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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


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


Name

Maccabean Martyrs, pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch

Saint ID

S00303

Number in BH

BHG 1006-1010, BHL 5106-5114

Gender
Male
Type of Saint
Old Testament saints, Martyrs, Groups and pairs of saints
Related Evidence Records
IDTitle
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.
E00884Prudentius, in his poem (Crowns of the Martyrs V) on *Vincent (deacon and martyr of Zaragoza and Valencia, S00290), describes the grave, altar and church built around the body of the martyr on the shore of Sagunto near Valencia (eastern Hispania) and refers to him as being in heaven in the company of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303) and the martyred *Isaiah (Old Testament prophet, S00282). Written in Latin in Calahorra (northern Hispania), c. 400.
E00946Prudentius writes Crowns of the Martyrs X, a poem on the martyrdom of *Romanos (deacon of Caesarea, martyred at Antioch, S00120), with an elaborate account of the tortures and miracles that occurred around the saint's death. Written in Latin in Calahorra (northern Hispania), c. 400. Overview of Peristephanon X.
E01043Gregory of Nazianzus in his Oration 15, On the *Maccabees (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303), delivered during their festival in 379/381, stresses that they deserve equal veneration to Christian martyrs, and recounts their story according to the biblical narrative. Written in Greek in Constantinople.
E01526The early 5th c. Syriac Martyrology commemorates on 1 August the martyrdom of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303), of Xystus, most likely *Xystus II (bishop and martyr of Rome, S00201), and of *Philippos (martyr of Nicomedia, S01057) and his four companions. Preserved in a manuscript written in Edessa (northern Mesopotamia) in 411.
E02199Calendar of the Church of Carthage (central North Africa) lists saints whose liturgical commemorations were celebrated in August. Written in Latin in Carthage, probably between 505 and 535.
E02214Augustine of Hippo (North Africa), preaches, in an unknown city of central North Africa, a sermon on the feast of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303). Sermon 301, delivered in Latin, possibly in 417.
E02541John Chrysostom, in his oration Against the Jews I, condemns the visits of Christians to the Jewish shrine of the cave of Matrona in the Antiochene suburb of Daphne, where they practice incubation. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria), 386.
E02567John Chrysostom delivers a homily On the Holy Martyrs during a festival at Antioch, held on 2 August, after the feast of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303); the celebration concerns unnamed martyrs of the countryside near Antioch. John refers to the power of relics, which is not diminished by their partition. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria), 386/397.
E02689Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303), calling them martyrs of Christ and mentioning their church in Antioch (Syria). Sermon 300, delivered in Latin, possibly in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), sometime between 391 and 430.
E02697John Chrysostom, in his homily On Eleazar and the Seven Boys, delivered one day before a feast held almost certainly at a shrine of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303) in the outskirts of Constantinople, defends the validity of the martyrdom and cult of these martyrs, even though they died before Christ. Written in Greek at Constantinople, 397/405.
E02702Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303), referring to the reading of their history and admonishing his audience to participate in the feast of the martyrs rather than in theatrical shows. Sermon 301A, delivered in Latin in Bulla Regia (Proconsularis, central North Africa), possibly in 399.
E02742John Chrysostom delivers two homilies on a feast of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303) held in Antioch (Syria) in 386 or shortly after; he refers to the relics of the saints, and recounts aspects of their story. Written in Greek at Antioch.
E02743A Greek Homily On the *Maccabees (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303), misattributed to John Chrysostom, is preached during a festival, in the 5th c. or later. Of unknown provenance (perhaps Constantinople).
E02980Peter Chrysologus, bishop of Ravenna, preaches a sermon (Sermon 134) about the mother of seven martyred sons, probably for the feast of *Felicitas and her seven sons (martyrs of Rome, S00525). Delivered in Latin at Ravenna (northern Italy), c. 450.
E03339The early seventh-century Georgian version of the Lectionary of Jerusalem commemorates on 1 August at the Church of the Holy Anastasis the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303).
E03609Valerianus, bishop of Cimiez (southern Gaul), delivers a sermon (Sermon 18) in praise of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303). Written in Latin at Cimiez in the mid 5th century.
E03819The Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, compiled in Georgian in the 10th c., based however on 5th-7th c. prototypes from Palestine, commemorates on 1 August the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303).
E04451Ephrem the Syrian, or one of his disciples, writes the Syriac Hymn (madrashā) on the Sons of Shmuni, i.e. the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303) celebrating the martyrdom of the seven Maccabean brothers and of their mother Shmuni, and extolling female virginity and martyrdom. Written in northern Mesopotamia in the mid- or later 4th c.
E04899The 6th/7th c. recension of the Latin Martyrologium Hieronymianum, as transmitted in 8th c. manuscripts, records the feasts of a number of saints on 31 July.
E04900The 6th/7th c. recension of the Latin Martyrologium Hieronymianum, as transmitted in 8th c. manuscripts, records the feasts of a number of saints on 1 August.
E05169The Latin Calendar of Sinai records the feasts of saints through the year, followed by a list of the apostles to various regions of Christianity. Written possibly in North Africa, possibly in the 7th/8th c.; preserved in a manuscript, probably of the 9th c., in St Catherine's monastery, Sinai. Basic Entry.
E05206Ambrose of Milan, in a letter to Simplicianus (Letter 7), suggests that martyrdom leads to true freedom, using the examples of *Thekla (follower of the Apostle Paul, S00092), *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097), *Pelagia (virgin and martyr of Antioch, S01093), *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037) and the *Maccabean martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303). Written in Latin in Milan (northern Italy), c. 387.
E05207Ambrose of Milan, in a letter to the emperor Theodosius (Letter 74), describes monks in the hinterland of Antioch (northern Syria) processing to the festival of the *Maccabean martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303). When interrupted by a Gnostic group, they burned down the Gnostic place of worship in retribution. Written in Latin in Milan (northern Italy), c. 388/389.
E05285Ambrose of Milan, in his De Officiis, a tract on the virtues expected of the clergy, praises the virtues of *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037), the *Maccabean martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303), the Holy *Innocents (children killed at the order of Herod, S00268) and *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097). Written in Latin in Milan (northern Italy), in the later 380s.
E05328Two sermons (Sermons 7 and 8), spuriously attributed to Maximus of Turin, are composed for the feast of *Eusebius (bishop of Vercelli, ob. 371, S01219). Written in Latin, probably in Vercelli (northern Italy), possibly late 4th c.
E05337Gaudentius of Brescia preaches a sermon (Sermon 15) for the feast of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303). Delivered in Latin in Brescia (northern Italy), c. 400.
E05491Leo the Great composes a Latin sermon (Sermon 84b) in Rome in 446/461 in honour of the feast day of the *Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303).
E05735John Malalas in his Chronographia (Book 17), in an account of events in Antioch (Syria) in the early 6th century, mentions the local shrines of *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030), *Michael (the Archangel, S00181), *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033), unnamed *Prophets (S00139), *Zachariah (probably the father of John the Baptist, S00597, or the Old Testament Prophet, S00283), and *Kosmas and Damianos (brothers and physician martyrs, S00385), as well as a Gate of *Ioulianos (martyr of Cilicia buried at Antioch, S00305). Written in Greek at Antioch or Constantinople, in the mid-6th c.
E05858The Calendar of Willibrord, in its earliest version, records the feasts of various saints in August. Written in Latin at Echternach, Frisia (north-east Gaul), 703/710.
E06054Anonymous sermon ('Eusebius Gallicanus', Sermon 32), on the *Maccabean martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303). Preached in Latin in Gaul, probably in the 5th century.
E06588The Latin Gelasian Sacramentary (or Liber Sacramentorum Romanae Ecclesiae), probably compiled around 750 near Paris using earlier material from Rome, records prayers to saints on their feast days in August.
E06956Jacob of Serugh's Syriac Homily (memrā) on the Maccabean Martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303) celebrates the story of the martyrdom of the nine pre-Christian martyrs, while putting emphasis on the relevance of their martyrdom for Christians. Written in northern Mesopotamia in the late 5th/early 6th c.
E07004The Greek Life of *Dalmatos (abbot in Constantinople, ob. c. 436, S01782) recounts the life of the second abbot of the Monastery of Dalmatos in Constantinople, focusing on his role in deposing the heretical bishop Nestorius. Written in Constantinople, possibly in the 6th c.
E07372Mosaic medallion from Carthage (central North Africa), with Latin inscription commemorating the *Maccabean martyrs (S00303), and possibly the *Seven monastic brothers (martyrs of Carthage under the Vandals, S02936). 6th/7th c.
E07975The Paschal Chronicle, in its account of the siege of Constantinople in 626, mentions various places around Constantinople dedicated to or named after saints: the church of the *Maccabean martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303), the gate of *Romanos (deacon of Caesarea, martyred at Antioch, S001220), the bridge of *Kallinikos (martyr of Gangra, S00923), the church of *Nicholas (bishop of Myra, S00520), and the district around the shrine of *Konon (potentially any of three martyrs of this name: S00177, S00429, or S00430). Written in Greek at Constantinople, c. 630
E08279The Latin Martyrdom of *Seven Monastic Brothers (martyrs of Carthage under the Vandals in 484, S02936) recounts how seven monks refused the order of the Vandal King Huneric to accept Arian baptism, how an attempt to burn them at sea failed but they were then beaten to death, and how their bodies were miraculously recovered after they had been thrown into the sea. Written probably in Carthage, probably in the 6th c.