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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


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


Name

Eirene, martyr of Magedon

Saint ID

S02162

Number in BH

BHG 952y-953a

Gender
Female
Type of Saint
Martyrs, Virgins, Monarchs and their family
Related Evidence Records
IDTitle
E00720Inscription with prayer in Greek, from a church in Kasossos near Mylasa (Caria, western Asia Minor). Refers to saints and other holy figures: *Abraham (Old Testament patriarch, S00275), *Jacob (Old Testament patriarch, S00280), *Moses (Old Testament prophet and lawgiver, S00241), *Elijah (Old Testament prophet, S00217), *Elisha (Old Testament prophet, S00239), the Apostles *Peter (S00036) and *Paul (S00008), other unnamed Apostles (S00084), unnamed Confessors (S00184), *George (soldier and martyr, S00259), *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030), and a virgin *Eirene (possibly the martyr of Magedon, S02162). Probably late antique (6th/8th c.) or later.
E01764Greek inscription with the petition of a presbyter, asking the emperor Tiberius II to grant boundary stones, marking the area of asylum of an oratory (eukterios oikos) possibly dedicated to a female martyr. Provenance: probably the village of 'Chedara' in the Roman province of Phoenicia (near Tyre). Dated 578-582.
E04395Procopius of Caesarea, in his On Buildings, reports that the emperor Justinian (r. 527-565) built a church dedicated to *Eirene (martyr of Magedon, S02162), at Sykai (suburb of Constantinople). During the building works, relics of the *Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (S00103) are discovered, which cure him of a serious knee ailment, while miraculous oil flows from the relics. The emperor's purple tunic, drenched with this oil, is kept in the imperial palace in order to heal the incurably ill. Written in Greek at Constantinople, in the 550s.
E04953The Greek Life of *Nikolaos of Sion (abbot and bishop in Lycia, ob. 564, S00559) recounts the foundation of the monastery of Holy Sion in the village of Pharroa in Lycia (south-west Asia Minor) and the miracles of Nikolaos, its first abbot. A number of shrines of different saints are mentioned in the narrative. Written in the late 6th c., probably at the monastery of Holy Sion. Overview entry
E05743John Malalas, in his Chronographia (18.113), mentions the dedication of the church of *Eirene (martyr of Magedon, S02162) in Sykai (suburb of Constantinople) in September 551; a procession went from Saint Sophia to Sykai, during which the patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria paraded through the city, carrying the relics on their knees. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria) or Constantinople, in the mid-6th c.
E06860The Greek Martyrdom of *Eirene (martyr of Magedon, S02162). Skeleton entry
E07025The Greek Life of *Auxentios (ascetic and monastic founder in Bithynia, ob. c. 470, S01523) recounts the life and miracles of its hero as an ascetic on mount Oxia, near Chalcedon (north-west Asia Minor, near Constantinople), participant of the Council of Chalcedon, and founder of a nunnery at Gyrita near Chalcedon. It mentions shrines near Chalcedon. Written in Constantinople, probably in the mid 6th century.