Site logo

The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Name

Babylas, bishop and martyr of Antioch, and companions

Saint ID

S00061

Number in BH

BHG 205-208
BHL 889-893

Reported Death Not Before

249

Reported Death Not After

284

Gender
Male
Type of Saint
Martyrs, Bishops
Related Evidence Records
IDTitle
E00069John Chrysostom composes a sermon on *Ioventinos/Iuventinus and Maximinos (soldiers and martyrs under Julian, S00053), which he delivers during their feast in Antioch on the Orontes (north Syria), celebrated shortly after that of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061). He recounts the saints’ martyrdom and the collection of their bodies, and encourages the veneration of their relics. Written in Greek in Antioch, 386/397.
E00095John Chrysostom delivers in Greek his homily On *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061), during the saint’s festival in Antioch (Syria). He recounts the miraculous destruction of Apollo’s temple at Daphne, after the removal of the saint’s remains, and how Bishop *Meletios (S01192) built a new shrine for the martyr, and was buried next to him. Written in Antioch, in the late 380s or 390s.
E00276Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Ecclesiastical History (6.39.1-4), mentions the martyrdoms of *Fabianus (bishop and martyr of Rome, S00147), *Alexandros (bishop and martyr of Jerusalem, S00149), and *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061), during the Decian persecution (250/251). Written in Greek in Palestine, 311/325.
E00530The Piacenza Pilgrim records his visit to Antioch (Syria), mentioning the tombs there of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061), the *Three Children (his companions, S00319), *Iustina/Ioustina (virgin and martyr of Antioch, S01704), *Iulianus/Ioulianos (martyr of Cilicia, buried at Antioch or in Egypt S00305), and the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303); over the latter hang the instruments of their martyrdom or an account thereof. Account of an anonymous pilgrim, written in Latin, probably in Placentia (northern Italy), c. 560.
E01413The early 5th c. Syriac Martyrology commemorates on 24 January the martyrs *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061) and the *Three Children (his companions, S00319), in Nicomedia (north-west Asia Minor). Preserved in a manuscript written in Edessa (northern Mesopotamia) in 411.
E01753Floor-mosaics with Greek inscriptions from the so-called Cruciform Church/the Church at Kaoussie/Qausiyeh at Antioch on the Orontes, presumed to be the martyr shrine (martyrion) of *Babylas (S00061), enumerating members of the local clergy, involved in the construction and extension of this shrine. Dated 387 and 420-429.
E01823One of the panels of the Yakto mosaic shows 'the workshops of the martyr shrine (martyrion)', possibly that of *Babylas (bishop and martyr in Antioch, S00061). Found at Yakto near Antioch on the Orontes (north Syria). Second half of the 5th c.
E01985The emperor Julian in his Misopogon, of 361/362, refers to the removal of the relics of *Babylas (martyr of Antioch, S00061) at Daphne, and mentions that Christians prayed at the tombs of martyrs to get rid of the emperor; he also mentions the destruction of Christian shrines by pagans in Emesa. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria).
E02274Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical History (5.19), recounts the transfer in 352 of the remains of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061) to the suburb and pagan shrine of Daphne. The local oracle is silenced, and in 362/3, the emperor Julian orders that the martyr be removed. The pagan temple is miraculously destroyed. Written in Greek at Constantinople, 439/450.
E02282Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical History (7.10), reports that the remains of *Paulos (bishop of Constantinople, ob. 350s, S01500) were brought from Anatolia to Constantinople in 381, and buried in a church that then bore his name. At the same time, the body of *Meletios (bishop of Antioch, S01192) was ceremoniously taken from Constantinople to Antioch and buried next to the tomb of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061). Written in Greek at Constantinople, 439/450.
E02293Socrates, in his Ecclesiastical History (3.18), recounts that in 362/363 the emperor Julian, failing to obtain an oracle from Apollo at his shrine in Daphne, near Antioch, ordered that the remains of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061) be removed from the site. Written in Greek at Constantinople, 439/446.
E02421Latin translation of the Greek Martyrdom of Babylas and his Companions (*Bablyas, bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061, and the *Three Children, S00319), produced by the 7th century at the latest.
E02486The Latin Martyrdom of *Calocerus, Parthenius, *Victoria, Anatolia and Audax (martyrs of Rome and of Picenum, S00679 and S01406), probably originally a single text though later fragmented in the manuscripts, narrates the trial and death in Rome of Calocerus and Parthenius, and their burial next to the tomb of *Sixtus (bishop and martyr of Rome, S00201); the vow in Rome of Victoria and Anatolia to keep their virginity; their enforced and separate travel to different cities of Picenum (central Italy), where both effect miracles and conversions, including that of Audax who is then martyred; their death and burial in the same region. Written presumably in Picenum, at an uncertain date, probably before the late 7th c.
E02671John Chrysostom composes a tract On Babylas and Against Julian and the Greeks, in which he recounts the martyrdom of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061), and the miraculous destruction of the temple of Apollo at Daphne; he mentions the relics of the martyr’s bones and chains. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria), 378/379.
E02684The Greek Martyrdom of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch) recounts the martyrdom by decapitation of the saint and of his comapnions, the *Three Children (S00319), in Antioch (Syria). Probably written in Antioch, in the 5th c. or later.
E02906The Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, compiled in Georgian in the 10th century, based however on 5th-7th c. prototypes from Jerusalem, commemorates on 15 January *Babylas (bishop and martyr in Antioch, S00061) and the *Three Children (martyrs of Antioch with Babylas, S00319), and Archil, martyred king of Iberia, ob. 744.
E02946The early seventh-century Georgian version of the Lectionary of Jerusalem commemorates on 15 January *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061) and his 'three sons' (the *'Three Children', martyrs of Antioch with Babylas, S00319).
E03366The early seventh-century Georgian version of the Lectionary of Jerusalem commemorates on 30 August *Phokas (the martyr of Antioch, S00413, or the martyr of Synope, S00052) and *Babylas (bishop and martyr in Antioch, S00061).
E03378The early seventh-century Georgian version of the Lectionary of Jerusalem commemorates on 9 September *Phokas (martyr of Antioch, S00413) and *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061).
E03848The Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, compiled in Georgian in the 10th c., based however on 5th-7th c. prototypes from Palestine, commemorates on 30 August *Phokas (martyr of Antioch, S00413) or *Phokas (martyr of Synope, S00052), *Jude Thaddaeus (Apostle, one of the Twelve, S01507), *Joseph of Arimathea (New Testament figure, S01787), *Babylas (bishop and martyr in Antioch, S00061), and *Alexandros (bishop of Constantinople, ob. 337, S01789), and the beheading of *John the Baptist (S00020).
E03860The Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, compiled in Georgian in the 10th c., based however on 5th-7th c. prototypes from Palestine, commemorates on 9 September *Phokas (probably the martyr of Antioch, S00413), *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061), *Kyriakos (monk at the Monastery of Souka/Chariton, ob. 556, S01625), *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rousafa, S00023), *Bakchos (soldier and martyr of Barbalissos, S00079), and *Joachim and Anne (parents of Mary, mother of Christ, S01327),and *Nicholas (possibly the bishop of Myra under Constantine, S00520).
E03906The Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, compiled in Georgian in the 10th c., based however on 5th-7th c. prototypes from Palestine, commemorates on 25 October *Demetrios (martyr of Thessalonike, S00761), *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, and companions S00061), *Phokas (probably the martyr of Antioch, S00413), *Kosmas and Damianos (brothers, physician martyrs of Syria, S00385), *Varos (soldier and martyr in Egypt under Galerius, S01212), *John the Baptist (S00020), and *Sophia and her daughters (martyrs of Rome, S00554).
E04492Evagrius Scholasticus, in his Ecclesiastical History (1.16), mentions the transfer of the relics of *Ignatios (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00649) to the former pagan shrine of Tyche in Antioch, under Theodosius II (r. 408-450); a yearly festival is held on the anniversary of this transfer. Such transfers as an honour for the martyrs is said to have originated from Julian’s unwitting translation of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061) from Daphne to Antioch in 362. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria), 593/594
E04541Rufinus of Aquileia, in his Church History (10.36), describes the transfer of the relics of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061), from the suburb of Daphne to another place close to Antioch (Syria), at the order of the emperor Julian in 362. Written in Latin in Aquileia (northern Italy), c. 402.
E04621The 6th/7th c. recension of the Latin Martyrologium Hieronymianum, as transmitted in 8th c. manuscripts, records the feasts of a number of saints on 24 January.
E05670John Malalas, in his Chronographia (12.35), mentions the martyrdom of *George (soldier and martyr, S00259) and *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061) under Numerian (r. 283-284). Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria) or Constantinople, in the mid-6th c.
E05840The Calendar of Willibrord, in its earliest version, records the feasts of various saints in January. Written in Latin at Echternach, Frisia (north-east Gaul), 703/710.
E06111The Greek Martyrdom of *Christophoros (martyr of Pamphylia, S00616) tells of Reprebos, an outwardly repulsive barbarian, with the head of a dog and from a tribe of cannibals, who is baptised a Christian in Syrian Antioch with the new names Christophoros, is tortured and, after converting many followers, including Aquilina and Kallinike, is martyred under Decius in Perge (Pamphylia) or Antioch. Written probably in Pamphylia, possibly in the 5th century or later.
E06566Aldhelm, in his prose On Virginity, names *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061), as an exemplary virgin. Written in Latin in southern Britain, for the nuns at the monastery at Barking (south-east Britain), c. 675/686.
E06659Aldhelm's verse On Virginity lists a range of saints as exemplary virgins, with some variations to the list found in the earlier prose version of the same treatise. Written in Latin in southern Britain, for the nuns at the monastery at Barking (south-east Britain), c. 675/710. Overview entry
E07727Gregory of Tours, in his Histories (1.30), mentions a number of martyrdoms which took place during the reign of the emperor Decius (249-251), naming *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061) and his companions the *Three Children (S00319), *Xystus/Sixtus II (bishop and martyr of Rome, S00201), *Laurence/Laurentius (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037), and *Hippolytus (martyr of Rome, S00509). Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 575/594.
E07808Ammianus Marcellinus in his Res Gestae alludes to the emperor Julian's order to remove the remains of Christians buried around the Castalian Spring at Daphne, near Antioch in Syria, in 362, which included those of *Babylas (bishop and martyr of Antioch, S00061). Written in Latin in Rome, in the 380s.
E08131The Greek Life of *Matrona (abbess in Constantinople, 5th c., S01829) recounts the story of an aristocratic woman who entered the ascetic way of life disguised as a eunuch at the male monastery of *Bassianos (5th c. abbot in Constantinople, S02890), and later founded her own nunnery in the same city. Written in Constantinople in the late 6th century.