Saint Acace d'Antioche
Évêque (+ 250)
Evêque d'Antioche, il fut arrêté pendant la persécution de l'empereur Dèce. Nous avons le compte-rendu de son interrogatoire où Acace réfute avec une verve extraordinaire l'interrogatoire du préfet Marcien qui le laisse parler puis l'acquitte. Les « acta » de son interrogatoire semblent authentiques par leur simplicité.
Saint Acace Agathangelos
Évêque
d’Antioche de Pisidie
Fête
le 31 mars
Églises
d’Orient
† v.
251
Autres
graphies : Acace, Achatius ou Acacius
Il fut
probablement évêque d’Antioche, en Pisidie, ou de Mélitène, en Arménie. Nous
possédons le compte rendu de son interrogatoire par le préfet Marcien,
interrogatoire au cours duquel il argumenta si brillamment contre l’idolâtrie
que l’empereur Dèce lui pardonna. Les Grecs le surnommèrent Agathange (bon
ange) et Thaumaturge (faiseur de miracles). Il est très vénéré en Orient. Ses
« acta » semblent authentiques. Il se peut qu’Acacius ou Achatius ait
été évêque d’Antioche ou de Mélitène, mais il se peut également qu’il n’ait pas
été évêque du tout. Éminent dans les cercles chrétiens d’Antioche, il est sommé
de paraître devant le fonctionnaire romain local, Marcien. Acace refuse de
sacrifier aux dieux païens, et bien qu’il ne fournisse pas les noms de ses
camarades chrétiens, il est envoyé en prison. Apparemment, quand l’empereur
Dèce reçoit le rapport de son procès, il est tellement impressionné par les
deux hommes qu’il promeut Marcien et pardonne à Acacius. Bien que désigné comme
martyr, il n’y a pas de preuve qu’il meurt pour la foi. Trois autres martyrs
des premiers siècles s’appellent aussi Acace.
ACTES DU PROCÈS DE SAINT
ACACE, ÉVÊQUE D’ANTIOCHE DE PISIDIE, EN 250.
Ce personnage fut très probablement évêque d'Antioche
de Pisidie, colonie romaine. La pièce originale a dû être en langue grecque ;
mais on ne la possède que dans la traduction, laquelle présente d'ailleurs de
solides garanties d'authenticité. Le procès de saint Acace est très remarquable
parce qu'il est clos par une grâce impériale.
BOLL. Act. SS. 31/III. Mort, III, 903-905. —
RUINART, Acta sinc., p. 139. — EDM. LE BLANT, Recherches sur
l'accusation de magie dirigée contre les premiers chrétiens (1869). — EDM. LE BLANT, Note sur les bases juridiques des procès dirigés contre les première
chrétiens (1866), p. 8-13. — P. ALLLARD, Hist. des perséc., t. II, p. 412
suiv.
ACTES DU PROCÈS DE SAINT ACACE,
ÉVÊQUE ET MARTYR.
Chaque fois que nous rappelons les actions illustres
des. serviteurs de Dieu, nous rendons grâces à Celui qui protège le patient
dans la souffrance et qui couronne le vainqueur dans la gloire. Martianus,
consulaire, ennemi de la loi chrétienne, se fit amener Acace que l'on lui avait
signalé comme le refuge et le bouclier des chrétiens d'Antioche.
Quand Acace eut été introduit, Martianus dit :
« Puisque tu vis sous les lois romaines, tu dois aimer nos princes ».
Acace répondit : « Eh qui a plus à coeur de le faire
et qui aime mieux l'empereur que les chrétiens? Nous prions assidûment pour
lui, demandant à Dieu de lui donner une longue vie, un gouvernement juste, un
règne paisible ; nous prions pour le salut de l'armée, la conservation de
l'empire et du monde.
— Je te félicite pour ces sentiments, mais afin que
l'empereur en reconnaisse la sincérité, offre-lui avec nous un sacrifice.
— Je prie mon Seigneur, le grand et vrai Dieu, pour le
salut du prince ; mais celui-ci n'a pas le droit d'exiger de nous un sacrifice,
ni nous n'avons le droit de lui en offrir. Qui donc peut adresser son culte à
un homme ?
— Dis-nous alors à quel Dieu tu offres tes prières,
afin que nous aussi nous l'honorions.
— Je te souhaite de connaître mon Dieu qui est le Dieu
véritable.
— Comment se nomme-t-il ?
— Le Dieu d'Abraham, le Dieu d'Isaac, le Dieu de
Jacob.
— Sont-ce là les noms de ces dieux ?
— Ce n'est pas eux qui sont Dieu, mais celui qui leur
a parlé ; et c'est lui que nous devons craindre.
— Quel est-il ?
— Adonaï, le Très-Haut, qui est assis sur les
chérubins et les séraphins.
— Qui est-ce séraphin ?
— C'est le ministre du Très-Haut et le plus rapproché
du trône sublime.
— Cette fausse philosophie t'a fourvoyé. Méprise les
choses invisibles et reconnais Ies dieux véritables qui sont sous tes yeux.
— Quels sont ces dieux auxquels larve= me faire
sacrifier ?
— C'est Apollon, notre bienfaiteur, celui qui,
repousse loin de nous la peste et la famine, et par qui le monde entier est
gouverné et conservé.
— Ah ! oui, un dieu que l'on a tué, car c'est
bien ce que vous dites de lui ; un dieu qui, épris d'une fille, poursuivait
l'aventure, ignorant qu'il perdrait la proie avant de l'avoir saisie. Un tel
ignorant, c'est clair, n'était pas dieu ; l'était-il plus quand une autre fille
le trompa ? Il en eut bien d'autres à souffrir, la fortune lui réservait de
plus cuisants chagrins. Il aimait les petits garçons: Épris d'un certain
Hyacinthe, il brûlait d'amour pour cet enfant; et le pauvre dieu qui ne savait
pas l'avenir, tua d'un coup de disque celui qu'il vulait posséder. Un dieu,
lui, qui, au temps jadis, se fit maçon avec Neptune, et ensuite garda les
troupeaux d'autrui, est-ce a lui que je dois sacrifier? Ou bien tu préfères
peut-être Esculape qui mourut foudroyé, ou bien encore Vénus, une adultère, ou
les autres monstres. Ainsi ma vie est en jeu si je n'adore pas des coquins que
je me garderai bien d'imiter, et je les méprise, et je les accuse, et ils me
font horreur ; si quelqu'un les imitait, on le mettrait en prison ? Vous adorez
ici ce que vous condamnez là. »
Martianus dit : « Les chrétiens n'en font pas
d'autres, il leur faut déblatérer sur nos dieux. C'est entendu. Maintenant je
t'ordonne de venir avec mai au temple de Jupiter et de Junon, nous y ferons un
bon 'souper et nous rendrons aux immortels l'honneur qui leur est dû ».
Acace dit : « Je ne puis cependant pas faire un
sacrifice à un individu qui est enterré dans l'île de Crète. Ah çà, est-il
ressuscité » ?
Martianus dit : « Sacrifie ou meurs ».
Acace reprit : « Moeurs de Dalmate. En ce pays-là, il
y a des brigands qui font métier de voler, ils s'embusquent le long d'un chemin
détourné et tombent sur les voyageurs. Vient-il un passant, on l'arrête: la
bourse ou la vie. Nul ne demande de raison, mais considère la force de
l'agresseur. Tu leur ressembles. Tu commandes le mal, ou tu menaces de mort. Je
ne crains rien, je n'ai pas peur. Le droit public se charge de punir la
débauche, l'adultère, le vol, la sodomie, les maléfices et l'homicide. Si je
suis coupable de, ces crimes, je suis le premier à me condamner ; si, au
contraire, j'adore le Dieu véritable et qu'on me tue, ce n'est plus la justice,
c'est l'arbitraire.. Le prophète a raison de s'écrier : « Il n'y a personne qui
fasse le bien, tous se sont relâchés, ils se sont rendus inutiles ». Ainsi tu
ne saurais faire autre chose que ce que tu fais. Nous lisons dans nos livres :
« Comme tu auras jugé, tu seras jugé toi-même », et ailleurs : « Comme tu auras
agi, l'on agira envers toi ».
Martianus : « Je n'ai pas été envoyé pour juger, mais
pour contraindre : si tu méprises le commandement, tu seras châtié ».
Acace : « Et mon commandement à moi est de ne pas
renier mon Dieu. Si tu sers un homme chétif et charnel que la mort atteindra
bientôt et qui, tu le sais, deviendra la pâture des vers, combien plus dois-je
obéir à Dieu dont la toute-puissance est éternelle, et qui a dit de lui-même :
« Celui qui m'aura renié devant les hommes, je le renierai devant mon Père
céleste, quand je serai venu dans ma gloire et ma force juger les vivants et
les morts » !
Martianus : « Tu viens de déclarer l'erreur de votre
doctrine que j'étais, depuis longtemps, avide d'entendre. Tu viens de dire,
n'est-ce pas, nue Dieu a un fils ?
— Oui.
— Et quel est ce fils de Dieu ?
— Le Verbe de grâce et de vérité.
— Est-ce là son nom ?Actes du procès de saint Acace
— Tu ne me parlais pas de son nom, mais de sa
puissance.
— Eh bien, son nom, maintenant ?
— Jésus-Christ.
— Qui fut sa mère ?
— Dieu n'a pas engendré son fils, ainsi que font les
hommes, de l'union avec une femme, mais il a formé de ses mains le premier
Adam, car il ne faut pas croire que la majesté divine ait eu des rapports avec
une femme mortelle. Dieu donc a fait de terre le corps du premier homme et là
où il a déjà mis sa parfaite image, il ajouta l'âme et l'esprit. De même, le
Fils de Dieu, le Verbe de vérité sort du coeur de Dieu, ainsi qu'il est écrit :
Mon coeur a proféré une parole parfaite.
— Alors c'est un Dieu qui a un corps?
— Lui seul connaît la forme invisible que nous
ignorons, mais nous adorons sa force et sa puissante.
— S'il n'a pas de corps, il n'a pas de coeur, car le
sens exige l'organe.
— La sagesse ne naît pas avec des organes, elle est
donnée par Dieu. Quel rapport y a-t-il entre le sens et l'organe ?
— Vois les Cataphryges ; leur religion est ancienne,
cependant ils l'ont abandonnée pour la nôtre, aujourd'hui ils sacrifient aux
dieux. Fais comme eux. Rassemble tous les catholiques et suis avec eux la
religion de l'empereur. Ton peuple, je le sais, se laisse conduire, par toi.
— C'est à Dieu, non à moi, qu'obéissent les chrétiens.
Ils m'écouteront si je leur enseigne la justice, ils me mépriseront si je leur
conseille le mal.
— Donne-moi leurs noms à tous ?
— Leurs noms sont écrits au livre de vie. Comment des
yeux mortels pourront-ils déchiffrer ce que la puissance du Dieu immortel et
invisible a écrit ?
— Où sont les magiciens qui t'aident dans tes
artifices, ou ceux qui t'ont enseigné tes prestiges ?
— Nous avons tout reçu de Dieu, et la magie nous fait
horreur.
— Vous êtes des magiciens, puisque vous avez invepté
une religion.
— Nous détruisons les dieux créés par vous et dont
vous avez peur. Quand l'ouvrier manque de pierre ou que l'on manque d'ouvriers,
vous n'avez plus de dieux. Le Dieu que nous craignons, nous, n'est pas de notre
fabrication, c'est nous qui sommes créés par lui, car il est le Maître ; nous
sommes aimés de lui, car il est le Père, et comme un tendre pasteur il nous a
arrachés à la mort éternelle.
— Allons, les noms, ou tu meurs !
— Je suis devant ton tribunal et tu' demandes des
noms? Crois-tu donc venir à bout des autres, alors que tu te laisses vaincre
par moi seul? Mais, tiens, tu veux des noms, eh bien, je m'appelle Acace et on
m'a surnommé le « Bon Ange ». Fais ce que tu voudras. »
Martien dit : « Tu seras ramené en prison, les pièces
du procès seront transmises à l'empereur. Il décidera de ton sort. »
Dèce, ayant lu toute la procédure, s'intéressa à cette
controverse, et même il ne put s'empêcher de sourire en la lisant. Peu de temps
après il donna à Martianus la légation de Pamphylie. Quant à Acace, qu'il
admira fort, il lui fit grâce.
Telle fut la conduite du consulaire Martianus, sous le
règne de Dèce, le quatre des calendes d'avril.
LES MARTYRS. TOME II. LE TROISIÈME SIÈCLE, DIOCLÉTIEN.
Recueil de pièces authentiques sur les martre depuis les origines du
christianisme jusqu'au XXe siècle TRADUITES ET PUBLIÉES Par le B. P. DOM H.
LECLERCQ, Moine bénédictin de Saint-Michel de Farnborough. Imprimi potest FR.
FERDINANDUS CABROL, Abbas Sancti Michaelis Farnborough. Die 15 Martii 1903. Imprimatur.
Pictavii, die 24 Martii 1903. + HENRICUS, Ep. Pictaviensis.
SOURCE : https://www.bibliotheque-monastique.ch/bibliotheque/bibliotheque/saints/martyrs/martyrs0002.htm#_Toc90634904
Acacius Agathangelos B
(AC)
(also known as Achatius)
Died c. 251.
"We venerate our God
because He made us; we did not make Him. He as our Master loves us, for He is
also our Father. Of His goodness He has rescued us from everlasting
death." --Saint Acacius.
Saint Acacius, bishop of
Antioch, Phrygia, led a devout life and was much revered for his charity and
zeal by his flock who nicknamed him 'Agathangelus,' which means 'good angel,'
and 'Thaumaturgus,' or the 'wonder-worker.' During the persecution of
Christians under the Emperor Decius, not a single Christian in his diocese is
said to have denied his faith.
Around 251, Decius's
representative in Antioch, Martian, summoned the bishop for cross-examination.
Acacius appeared and began by insisting that his flock was entirely faithful to
the emperor. Martian responded that the saint should prove this by making
sacrifice to the emperor as a god. This the bishop adamantly refused to do.
The following transcript is
from the public record of this interrogation:
Martian: "As you have
the happiness to live under the Roman laws, you are bound to love and honor our
princes, who are our protectors."
Acacius: "Of all the
subjects of the empire, none love and honor the emperor more than the
Christians. We pray without intermission for his person, and that it may please
God to grant him long life, prosperity, success, and all benedictions; that he
may be endowed by Him with the spirit of justice and wisdom to govern his
people; that his reign be auspicious, and prosperous, blessed with joy, peace,
and plenty, throughout all the provinces that obey him."
Martian: "All this I
commend; but that the emperor may be the better convinced of your submission
and fidelity, come now and offer him a sacrifice with me."
Acacius: "I have
already told you that I pray to the great and true God for the emperor; but he
ought not to require a sacrifice from us, nor is there any due to him or to any
man whatsoever."
Martian: "Tell us what
God you adore, that we may also pay Him our offerings and homages."
Acacius: "I wish from
my heart you did know Him."
Instead of instantly
sentencing Acacius to death, Martian continued to question him. They discussed
the nature of angels. They spoke about the myths of the Greeks and the Romans.
They philosophized together about the nature of God:
Martian: "Tell me His
Name."
Acacius: "He is called
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
Martian: "Are these
the names of gods?"
Acacius: "By no means,
but of men to whom the true God spoke; He is the only God, and He alone is to
be adored, feared, and loved."
Martian: "What is this
God?"
Acacius: "He is the
most high Adonai, who is seated above the cherubim and seraphim."
Martian: "What is a
seraph?"
Acacius: "A
ministering spirit of the most high God, and one of the principal lords of the
heavenly court."
Martian: "What
chimeras are these? Lay aside these whims of invisible beings, and adore such
gods as you can see."
Acacius: "Tell me who
are those gods to whom you would have me sacrifice?"
Martian: "Apollo, the
savior of men, who preserves us from pestilence and famine, who enlightens,
preserves, and governs the universe."
Acacius: "Do you mean
that wretch that could not preserve his own life: who, being in love with a
young woman (Daphne), ran about distracted in pursuit of her, not knowing that
he was never to possess the object of his desires? It is therefore evident that
he could not foresee things to come, since he was in the dark as to his own
fate, and as clear that he could be no god, who was thus cheated by a creature.
All know likewise that he had a base passion for Hyacinth, a beautiful boy, and
was so awkward as to break the head of that minion, the fond object of his
criminal passion, with a quail.
"Is not he also that
god who, with Neptune, turned mason, hired himself to a king (Laamedon of
Troy), and built the walls of a city? Would you oblige me to sacrifice to such
a divinity, or to Esculapius, thunderstruck by Jupiter? or to Venus, whose life
was infamous, and to a hundred such monsters, to whom you offer sacrifice? No,
though my life itself depended on it, ought I to pay divine honors to those
whom I should blush to imitate, and of whom I can entertain no other sentiments
than those of contempt and execration? You adore gods, the imitators of whom
you yourselves would punish."
Martian: "It is usual
for you Christians to raise several calumnies against our gods; for which
reason I command you to come now with me to a banquet in honor of Jupiter and
Juno, and acknowledge and perform what is due to their majesty."
Acacius: "How can I
sacrifice to a man whose sepulcher is unquestionably in Crete? What! Is he
risen again?"
Martian: "You must
either sacrifice or die."
Acacius: "Finis is the
custom of the Dalmatian robbers; when they have taken a passenger in a narrow
way, they leave him no other choice but to surrender his money or his life.
But, for my part, I declare to you that I fear nothing that you can do to me.
The laws punish adulterers, thieves, and murderers. Were I guilty of any of
those things, I should be the first man to condemn myself. But if my whole
crime be the adoring of the true God, and I am on this account to be put to
death, it is no longer a law but an injustice."
Martian: "I have no
order to judge but to counsel you to obey. If you refuse, I know how to force
you to a compliance."
Acacius: "I have a law
which I will obey: this commands me not to renounce my God. If you think
yourself bound to execute the orders of a man who in a little while must leave
the world, and his body become the food of worms, much more strictly am I bound
to obey the omnipotent God, Who is infinite and eternal, and Who hath declared,
`Whoever shall deny Me before men, him will I deny before My Father.'"
Martian: "You now
mention the error of your sect which I have long desired to be informed of: you
say then that God hath a son?"
Acacius: "Doubtless He
hath one."
Martian: "Who is this
son of God?"
Acacius: "The Word of
truth and grace."
Martian: "Is that His
name?"
Acacius: "You did not
ask me His name, but what He is."
Martian: "What then is
His name?"
Acacius: "Jesus
Christ."
Martian asked by what woman
God had this son, he replied, that the divine generation of the Word is of a
different nature from human generation, and proved it from the language the
royal prophet uses of in Psalm 44.
Martian: "Is God then
corporeal?"
Acacius: "He is known
only to Himself. We cannot describe Him; He is invisible to us in this mortal
state, but we are sufficiently acquainted with His perfections to confess and
adore Him."
Martian: "If God hath
no body, how can He have a heart or mind?"
Acacius: "Wisdom hath
no dependence or connection with an organized body. What does having a body
have to do with understanding?"
He then pressed him to
sacrifice as did some of the heretical Montanists.
Acacius: "It is not me
these people obey, but God. Let them hear me when I advise them to what is
right; or let them despise me, if I offer them the contrary and endeavor to
pervert them."
Martian then asked the
saint to provide him with the names of other Christians. The bishop would give
him only two names: his own, Acacius, and his nickname, Agathangelus.
Martian: "Give me all
their names."
Acacius: "They are
written in heaven, in God's invisible registers."
Martian: "Where are
the magicians, your companions, and the teachers of this cunningly devised
error [the priests?]?"
Acacius: "No one in
the world abhors magic more than we Christians."
Martian: "Magic is the
new religion which you introduce."
Acacius: "We destroy
those gods whom you fear, though you made them yourselves. We, on the contrary,
fear not him whom we have made with our hands, but Him who created us, and Who
is the Lord and Master of all nature; Who loved us as our good Father, and
redeemed us from death and hell as the careful and affectionate shepherd of our
souls."
Martian: "Give the
names I require, if you would avoid the torture."
Acacius: "I am before
the tribunal, and do you ask me my name, and, not satisfied with that, you must
also know those of the other ministers? Do you hope to conquer many; you, whom
I alone am able thus to confound? If you desire to know our names, mine is
Acacius. If you would know more, they call me Agathangelus, and my two
companions are Piso, bishop of the Trojans, and Menander, a priest. Do now what
you please."
Martian: "You shall
remain in prison till the emperor is acquainted with what has passed on this
subject, and sends his orders concerning you."
The emperor's
representative was so impressed by Acacius that he sent a transcript of the
whole interview to Decius himself. Decius smiled when he read it, promoted
Martian to a higher post, and pardoned Bishop Acacius.
The
acta of Acacius seem to be genuine. He is held in great veneration in the East
(Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
St. Acacius
Bishop of Melitene in the
third century. The Greeks venerate him on
different days, but especially on 31 March. He lived in the time of the persecution of Decius, and although it
is certain that
he was cited before the tribunal of Marcian to give an
account of his faith,
it is not sure that he died for it. He was indeed condemned to death, but the
Emperor released him from prison after he had
undergone considerable suffering. He was famous both for the splendour of
his doctrinal teaching
and the miracles he
wrought.
There was a younger Acacius, who was also Bishop of Melitene, and who was
conspicuous in the Council
of Ephesus, but it is not certain that he is
ranked among the saints.
Sources
Acta SS., March 3.
Campbell, Thomas. "St. Acacius." The
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1907. 14 Apr. 2021 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01083a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for
New Advent by Stephen Patrick Wilson. Dedicated to Mother Teresa of
Calcutta.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. March
1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal
Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01083a.htm
March 31
St. Acacius, or Achates, Bishop of
Antioch, in Asia Minor, Confessor
ST. ACACIUS was bishop
of Antioch, probably the town of that name in Phrygia, where the Marcionites
were numerous. He was surnamed Agath-angel, or Good-angel, and extremely
respected by the people for his sanctity. It was owing to his zeal that not one
of his flock renounced Christ, by sacrificing to idols during the persecution
of Decius, a weakness which several of the Marcionite heretics had betrayed.
Our saint himself made a glorious confession of his faith; of which the
following relation, transcribed from the public register, is a voucher:
Martian, a man of
consular dignity, arriving at Antioch, a small town of his government, ordered
the bishop to be brought before him. His name was Acacius, and he was styled
the buckler and refuge of that country for his universal charity and episcopal
zeal. Martian said to him: “As you have the happiness to live under the Roman
laws, you are bound to love and honour our princes, who are our protectors.”
Acacius answered: “Of all the subjects of the empire, none love and honour the
emperor more than the Christians. We pray without intermission for his person,
and that it may please God to grant him long life, prosperity, success, and all
benedictions; that he may be endowed by him with the spirit of justice and
wisdom to govern his people, that his reign be auspicious, and prosperous,
blessed with joy, peace, and plenty throughout all the provinces that obey
him.” MARTIAN. “All this I commend; but that the emperor may be the better
convinced of your submission and fidelity, come now and offer him a sacrifice
with me.” ACACIUS. “I have already told you, that I pray to the great and true
God for the emperor; but he ought not to require a sacrifice from us, nor is
there any due to him or to any man whatsoever.” MARTIAN. “Tell us what God you
adore, that we may also pay him our offerings and homages?” ACACIUS. “I wish
from my heart you did but know him to your advantage.” MARTIAN. “Tell me his
name.” ACACIUS. “He is called the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.”
MARTIAN. “Are these the names of gods?” ACACIUS. “By no means, but of men to
whom the true God spoke; he is the only God, and he alone is to be adored,
feared, and loved.” MARTIAN. “What is this God?” ACACIUS. “He is the most high
Adonia, who is seated above the cherubim and seraphim.” MARTIAN. “What is a
seraph?” ACACIUS. “A ministering spirit of the most high God, and one of the
principal lords of the heavenly court.” MARTIAN. “What chimeras are these? Lay
aside these whims of invisible beings, and adore such gods as you can see.”
ACACIUS. “Tell me who are those gods to whom you would have me sacrifice?”
MARTIAN. “Apollo, the saviour of men, who preserves us from pestilence and
famine, who enlightens, preserves, and governs the universe.” ACACIUS. “Do you
mean that wretch that could not preserve his own life: who, being in love with
a young woman, (Daphne,) ran about distracted in pursuit of her, not knowing
that he was never to possess the object of his desires. It is therefore evident
that he could not foresee things to come, since he was in the dark as to his
own fate: and as clear that he could be no god, who was thus cheated by a
creature. All know likewise that he had a base passion for Hyacinth, a
beautiful boy, and was so awkward as to break the head of that minion, the fond
object of his criminal passion, with a quoit. Is not he also that god who, with
Neptune, turned mason, hired himself to a king, (Laomedon of Troy,) and built
the walls of a city? Would you oblige me to sacrifice to such a divinity, or to
Esculapius, thunderstruck by Jupiter? or to Venus, whose life was infamous, and
to a hundred such monsters to whom you offer sacrifice? No, though my life
itself depended on it, ought I to pay divine honours to those whom I should
blush to imitate, and of whom I can entertain no other sentiments than those of
contempt and execration? You adore Gods, the imitators of whom you yourselves
would punish.” MARTIAN. “It is usual for you Christians to raise several
calumnies against our gods; for which reason I command you to come now with me
to a banquet in honour of Jupiter and Juno, and acknowledge and perform what is
due to their majesty.” ACACIUS. “How can I sacrifice to a man whose sepulchre
is unquestionably in Crete? What! is he risen again?” MARTIAN. “You must either
sacrifice or die.” ACACIUS. “This is the custom of the Dalmatian robbers; when
they have taken a passenger in a narrow way, they leave him no other choice but
to surrender his money or his life. But, for my part, I declare to you that I
fear nothing that you can do to me. The laws punish adulterers, thieves, and
murderers. Were I guilty of any of those things, I should be the first man to
condemn myself. But if my whole crime be the adoring of the true God, and I am
on this account to be put to death, it is no longer a law but an injustice.”
MARTIAN. “I have no order to judge but to counsel you to obey. If you refuse, I
know how to force you to a compliance.” ACACIUS. “I have a law which I will
obey: this commands me not to renounce my God. If you think yourself bound to
execute the orders of a man who in a little time hence must leave the world,
and his body become the food of worms, much more strictly am I bound to obey
the omnipotent God, who is infinite and eternal, and who hath declared, Whoever shall deny me before men,
him will I deny before my Father,” MARTIAN.
“You now mention the error of your sect which I have long desired to be
informed of: you say then that God hath a son?” ACACIUS. “Doubtless he hath
one.” MARTIAN. “Who is this son of God?” ACACIUS. “The Word of truth and grace.”
MARTIAN. “Is that his name?” ACACIUS. “You did not ask me his name but what he
is.” MARTIAN. “What then is his name?” ACACIUS. “Jesus Christ.” Martian having inquired of the saint
by what woman God had his son, he replied, that the divine generation of the
Word is of a different nature from human generation, and proved it from the
language the royal prophet makes use of in the forty-fourth psalm. MARTIAN. “Is
God then corporeal?” ACACIUS. “He is known only to himself. We cannot describe
him; he is invisible to us in this mortal state, but we are sufficiently
acquainted with his perfections to confess and adore him.” MARTIAN. “If God had
no body, how can he have a heart or mind?” ACACIUS. “Wisdom hath no dependence
or necessary connexion with an organized body. What hath body to do with
understanding?” He then pressed him to sacrifice from the example of the
Cataphrygians, or Montanists, and engage all under his care to do the same.
Acacius replied: “It is not me these people obey but God. Let them hear me when
I advise them to what is right; but let them despise me, if I offer them the
contrary and endeavour to pervert them.” MARTIAN. “Give me all their names.”
ACACIUS. “They are written in heaven, in God’s invisible registers.” MARTIAN.
“Where are the magicians, your companions, and the teachers of this cunningly
devised error?” by which he probably meant the priests. ACACIUS. “No one in the
world abhors magic more than we Christians.” MARTIAN. “Magic is the new
religion which you introduce.” ACACIUS. “We destroy those gods whom you fear
though you made them yourselves. We, on the contrary, fear not him whom we have
made with our hands, but him who created us, and who is the Lord and Master of
all nature; who loved us as our good father, and redeemed us from death and
hell as the careful and affectionate shepherd of our souls.” MARTIAN. “Give the
names I require, if you would avoid the torture.” ACACIUS. “I am before the
tribunal, and do you ask me my name, and, not satisfied with that, you must
also know those of the other ministers? Do you hope to conquer many; you, whom
I alone am able thus to confound. If you desire to know our names, mine is
Acacius. If you would know more, they call me Agathangelus, and my two
companions are Piso, bishop of the Trojans, and Menander, a priest. Do now what
you please.” MARTIAN. “You shall remain in prison, till the emperor is
acquainted with what has passed on this subject, and sends his orders
concerning you.”
The emperor Decius
having read the interrogatory, recompensed Martian by making him governor of
Pamphilia, but admired so much the prudence and constancy of Acacius, that he
ordered him to be discharged, and suffered him to profess the Christian
religion.
This his glorious
confession is dated on the 29th of March, and happened under Decius in 250, or
251. How long Saint Acacius survived does not appear. The Greeks, Egyptians,
and other oriental Churches, honour his name on the 31st of March; though his
name occurs not in the Roman Martyrology. See his authentic acts in Ruinart, p.
152. Tillemont. t. 2. p. 357. Fleury, t. 2.
Ceillier, t. 3. p. 560.
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume III: March. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
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