.
Conversante et docente (BHL 429)
Of the two Latin Martyrdoms of Andrew, this was by far the less popular: the number of manuscripts is tiny compared to BHL 428, and the only printed edition is the one produced by Bonnet in the late 19th century. Bonnet utilised five manuscripts, of which the oldest (Paris, BnF lat. 18298) was dated by him to the 9th/10th c. (by the current BnF catalogue to the 10th). The BHLms entry for BHL 429 does not include any of Bonnet's manuscripts, but lists twelve different ones, ranging in date from the 9th to the 14th/15th centuries. Six additional manuscripts containing BHL 429 appear in the (non-exhaustive) list of manuscripts containing the so-called Virtutes apostolorum which appears in Rose 2013, 254-268. This produces a total of 23 manuscripts. Given the discrepancies between these different sources in the manuscripts they list, the total of 23 may be an underestimate. However, making all allowances, there are clearly far fewer than for BHL 428. In the majority of manuscripts (at least 17 out of 23) it is copied together with Gregory's Miracles of Andrew.
As with the 'Letter of the Presbyters and Deacons' there is no external evidence as to the date, place, or circumstances of the Martyrdom's composition. Bonnet stated in a note to his edition of Gregory's Miracles of Andrew that he believed this was the Martyrdom which Gregory refers to at the conclusion of the Miracles (for discussion see below), in which case it existed by the 580s/590s. Otherwise, there is no clear terminus ante quem.
Discussion
Common features of the Latin MartyrdomsThe two Latin Martyrdoms have the same overall structure:
a) Each starts at Patras, when Andrew encounters the proconsul Aegeas/Aegeates and is arrested: nothing is said about Andrew's previous journeys and preaching, as narrated by Gregory of Tours in his Miracles of Andrew (E07877), ultimately originating from the Acts of Andrew (E07879). Nor is anything said about the complicated, novelistic backstory to Andrew's martyrdom which appears in the Acts of Andrew (and Gregory's Miracles in a simplified and expurgated form), in which the proconsul's hostility is because Andrew had converted his wife Maximilla to Christianity and she thereafter refused to have sexual relations with him (with further complications involving multiple other characters). Maximilla does not appear at all in the 'Letter'; in 'Conversante et docente' she is introduced merely as 'a senator's wife', who buries Andrew after his martyrdom. Stratocles, the brother of Aegeas/Aegeates, who is also a major character in the Acts of Andrew, appears in both Martyrdoms but is largely reduced to a bystander, though in the 'Letter' it is he who buries Andrew's body. In the Latin Martyrdoms, Aegeas/Aegeates is simply a standard persecuting judge, as represented in innumerable martyrdom accounts.
b) The first part of both Martyrdoms ('Letter' 2-8, 'Conversante' 1-3) consists of the interrogation of Andrew by Aegeas/Aegeates and Andrew's replies, given in direct speech. This has no parallel in either the Acts of Andrew or Gregory's Miracles.
c) The Martyrdoms then recount Andrew's martyrdom by crucifixion ('Letter' 9-14, 'Conversante' 4-6), followed by a brief reference to his burial and events after his death ('Letter' 15, 'Conversante' 7): here both follow the Acts of Andrew fairly closely (Andrew addresses the cross, he preaches to the crowd from the cross, Aegeas/Aegeates attempts to release him, Andrew rejects this and beseeches Christ for his crucifixion to continue, Andrew dies and is buried). Both Martyrdoms include the address which Andrew makes to the cross and his outburst rejecting the proconsul's attempt to release him, but not the long speeches to the crowd which appear in the Acts of Andrew.
Differences between the Martyrdoms
An obvious difference between the Martyrdoms is reflected in the epithets by which they are known: BHL 428 claims to be an eyewitness account of Andrew's martyrdom (passionem sancti Andreae apostoli quam oculis nostris vidimus, 'the martyrdom of the holy apostle Andrew which we saw with our own eyes') by 'all the presbyters and deacons of the churches of Achaea' (omnes presbiteri et diacones ecclesiarum Achaiae). It is thus a pseudepigraphic document, making an implicit claim to authority on the basis of a false authorial identity. BHL 429, by contrast, contains no claim of authorship but plunges straight into the narrative: 'Conversing and teaching (conversante et docente) and preaching the word of God, the blessed apostle Andrew was arrested in Achaea by Aegeates the proconsul in the city of Patras'.
There are various other differences:
a) In the ‘Letter of the Presbyters and Deacons’, Andrew’s judge is named Aegeas (the form also used by Gregory of Tours in his Miracles); in ‘Conversante et docente’, Aegeates (the latter is the correct form, used in all Greek versions of the story).
b) In the 'Letter', the account of Andrew's crucifixion contains two miracles which do not appear in 'Conversante' (or the Acts of Andrew): the hands of the men sent to take Andrew from the cross are paralysed, and before he dies Andrew is surrounded by a heavenly light.
c) In 'Conversante', Andrew's body is received and buried by Maximilla; in the 'Letter', by Stratocles. Only in ‘Conversante’ is Aegeates’ death explicitly depicted as suicide.
d) ‘Conversante’ concludes with a reference to Andrew's feast day, which is not mentioned in the ‘Letter’.
The main visible difference between the two Martyrdoms, however, is the style in which they are written and the content of the dialogues between Andrew and Aegeas/Aegeates. The 'Letter' is written in a highly literary, rhetorically elevated style, which is particularly striking in the various speeches made by Andrew in response to Aegeas’ questioning and during his crucifixion (see examples in the summary of the Martyrdom in this entry). Andrew engages in long discourses on soteriology, the divine and human natures of Christ, the redemptive role of the Crucifixion, and the nature of the Eucharist (the 'Letter' also includes an exposition of Nicene doctrine on the Trinity, in the opening section by the 'presbyters and deacons'). Almost none of this appears in 'Conversante': instead Andrew's interaction with Aegeates is an entirely stereotypical dialogue between a martyr and a persecutor, with Andrew's contribution largely confined to a basic statement of faith and of his determination to continue preaching.
Although the narrative structure of the two Martyrdoms is essentially identical, this does not necessarily mean that they are dependent on or even closely related to each other. It was pointed out by Bonnet when he published the text (Bonnet 1894, 373; cf. Roig Lanzillotta 2007, 74) that in spite of being much shorter than the ‘Letter’, ‘Conversante’ contains material which it omits, and which is generally closer to other parts of the Andrew tradition. Attempting to reconcile this with the similarities between the two texts, Flamion (1911, 47-48) argued that ‘Conversante’ was an epitome of the ‘Letter’ by a redactor who changed plan while working on it: he began simply by abbreviating it but at a certain point started rewriting it to make it conform more closely to the Acts of Andrew. More recently, Roig Lanzillotta has argued that Flamion’s conclusions were erroneous, and that the two Latin Martyrdoms are independent compositions, each of which, while ultimately derived from the Acts of Andrew, is based on different intermediate sources, and that the affinities of ‘Conversante’ in particular are primarily with versions of Andrew’s martyrdom which survive in languages other than Latin (Roig Lanzillotta 2007, 110-114, 128-29).
Whatever the precise origins of the Martyrdoms, each has a clear literary character. The author of ‘Conversante’ (or the source text it ultimately depends on) has turned Andrew’s story into a conventional martyrdom narrative: Andrew is arrested, briefly interrogated by a persecuting governor, confesses his faith and is martyred. Almost everything distinctive is removed, with the exception of one or two incidents during Andrew’s martyrdom, such as his address to the cross. The work is short enough to be recited in full during a service, and ends by giving the saint’s feast day. The ‘Letter’ has the same narrative framework, but in this case the author – apart from being much more ambitious in his literary style – uses Andrew as a vehicle for the exposition of some quite complex theological ideas, centred on the Incarnation and the Crucifixion. It is agreed across modern scholarship that this material must be an original composition, since it is not paralleled in other texts about Andrew in any language. It was certainly composed long after the Acts of Andrew, since it contains material that reflects the Christological controversies of the mid 5th century.
Even though ‘Conversante’ appears to be better adapted for liturgical use, the manuscript evidence shows that the ‘Letter’ was far more popular, with something like eight times as many manuscripts as the shorter work.
Which Martyrdom was read by Gregory of Tours?
Gregory's Miracles of Andrew does not include a detailed account of his martyrdom, because, Gregory says, an account had already been written (§ 38):
Passionis quoque eius ordinem prosecuti non sumus, quia valde utiliter et eleganter a quodam repperimus fuisse conscriptum.
'We have not pursued the narrative of his martyrdom, because we found that it had been extremely usefully and elegantly written by somebody.'
In his edition of the Miracles (MGH, SS rer. Merov. 1.2, p. 396, n. 2), Bonnet identified this Martyrdom as ‘Conversante et docente’, but the only reason he gave was that Gregory would not have referred to the ‘Letter of the Presbyters and Deacons’ as being written ‘by somebody’ (a quodam): presumably on the basis that if Gregory had known the identity of the supposed authors he would have mentioned it. But this is hardly a decisive argument, and one feature of Gregory’s statement seems to point in the opposite direction: his praise of the Martyrdom he had read as being written valde utiliter et eleganter ('extremely usefully and elegantly'). It is difficult to overstate how strongly Gregory's words seem to fit the 'Letter' rather than 'Conversante'. The 'Letter' is written in highly literary Latin by an author who had clearly been trained in rhetoric and makes full use of its devices (eleganter), while much of it consists of exposition of doctrinal issues and the nature of Christian cult acts such as the Eucharist (utiliter). By comparison, 'Conversante', with the exception of one or two passages such as Andrew's address to the cross, is little more than a bare summary of the events of his arrest and martyrdom.
An additional piece of evidence is a reference to Andrew’s martyrdom in a poem by Gregory’s friend, Venantius Fortunatus (Poems 8.3, ll. 141-2; E06245). Fortunatus describes Andrew as ‘shining with radiant light’ (radianti luce coruscum), an obvious allusion to the miraculous light which surrounds him in the ‘Letter of the Presbyter and Deacons’. This miracle only appears in the ‘Letter’, so its appearance in Fortunatus’ poem is definitive evidence that this version of the Martyrdom was circulating within Gregory’s milieu.
The evidence does not all point one way, however. The content of the brief account of Andrew’s martyrdom and burial in Gregory’s work (Miracles of Andrew 36) matches ‘Conversante’ rather than the ‘Letter’: both have Andrew being buried by Maximilla (who does not appear in the ‘Letter’), and both describe her as burying Andrew’s body ‘preserved with aromatics’ (conditum aromatibus), though these parallels could be due to dependence on a common source, the Latin version of the Acts of Andrew. On the other hand, if Gregory did read the ‘Letter’, it is striking that he failed to mention the miracles in its account of Andrew’s crucifixion. Given his general interest in miracles and the particular purpose of the Miracles of Andrew, this arguably makes a stronger case against his knowledge of the ‘Letter’ than the one put forward by Bonnet. There are possible explanations, however: if Gregory intended the ‘Letter’ to be copied immediately after his own text, he may have considered it unnecessary to add material from it to his own account.
Flamion, in his 1911 monograph, argued that the manuscript evidence shows that ‘Conversante’ was the Martyrdom used by Gregory, since it is always copied together with Gregory’s Miracles (Flamion 1911, 53-4). However, this was based solely on the small number of manuscripts collated by Bonnet for his edition. Modern resources such as BHLms show that the situation is not so simple. A cursory and non-exhaustive examination of BHLms and some other sources (Bonnet’s editions; Rose 2013) shows that out of 23 manuscripts of ‘Conversante’ at least 17 were copied together with Gregory’s Miracles: clearly a high proportion. But in addition, some 43 manuscripts of the ‘Letter’ are copied with Gregory’s text. The Miracles are therefore more frequently accompanied by the ‘Letter’ than by ‘Conversante’. A full and systematic survey of the manuscripts (which has never been undertaken) might reveal more information about the history of the texts, but even so, given that no manuscript for any of these works dates from earlier than the 9th century, it is not clear that this would take us back to Gregory.
Overall, the evidence seems to suggest that there is a stronger (if not absolutely decisive) case for seeing the ‘Letter of the Presbyters and Deacons’ as the text known to Gregory. There is certainly scope for further research on the issue.
Bibliography
Editions:BHL 428
Bonnet, M., Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha (Leipzig, 1898), 1-37 (together with texts of the related Greek Martyrdoms, BHG 93 and 94).
BHL 429
Bonnet, M., "Passio Sancti Andreae Apostoli," Analecta Bollandiana 13 (1894), 374-378.
Further reading:
Bonnet, M., "La Passion de l'apôtre André en quelle langue a-t-elle été écrite?", Byzantinische Zeitschrift 3 (1894), 458-469.
Elliott, J.K., The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993).
Flamion, J., Les Actes Apocryphes de l'Apôtre André. Les Actes d'André et de Mathias, de Pierre et d'André et les textes apparentés (Louvain, 1911).
Roig Lanzillotta, L., Acta Andreae Apocrypha: A New Perspective on the Nature, Intention and Significance of the Primitive Text (Geneva: Patrick Cramer, 2007).
Rose, E., "Abdias scriptor vitarum sanctorum apostolorum? The Collection of «Pseudo-Abdias» Reconsidered," Revue d'histoire des textes n.s. 8 (2013), 227-268.
David Lambert
16/05/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00288 | Andrew, the Apostle | Andreas | Certain |
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