Marcellinus Comes, in his Chronicle, states that many people were killed in a church of *Theodore (soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita, S00480) in Constantinople in 512 during rioting over the religious policies of the emperor Anastasius. Written in Latin in Constantinople, 518/534.
Evidence ID
E07943
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Marcellinus Comes, Chronicle
V. Pauli et Musciani
[...]
Altera nihilominus die in atrio sancti Theodori maiore caede catholici pro fide unica perculsi sunt.
'5th indiction, consulship of Paulus and Moschianus [=512]
[...]
Nevertheless, on the next day in the church of St. Theodore the catholics were killed on behalf of the one faith in a greater slaughter.'
Text: Mommsen 1894.
Translation: Croke 1995.
Cult Places
Cult building - independent (church)
Source
Marcellinus (PLRE II, 'Marcellinus 9') was an imperial official at Constantinople under the emperors Anastasius, Justin, and Justinian. The epithet Comes ('Count') is his official rank. He came originally from the province of Dardania in the western Balkans, and wrote in Latin.Marcellinus' Chronicle was a continuation of the chronicle of Jerome, covering events from the 370s to 518. It was subsequently updated to 534 by Marcellinus himself, and to 548 by an anonymous continuator. Marcellinus dates events by indictions (the fifteen-year tax cycle used in the later Roman empire) and by the consuls of each year.
Discussion
This event occurred during the major riot that took place in Constantinople in November 512. The disturbance, known as the Trisagion riot, broke out when the emperor Anastasius (491-518) ordered changes to be made to the liturgy that were interpreted as a rejection of the Council of Chalcedon.Although Marcellinus does not specify which Theodore this church was dedicated to, nor where it stood in the city, it was almost certainly to Theodore, the soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita, since he is much the most prominent saint of this name. For two records of churches to him in Constantinople, see E00550 and E07964.
Bibliography
Edition:Mommsen, T., Marcellini v.c. comitis Chronicon, in: Chronica minora saec. IV V VI VII (II) (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores antiquissimi 11; Berlin, 1894), 60-108
English translation and commentary:
Croke, B., The Chronicle of Marcellinus: Text and Commentary (Byzantina Australiensia 7; Sydney, 1995).
Further reading:
Croke, B., Count Marcellinus and His Chronicle (Oxford, 2001).
Janin, R., La géographie ecclésiastique de l'empire byzantin. I: Les églises et les monastères de la ville de Constantinople. (2nd ed.; Paris, 1969), 148-155.
Record Created By
David Lambert
Date of Entry
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00480 | Theodore, soldier and martyr of Amaseia and Euchaita | Theodorus | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
David Lambert, Cult of Saints, E07943 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07943