Saint Sapor de
Beth-Nictor et saint Isaac de Beth-Séleucie
Évêques perses martyrs sous
Shapur II
Fête le 30 novembre
† 339
Groupe « Sapor,
Isaac et compagnons »
Autre graphie :
Sapor ou Shapur
Les évêques Sapor de
Beth-Nictor et Isaac de Beth-Séleucie souffrirent le martyre sous la
persécution de Châhpuhr II, roi de Perse (310-379). Isaac fut lapidé et Sapor
mourut sous la torture. Trois autres chrétiens furent exécutés en même temps
qu’eux : Mahanès, Abraham et Siméon.
SOURCE : http://www.martyretsaint.com/sapor-de-beth-nictor/
ACTES DES SAINTS SAPOR,
ÉVÊQUE DE NICATOR ; ISAAC, ÉVÊQUE DE BETH-SLOI; MANE, ABRAHAM ET SIMON, QUI
SOUFFRIRENT LE MARTYRE SOUS LE ROI DES PERSES SAPOR; LEURS CORPS REPOSENT A
EDESSE, DANS LA NOUVELLE ÉGLISE DES MARTYRS, DANS L'INTÉRIEUR DE LA VILLE.
L'AN DU CHRIST 339
La troisième année du
règne de Sapor, les mages accusèrent les Nazaréens (c'était le nom des
chrétiens en Perse.) « Nous ne pouvons plus, dirent-ils, adorer le soleil et
l'air, qui nous donnent des jours sereins, ni l'eau, qui nous purifie, ni la
terre, qui sert à nos expiations ; voilà où nous ont réduits ces Nazaréens, qui
blasphèment contre le soleil, qui méprisent le feu, qui ne rendent aucun
honneur à l'eau. » Le roi, vexé, ajourna son voyage à Aspharèse, et publia un
édit pour arrêter les Nazaréens. Sur-le-champ trois d'entre eux furent saisis
par les soldats, Mané, Abraham et Simon.
Le lendemain, les mages
revinrent vers le roi, et lui dirent : « Sapor, évêque de Nicator, et Simon,
évêque de Beth-Séleucie, bâtissent des oratoires et des églises, et séduisent
le peuple par des discours artificieux. — Qu'on recherche lés coupables par
tout mon empire, dit le roi, et qu'on les juge avant trois jours. » Des
cavaliers partirent aussitôt, et parcoururent jour et nuit toutes les provinces
de la Perse. Tous les Nazaréens découverts furent amenés au roi, qui les fit emprisonner
là où étaient déjà leurs frères.
Le lendemain, le roi
appela quelques personnages de marque et leur demanda s'ils connaissaient Sapor
et Isaac les Nazaréens.
Sur leur réponse
affirmative, il fit comparaître les coupables et leur dit : « Ignorez-vous que
moi, fils du ciel, je sacrifie cependant au soleil, et rends au feu les
honneurs divins ? et vous, qui êtes-vous donc pour outrager le soleil et
mépriser le feu?»
Les martyrs répondirent
ensemble : « Nous ne connaissons qu'un Dieu, et n'adorons que lui.
— Est-il un Dieu,
répliqua le roi, meilleur qu'Hormisdate, ou plus fort qui Ahriman irrité ? Et
qui peut ignorer que le soleil mérite qu'on l'adore ? »
L'évêque Sapor lui
répondit : « Nous ne connaissons d'autre Dieu que celui qui a créé le ciel et
la terre, et par conséquent la lune et le soleil, et tout ce que nos yeux
contemplent, et tout ce que notre esprit conçoit ; et nous croyons, en outre,
que Jésus de Nazareth est son Fils. »
Le roi fit frapper le
saint évêque sur la bouche, et si brutalement qu'on lui brisa toutes les dents
; mais il disait : « Jésus m'a donné quelque chose que tu ignores, qu'il te
serait impossible d'obtenir...
— Pourquoi ?
— Parce que, répondit le
martyr, tu es un impie. »
Le roi, irrité, le fit
frapper sans pitié avec le bâton ; ce qui fut
fait jusqu'à ce qu'on lui
eût rompu les os ; on le. releva à demi
mort, et on le
reconduisit enchaîné en prison.
Isaac comparut, et le
roi, après lui avoir fait quitter son manteau, lui dit : « Es-tu aussi fou que
Sapor, faut-il que je mêle ton sang au sien ?
— Cette folie, répondit
Isaac, est une grande sagesse, dont tu es bien loin, sire.
— Tu parles avec bien de
l'assurance ; si je te faisais couper la langue ?
— Il est écrit, répliqua
Isaac : Je parlerai le langage de la justice en présence des rois, et je ne
serai pas confondu.
— Comment, dit le roi,
as-tu osé bâtir des églises ?
— Je l'ai fait, et je
n'ai rien épargné pour le faire. »
Le roi, tout en colère, appela
sur-le-champ les principaux de la ville, et leur dit : « Vous savez que
quiconque conspire contre moi est coupable de lèse-majesté et mérite la mort.
Comment donc avez-vous si peu ressenti mes injures, que vous ayez fait alliance
avec Isaac et soyez passés dans son camp ? J'en jure par le soleil et par
le feu qui ne peut s'éteindre, vous mourrez tous avant moi.» Aussitôt tous ces
grands, qui jusque-là s'étaient dits chrétiens, tremblent et se jettent la face
contre terre ; puis, saisissant Isaac, ils l'entraînent et le lapident, tant la
frayeur les avait égarés.
L'évêque Sapor, ayant
appris dans sa prison la mort du courageux martyr, en fut comblé de joie, et
bénit le Seigneur d'avoir couronné son athlète. Lui-même mourut deux jours
après, dans son cachot, des suites de ses blessures et sous le poids de ses
chaînes. Le roi se fit apporter sa tête, car il avait refusé de croire qu'il
était mort.
Après qu'Isaac eut été
lapidé et que Sapor fut mort en prison, le roi fit comparaître devant lui Mané,
Abraham et Simon, et les pressa de sacrifier au soleil et d'adorer le feu. Ils
répondirent : « Dieu nous préserve d'un pareil crime ; c'est Jésus que nous
adorons et que nous confessons. » Le roi ordonna de les faire mourir en divers
supplices. Mané fut écorché vif depuis le sommet de la tête jusqu'au milieu du
ventre, et expira dans ce tourment ; Abraham eut les yeux crevés avec un fer
rouge, et mourut deux jours après ; Simon fut plongé jusqu'à la poitrine dans
une fosse profonde et percé à coups de flèches. Les chrétiens enlevèrent
secrètement leurs corps et les ensevelirent.
LES MARTYRS. TOME
III : JULIEN l'APOSTAT, SAPOR, GENSÉRIC. Recueil de pièces authentiques
sur les martyrs depuis les origines du christianisme jusqu'au XXe siècle.
Traduites et publiées Par le R. P. Dom H. Leclercq, Moine bénédictin de
Saint-Michel de Farnborough, 1921. Deuxième édition. Imprimatur.Turonibus, 18
Octobris 1920. P. Bataille, V. G. Imprimi potest. FR. Ferdinandus Cabrol, Abbas
Sancti Michaelis Farnborough. Die 19 Martii 1904. Ivlio Crez S. J. Leoni Capart
S. J. Aemilio Etterlé S. J. D.D.
Also
known as
Shapur
Profile
Bishop of
Beth-Nictor, he was known for the number of converts he
brought to the faith.
Denounced for interfering with the Persian star
worship, and suspected of treasonous collaboration with Roman authorities, he
was arrested in 339.
Tried before King Shapur
II, they were given the chance to save themselves by denouncing their faith;
they declined. Martyr.
Born
stoned
to death in 339 in Persia
SOURCE : http://catholicsaints.info/saint-sapor/
Sapor (Shapur), Isaac
& Comps. BM (AC)
Died 339. Bishop Sapor of
Beth-Nictor and Bishop Isaac of Beth-Seleucia were martyred with members of
their flock under the Persian King Shapur II, including Saints Mahanes,
Abraham, and Simeon. Sapor died in prison; Isaac was stoned to death.
Their genuine acta have
been preserved in Chaldaic, which relate that the Persians complained to the
king that they could no longer worship the heavenly bodies or the elements without
the Christians despising them. Shapur immediately ordered the arrest of all the
followers of Christ. Mahanes, Abraham, and Simeon were the first to be
captured. When the king learned that Sapor and Isaac were building churches and
evangelizing the people in distant outposts, he sent soldiers to track them
down and bring them to trial within three days.
The day after their
capture, all five were brought before the king, who inquired: "Have not
you heard that I derive my pedigree from the gods? Yet I sacrifice to the sun,
and pay divine honors to the moon. And who are you who resist my laws, and
despise the sun and fire?"
The martyrs with one
voice answered: "We acknowledge one God, and Him alone we worship."
The king asked:
"What God is better than Hormisdatas, or stronger than the angry Armanes?
And who is ignorant that the sun is to be worshipped."
Sapor replied: "We
confess one only God, who made all things, and Jesus Christ born of him."
At this the king
commanded that he should be beaten on the mouth; all the bishop's teeth were
knocked out. Then he was beaten with clubs, until his whole body was bruised
and his bones broken. After this he was loaded with chains.
Isaac appeared next. The
king scolded him for having built churches; but the martyr maintained the cause
of Christ with inflexible constancy. The king next commanded that several of
the chief men of the city who had apostatized be summoned. With threats he
cowed them into stoning Bishop Isaac to death.
When Saint Sapor heard of
Isaace happy martyrdom, he was exultant and died of his wounds two days later
in prison. The king nevertheless severed the bishop's head from his body. The
other three were called again to court. Mahanes was flayed from the top of his
head to the navel, dying in the process. Abraham's eyes were bored out with a
hot iron, and he died of his wounds two days later. Simeon was buried alive and
shot through with arrows. The faithful Christians managed to obtain and
privately bury the remains of the martyrs (Attwater 2, Benedictines, Coulson,
Husenbeth).
November
30
SS. Sapor and Isaac, Bishops, Mahanes, Abraham, and Simeon, Martyrs
IN the thirtieth year of Sapor II., the Magians accused the Christians to the
king, with loud complaints, saying: “No longer are we able to worship the sun,
nor the air, nor the water, nor the earth: for the Christians despise and
insult them.” Sapor, incensed by their discourse against the servants of God,
laid aside his intended journey to Aspharesa, and published a severe edict
commanding the Christians everywhere to be taken into custody. Mahanes,
Abraham, and Simeon were the first who fell into the hands of his messengers.
The next day the magians laid a new information before the king, saying:
“Sapor, bishop of Beth-Nictor, and Isaac, bishop of Beth-Seleucia, build
churches, and seduce many.” 1 The
king answered in great wrath: “It is my command that strict search be made to
discover the criminals throughout my dominions, and that they be brought to
their trials within three days.” The king’s horsemen immediately flew day and
night in swift journeys over the kingdom, and brought up the prisoners, whom
the magians had particularly accused; and they were thrown into the same prison
with the aforesaid confessors. The day after the arrival of this new company of
holy champions, Sapor, Isaac, Mahanes, Abraham, and Simeon, were presented to
the king, who said to them: “Have not you heard that I derive my pedigree from
the gods? yet I sacrifice to the sun, and pay divine honours to the moon. And
who are you who resist my laws, and despise the sun and fire?” The martyrs,
with one voice, answered: “We acknowledge one God, and Him alone we worship.”
Sapor said: “What God is better than Hormisdatas, or stronger than the angry
Armanes? and who is ignorant that the sun is to be worshipped.” 2 The
holy bishop Sapor replied: “We confess only one God, who made all things, and
Jesus Christ born of him.” The king commanded that he should be beaten on the
mouth; which order was executed with such cruelty, that all his teeth were
knocked out. Then the tyrant ordered him to be beaten with clubs, till his
whole body was bruised and his bones broken. After this he was loaded with
chains. Isaac appeared next. The king reproached him bitterly for having
presumed to build churches; but the martyr maintained the cause of Christ with
inflexible constancy. By the king’s command several of the chief men of the
city who had embraced the faith, and abandoned it for fear of torments, were
sent for, and by threats engaged to carry off the servant of God, and stone him
to death. At the news of his happy martyrdom, St. Sapor exulted with holy joy,
and expired himself two days after in prison, of his wounds. The barbarous
king, nevertheless, to be sure of his death, caused his head to be cut off and
brought to him. The other three were then called by him to the bar: and the
tyrant finding them no less invincible than those who were gone before them,
caused the skin of Mahanes to be flayed from the top of the head to the navel;
under which torment he expired. Abraham’s eyes were bored out with a hot iron,
in such a manner, that he died of his wounds two days after. Simeon was buried
in the earth up to his breast, and shot to death with arrows. The Christians
privately interred their bodies. The glorious triumph of these martyrs happened
in the year 339. See their genuine Chaldaic acts in Steph. Evod. Assemani, Acta
Mart. Orient. t. 1, p. 226.
Note 1. The word Beth in Chaldaic signifies a hill; both these
cities being built on hills, and standing in Assyria. [back]
Note 2. From these and other acts of the Persian martyrs it is clear, that
besides a good and evil principle, the ancient Persians of the magian sect
worshipped the four elements, principally fire, as inferior deities, and that
the account which Prideaux, Samuel Clark, and especially Ramsay, have given us
of their religion, is defective, and in some essential points entirely false. The
laborious Dr. Hyde, who has left a monument of his extensive reading, in his
book, On the Religion of the Ancient Persians, shows in what manner Zoroaster
purged the Persian superstition of the grosser part of its more ancient
idolatry, teaching the unity and immensity of the supreme deity, and regarding
fire (which before his time was most grossly worshipped) merely as a minister
and instrument of God: but he still retained a more refined worship of it,
especially of Mythras or Myhir, the celestial fire of the sun, and he continued
to maintain the perennial fire, though he abolished many of the grosser rites
which the Persians observed in the worship of it before his time. The Guebres
in Persia, a poor and despicable race, are allowed to be descendants of the
magians. And the same is granted with regard to the Parsees, that is the
ancient Persians, who fled from the swords of the Mahometans, into the
neighbouring country of India, where they still pretend to adhere to their old
superstitions, though they live amidst the Indian idolaters, and are dispersed
as far as the neighbourhood of Surat and Bombay. Their chief moghs or magians,
who have the direction of their sacred rites and records, are in India called
Dustoors. Mr. Grose, in his voyage to the East Indies, printed at London in
1757, takes notice that the religion or reform of Zoroaster was too
uncompounded to satisfy the gross conceptions of the vulgar, and the lucrative
views of the Dustoors in succeeding ages after his death: so that it retained
not long its original purity. The same author learned from these Parsees, that
all the books of Zoroaster were destroyed, (whether by accident, or on purpose
he could not be informed,) and that the present capital law-book of this
people, called the Zendavastaw, written in the Pehlavi, or old Persian
language, was pretended to have been compiled by memory, by Erda-Viraph, one of
the chief magians. An abstract or translation of this into the modern Persian,
was made by the son of Melik-Shadi, a Dustoor, who lived about two hundred and
fifty years ago, and entitled Saud dir, that is, The Hundred Gates. Mr. Grose
assures us, that it appears from this abstract that Erda-Viraph greatly
adulterated the original doctrine of Zoroaster by interpolations, additions,
and foisting in many superstitions. Such as he doubts not, are their not daring
to be an instant without their cushee or girdle; their not venturing to pray
before the sacred fire without having their mouth covered with a small square
flap of linen, lest they should pollute the sacred fire by breathing on it,
&c. See ib. p. 355. From this observation we infer that Dr. Hyde and
Beausobre, in their account of the ancient magians, lay too great stress upon
the customs and tenets of their descendants. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume XI: November. The
Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/11/303.html
