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St. Polycarp and Other Famous Martyrs of the
Early Centuries
Introduction
Before the drafting of the rescript of Milan in 313 A.D., many
Christians experienced persecution. The reason is because the Christian
religion was considered as religio illicita - a forbidden
religion hostile to state and man. And so, for several centuries,
the Christian religion went through waves of persecutions. These
eras of persecution can be divided into three periods: first period
(until about 100 A.D.); second period (from 100 to 250 A.D.); and
third period (from 250 to 311 A.D.).
During these persecutions, the witness of the martyrs proved truly
great in the eyes of all their companions. Without the sacrifice of
their lives for the sake of Christ and His Church, the Church would
not have been strengthened at that time by their noble and heroic
example. We hear of the witness of such great martyrs as: Polycarp,
Ptolemaeus, Lucius, Apollonius, Perpetua and Felicitas, Ignatius
of Antioch, Justin, Leonides of Alexandria, Fabian, Cyprian of
Carthage, Sixtus II and Laurentius.
Polycarp (c. 69 - c. 155 A.D.)
Polycarp was a disciple of St. John the apostle. He then became
bishop of Smyrna and was reputedly consecrated by St. John himself.
When he was already eighty years old, he was arrested because he
refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods and acknowledge the Emperor's
divinity. He was then pierced with a spear and burned to ashes at
the stake. Many who witnessed his death saw a dove fly out from
his side when the spear was lanced at his side. [feast day, February
23]
Ptolemaeus (d. c. 161 A.D.)
Ptolemaeus was denounced by a man whose wife Ptolemaeus converted
and eventually, because of her new faith, left the man. Ptolemaeus
was then imprisoned and then sentenced to death by the magistrate
Urbicius. [feast day, October 19]
Lucius (d. 259 A.D.)
During the time of Emperor Valerian's persecution of the Christians,
a revolt broke out in the year 259 in Carthage. Solon, the prosecutor
of Carthage, blamed the revolt on the Christians. He arrested Lucius
and seven others - all followers of St. Cyprian of Carthage. Lucius
and the seven (which included the deacon Flavian and the priest
Victorinus), were all tortured and beheaded. [feast day - February
24].
Apollonius (d. c. 305 A.D.)
A deacon at Antinoë, Apollonius was arrested together with the
musician Philemon (whom Apollonius converted) during Diocletian's
persecution. They were taken to Alexandria and were thrown into
the sea and drowned. Legends tell us that both were first sewed
into sacks [together with an official whom they also had converted
at their trial] before they were drowned into the sea. [feast day
- March 8]
Perpetua and Felicitas (d. 203 A.D.)
Perpetua was a 22-year-old matron of noble birth in Carthage and had
an infant boy, while Felicitas was a young pregnant slave. When they
were arrested during the persecution of Septimus Severus, they were
baptized in prison by their catechist, Saturus (who also was
imprisoned with them together with their fellow catechumens Saturninus,
Secundulus, and Revocatus). Perpetua gave her infant boy to her
pagan father, while Felicitas had her infant child adopted by a
Christian after giving birth in prison. Perpetua and Felicitas
and their companions were condemned to be thrown to the wild beasts.
The men were then torn to pieces by leopards and bears; while Perpetua
and Felicitas were exposed to a bull that tossed them repeatedly.
Since Perpetua and Felicitas did not die instantly, they were
eventually slaughtered with the sword. [feast day - March 7]
Ignatius of Antioch (d. c. 107 A.D.)
Legend tells us that Ignatius was appointed and consecrated bishop
of Antioch by St. Peter, after Evodius, the previous bishop of
Antioch, passed away. Ignatius governed as bishop for forty years
after he was then arrested during the persecutions of the Christians
under the Emperor Trajan. Sent on a ship to Rome, he was escorted
to the ampitheater where the last day of the public games was being
held. He was killed by lions in the arena. Before his death, he
dictated to Agathopus and the deacon Philo (who were with him in
the ship headed towards Rome) seven letters of instruction on the
Church, marriage, the Trinity, the Incarnation, Redemption, and
the Eucharist - all important early Christian writings. [feast
day - October 17]
Justin Martyr (c. 100 - c. 165 A.D.)
Well-educated, Justin became a Christian at about the age thirty.
He then devoted himself to spreading the faith and eventually came
to Rome where he opened a school of philosophy. He however incurred
the enmity of Crescens whom he defeated in a debate. At the instigation
of Crescens, the authorities learned of Justin's faith as a Christian.
So, together with six companions, who all refused to sacrifice to the
gods, they were scourged and beheaded. Justin is the first Christian
apologist and layman to have written much on Christianity - more
particularly on aspects that seek to reconcile the claims of the
faith and reason.
Leonides of Alexandria (d. 202 A.D.)
Leonides is the father of the theologian Origen. He was imprisoned
at Alexandria, Egypt, during the persecutions under the Emperor
Septimus Severus. Laetus, the governor of Egypt, had Leonides'
property confiscated, and then beheaded him for being a Christian.
At the time of his death, his son Origen was about 15 years of age
and became the greatest pupil of the Athenian Clement (b. 140/150,
d. before 216).
Fabian (d. 250 A.D.)
A Roman layman, Fabian was elected pope on January 10, 236 because
a dove settled on his head during the election. During his reign
as pope, he condemned Bishop Privatus of Lambaesa for heresy,
then did restoration work on the catacombs, and finally suffered
martyrdom under Decian's persecution of Christians. Except for
this information, there is not much facts known of his pontificate.
[feast day, January 20].
Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258 A.D.)
Starting as a pagan rhetorician and lawyer, Cyprian became a Christian
about 246 A.D. Educated as a profound scholar of the Bible, he was
elected bishop of Carthage. When the Christians were persecuted
under the Emperor Decius, Cyprian fled from Carthage and ruled his
see by letter. When he returned to Carthage a year after, he was
again caught in the politics of his time and place,
and eventually was exiled to Curubis, a small town 50 miles from
Carthage. Since he also refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods,
he was beheaded on September 14. Legend then tells us that before
he was sentenced to die by the sword, Cyprian said, "Thanks be to
God", and knelt at prayer before receiving the death stroke. [feast
day, September 16].
Sixtus II (d. 258 A.D.)
Sixtus was elected to the papacy on August 30, 257. His pontificate
is known by his correspondence with Dionysius of Alexandria and
Firmilian of Antioch. Through the letters that transpired between
them, Sixtus upheld the position that heretical baptisms were
invalid - without breaking ties with African and Asian churches
that upheld those baptisms. During Valerian's persecution of
the Christians, he was seized while saying Mass at a cemetery
outside Rome and executed on August 6. Seized and executed
with him were the deacons Agapitus, Feliccisimus, Januarius,
Magnus, Stephen, and Vincent. [feast day, August 7].
Laurentius (d. 251 A.D.)
Laurentius, together with his brother Pergentius, were arrested
and charged with being Christians. This was because both were
making converts while still in school during the persecutions
under the Emperor Decius. Despite being fortunate in having been
released by the magistrate Tiburtius, because of their family,
Laurentius and his brother persisted in their work of proselytizing
and converting others to Christianity. They again were arrested
and when they refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, were beheaded.
[feast day, June 3]
Other martyrs
There were countless other martyrs in the early centuries who could
not all be mentioned in this article: martyrs like Sts. Agnes (d.
c. 304 A.D., feast day - January 21); Stephen (d. c. 35 A.D.,
feast day - December 26 - his story is found in the Acts of
the Apostles 6-7); Apollonia (d. 249, feast day - February 9);
Lawrence (d. 258, feast day - August 10); Lucy (d. 304, feast
day - December 13); Cecilia (date of death unknown, feast day
- November 22); Agatha (date of death unknown, feast day - February
5) and Sebastian (d. c. 288, feast day - January 20).
The virgin-martyrs Cecilia, Agatha, Agnes, and Lucy, died
in similar ways. Before dying, they were tortured brutally and
at length, and then gave their lives for faith and virginity.
All of these four were sentenced to die for reasons often surrounding
their rejection of pagan suitors or advances made by the same.
This led to their being brought to court and eventually sentenced
to torture and death because of their Christian faith.
Summary
It is often said that the Church was built on the foundation of
the Apostles and the blood of the martyrs. All of the apostles,
with the exception of
John, also died by martyrdom. By the great sacrifice of
Jesus Christ, and of many who followed him literally in the
way of martyrdom, the faith has spread from Jerusalem, to Asia
Minor, and to the regions and countries of Europe. For those who
did not believe in Christ at that time, the very witness of the
Christian martyrs was enough to convert literally thousands -
including even political leaders such as kings, nobles, and
rulers of the states and nations in which the Christian faith
spread.
These early witnesses of the Christian faith helped establish
the Christian religion well and finally influenced the Emperor
Constantine to make it the formal religion of the Roman Empire.
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