Saint Serge
Martyr en Syrie, avec
son compagnon Bacchus (✝ v.
300)
On vénérait leur
tombe à Rosafa, 200 kms à l'est d'Alep en Syrie, dès la fin du 3ème ou du début
du 4ème siècle. Serge aurait été un officier supérieur romain, commandant avec
son collègue Bacchus une
troupe d'élite composée de Barbares, appelée la Schola Gentilium. Ils furent
tous deux dénoncés comme chrétiens et confessèrent courageusement leur foi.
Bacchus meurt sous la flagellation; Serge, après divers tourments dont il sort
indemne, est finalement décapité. Il ne reste que quelques ruines de ce qui fut
un centre de pèlerinage d'une richesse inouïe. Au 6ème siècle, on bâtit même
une muraille de trois mètres d'épaisseur entourant un rectangle de 500 mètres
sur 100 mètres pour protéger des voleurs les dons que faisaient les pèlerins.
L'église des Ukrainiens à Rome, place de la Madonna dei Monti, leur est dédiée(Parrocchia Sergio e Bacco degli Ucraini, en italien)
À Rosafa en Euphratésie de Syrie, au IIIe ou IVe siècle, les saints Serge et Bacchus, martyrs.
Martyrologe
romain
Saint Bacchus
Martyr en Syrie, avec
son compagnon Serge (✝ v.
300)
On vénérait leur
tombe à 200 kms à l'est d'Alep en Syrie, dès la fin du IIIe ou du début du IVe
siècle. Serge aurait
été un officier supérieur romain, commandant avec son collègue Bacchus une
troupe d'élite composée de Barbares, appelée la Schola Gentilium. Ils furent
tous deux dénoncés comme chrétiens et confessèrent courageusement leur foi.
Bacchus meurt sous la flagellation; Serge, après divers tourments dont il sort
indemne, est finalement décapité. Il ne reste que quelques ruines de ce qui fut
un centre de pèlerinage d'une richesse inouïe. Au VIe siècle, on bâtit même une
muraille de trois mètres d'épaisseur entourant un rectangle de 500 mètres sur
100 mètres pour protéger des voleurs les dons que faisaient les pèlerins.
L'église des Ukrainiens à Rome, place de la Madonna dei Monti, leur est dédiée(Parrocchia Sergio e Bacco degli Ucraini, en italien)
À Rosafa en Euphratésie de Syrie, au IIIe ou IVe siècle, les saints Serge et Bacchus, martyrs.
Martyrologe
romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/582/Saint-Bacchus.html
Église Santi Sergio e Bacco degli Ucraini,
Piazza Madonna dei Monti, Rione de Monti, Rome
Saints Serge et Bacchus (+300)
Fêté le 07 octobre
Martyrs. On vénérait leur tombe à 200 kilomètres à
l’est d’Alep en Syrie, dès la fin du 3ème ou au début du 4ème siècle. Serge
aurait été un officier supérieur romain, commandant, avec son collègue Bacchus,
une troupe d’élite composée de Barbares, appelée la Schola Gentilium. Ils
furent tous deux dénoncés comme chrétiens et confessèrent courageusement leur
foi. Bacchus meurt sous la flagellation ; Serge, après divers tourments dont il
sort indemne, est finalement décapité. Il ne reste que quelques ruines de ce
qui fut un centre de pèlerinage d’une richesse inouïe. Au 6ème siècle, on bâtit
même une muraille de trois mètres d’épaisseur entourant un rectangle de 500
mètres sur 100 mètres pour protéger des voleurs les dons que faisaient les
pèlerins.
Aurais-tu peur de
la mort ? – Non, car la mort, c’est la vie qui s’ouvre enfin, en toute vérité,
dans la lumière divine et pour toujours.
Frise qui représente
le martyre de Bacchus, flagellé, et de Serge, conduit à la décapitation,
Église de Porrain, Yonne, France.
Saint Serge et Saint
Bacque ou Bacchus
7 octobre
Ils étaient tous
deux chevaliers romains vers le 4ème siècle. En même temps, ils étaient
secrétaires d’État de l’empereur Maximien.
Un jour, Maximien était en Syrie et voulait
sacrifier aux idoles dans la ville d’Augusta. Il avait ordonné à tous ses
soldats d’assister à la cérémonie. mais il n’y vit ni Serge ni Bacque. Voulant
savoir pourquoi ils étaient absents, il les fit chercher et ceux-ci lui dirent
qu’ils n’avaient pas participé au sacrifice parce qu’ils étaient chrétiens.
D’autres disent que ce sont des collègues qui les auraient dénoncés.
Maximien les dégrada sur le champs. Puis il
les fit revêtir d’habits de femme et charger de colliers de fer. Il les fit
promener ainsi dans la ville pour être la risée de tous.
Ensuite, ils furent ramenés vers l’empereur
qui les exhorta à renoncer à leur foi. Mais comme il n’arrivait pas à ses fins,
il les envoya au préfet de l’Orient : Antiochus, qui passait pour être un homme
cruel.
Il espérait que Serge et Bacque changeraient
d’avis à la suite des fatigues de la route, des affronts qu’ils recevraient, à
l’idée même d’être livrés à un si cruel Préfet. De plus, l’humiliation était à
son comble, sachant qu’ils étaient livrés à un homme qu'ils avaient autrefois
commandé.
Mais ils ne changèrent pas d’avis.
Arrivés sur les lieux, Antiochus essaya de
les persuader de sacrifier aux idoles. Comme il n’y parvenait pas, il condamna
Bacque à être fouetté par quatre bourreaux. Cela fut si terrible que Bacque
mourut pendant qu’on le fouettait.
La nuit suivante, il apparut à Serge pour
l’encourager à endurer les supplices qu’on allait lui infliger de manière à ce
qu’ils soient ensemble pour le même triomphe.
Antiochus étant obligé d’aller dans une ville
non loin d’Augusta, il fit chausser Serge avec des chaussures dont les semelles
étaient garnies de clous en dedans. Il le contraignit de courir devant son
chariot jusqu’à la ville voisine. (15 km jusqu’à Tetrapyrgya, aujourd’hui
Qseyras-Sêlé)
Le lendemain matin,
Serge fut guéri de ses blessures grâce à un ange qui lui apparut. Le Préfet
croyant qu’il s’agissait là de magie, lui fit endurer une seconde fois le
supplice.
Puis,
désespérant de pouvoir lui faire changer d’avis, il le condamna à être décapité
à Rosafa. (qui devint Sergiopolis)
Ce fut le 7 octobre de l’an 300.
Serge fut le premier Saint à qui on dédia une
Basilique dans un lieu qui ne fut pas son tombeau. (Eïta en Syrie en 354) Puis
la Syrie se couvrit d’églises sous le vocable de Saint Serge. Bacque ou Bacchus
ne jouira pas de la même popularité, sans doute à cause de son nom qui rappelle
un dieu païen.
Justinien construisit une église Saint Serge
et Saint Bacchus à Constantinople. Elle est, aujourd’hui transformée en
mosquée.
Le culte de Saints Serge et Bacque parvint en
Gaule vers le 7ème siècle.
Grégoire de Tours raconte que deux hommes
avaient volé des poulets réservés à l’église Saint Serge à Rosafa. Il les
firent cuire, mais quand les invités arrivèrent, les poulets étaient aussi durs
que la pierre.
Des reliques ont été apportées à Saint Martin
de Tours, Chartres et Angers.
Sergius and Bacchus
Martyrs, d. in the Diocletian persecution in Coele-Syria about 303. Their martyrdom is well authenticated by the earliestmartyrologies and by the early veneration paid them, as well as by such historians as Theodoret. They were officers of troops on the frontier, Sergius being primicerius, and Bacchus secundarius. According to the legend, there were high in esteem of the Caesar Maximianus on account of their bravery, but this favour was turned into hate when they acknowledged their Christian faith. When examined under torture they were beaten so severely with thongs that Bacchus died under the blows. Sergius, though, had much more suffering to endure; among other tortures, as the legend relates, he had to run eighteen miles in shoes which were covered on the soles with sharp-pointed nails that pierced through the foot. He was finally beheaded. The burial-place of Sergius and Bacchus was pointed out in the city of Resaph; in honour of Sergius the Emperor Justinian also built churches in honour of Sergius at Constantinople and Acre; the one at Constantinople, now a mosque, is a great work of Byzantine art. In the East, Sergius and Bacchus were universally honoured. Since the seventh century they have a celebrated church in Rome. Christian art represents the two saints as soldiers in military garb with branches of palm in their hands. Their feast is observed on 7 October. The Churchcalendar gives the two saints Marcellus and Apuleius on the same day as Sergius and Bacchus. They are said to have beenconverted to Christianity by the miracles of St. Peter. According to the "Martyrologium Romanum" they suffered martyrdom soon after the deaths of Sts. Peter and Paul and were buried near Rome. Their existing Acts are not genuine and agree to a great extent with those of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus. The veneration of the two saints is very old. A mass is assigned to them in the "Sacramentarium" of Pope Gelasius.
Sources
Analecta Bollandiana, XIV (1895), 373-395; Acta SS., October, III, 833-83; Bibliotheca hagiographica latina (Brussels, 1898-1900), 1102; Bibliotheca hagiographica graeca (2nd ed., Brussels, 1909), 229-30; cf. for Marcellus and Apuleius: Acta SS., October, III, 826-32; Bibliotheca hagiogr. lat., 780.
Löffler, Klemens. "Sergius and Bacchus." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company,1912. 7 Oct. 2019 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13728a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Ferruccio Germani.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13728a.htm
Église Santi Sergio e Bacco degli Ucraini,
Piazza Madonna dei Monti, Rione de Monti, Rome
The Passion of SS. Serge and Bacchus
Translated
by John Boswell from the Greek "Passio antiquior SS. Sergii et Bacchi Graece nunc primum edita," AB 14 (Brussels,
1895), 373-395. This text is apparently the Greek original of the Latin passion
beginning "Imperante Maximiano tyranne, multus error hominum genus
possederat," printed in the Acta sanctorum, October 7, 865-79, and is more
ancient than the more common account of "Metaphrastes."
Under the rule
of the emperor Maximian gross superstition held sway over the human race, for
people worshiped and made sacrifices to stones and wood, the devices of human
beings, and they consumed obscene offerings. Those unwilling to sacrifice were
subjected to torture and harsh punishment and compelled to serve the demons. A
decree [to this effect] with severe threats was posted in the markets of every
city. The purity of the air was defiled with the diabolical smell from the
altars and the darkness of idolatrous error was reckoned a matter of state.
It was then that Serge
and Bacchus, like stars shining joyously over the earth, radiating the light of
confession of and faith in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, began to grace the
palace, honored by the emperor Maximian. The blessed Serge was the primicerius
of the school of the Gentiles, a friend of the emperor and who had great
familiarity with him, so that Maximian promptly acceded to his requests. Thus
the blessed Serge, having a certain friend Antiochus, was able to arrange for
him to become the governor of the province of Augusto-Euphrates.
The blessed Bacchus
himself happened to be the secundarius of the school of the Gentiles. Being as
one in their love for Christ, they were also undivided from each other in the
army of the world, united not by the way of nature, but in the manner of faith,
always singing and saying, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together in unity!" They were adept and excellent
soldiers of Christ, cultivating assiduously the inspired writings to combat
diabolical error, and fighting vigorously in battle to defeat the enemy.
But the malicious and
evil spirit afflicted with envy some of those who had been brought to the
school of the Gentiles, and they, seeing [the saints] so honorably received in
the imperial chambers, so advanced in military rank, and on such familiar terms
with the emperor, and being unable to bring any other instrument of malice
against them, accused them to the emperor of being Christians.
Waiting for a moment
when the saints would not be standing near the emperor, and finding him alone,
they said to him, "Such zeal for the cult of the holiest and greatest gods
has your immortal majesty that in those holy rescripts of yours which are
everywhere disseminated you have commanded that all unwilling to honor and
worship them, and in submission to your righteous doctrine, should perish in
great torment. How is it then that Serge and Bacchus, the directors of our
school, enjoy such familiarity with your eternal power, when they worship
Christ, whom those called Jews executed, crucifying him as a criminal; and by
persuading many others they draw them away from the worship of the gods?"
When he heard this the
emperor refused to believe it and said, "I do not think you speak the
truth that Serge and Bacchus are not devoted to the veneration and worship of
the gods, since I have such a pure affection for them, and they would hardly be
worthy of it it they were not truly faithful in their piety toward the gods.
But if, as you say, they belong to that unholy religion, they shall now be
exposed. Once I have summoned them without their knowing of the charges that
have been brought against them, I will go with them into the temple of mighty
Zeus, and if they sacrifice and eat of the holy offerings, you yourselves shall
bear the risk of the slander of which you are guilty. If they refuse to
sacrifice, they shall incur the penalty appropriate for their impiety. For the
gods would not have the shield-bearers of my empire be impious and
ungrateful."
"We, O
Emperor," replied the accusers, "moved by zeal and affection for the
gods, have brought before your undying majesty what we have heard regarding
them. It is for your unfailing wisdom to discover their impiety."
Straightaway the emperor
sent for them. They entered with the customary retinue of guards and imperial
pomp. The emperor received them and went in their company to the temple of
Zeus. Once he had entered, Maximian offered libations with the whole army,
partook of the sacrificial offerings, and looked around. He did not see the
blessed Serge and Bacchus. They had not gone into the temple, because they
thought it impious and unholy to see them offering and consuming unclean
sacrifices. They stood outside and prayed as with one mouth, saying, "King
of Kings and Lord of lords, who alone possess immortality and inhabit
unapproachable light, shed light on the eyes of their minds, because they walk
in the darkness of their unknowing; they have exchanged your glory,
uncorruptible God, for the likeness of corruptible men and birds and beasts and
snakes; and they worship the created rather than you, the creator. Turn them to
knowledge of you, that they may know you, the one true God, and your
only-begotten Son, our Lord ]esus Christ, who for us and for our salvation
suffered and rose from the dead, that he might free us from the bonds of the
law and rescue us from the folly of vain idols. Preserve us, God, pure and
spotless in the path of your martyrs, walking in your commandments."
While this prayer was yet
in their mouths, the emperor sent some of the guard standing near him and
commanded them to be brought into the temple. When they had entered, the
emperor said to them, "It appears that, counting on my great friendship
and kindnessÑfor which the gods have been your defenders and advocates Ñ you
have seen fit to disdain imperial law and to become deserters and enemies of
the gods. But I will not spare you if indeed those things spoken of you prove
to be true. Go, then, to the altar of mighty Zeus, make sacrifice and consume,
like everyone else, the mystical offerings."
In reply the noble
soldiers of Christ, the martyrs Serge and Bacchus, answered: "We, O
Emperor, are obliged to render to you earthly service of this corporal body;
but we have a true and eternal king in heaven, Jesus the Son of God, who is the
commander of our souls, our hope and our refuge of salvation. To him every day
we offer a holy, living sacrifice, our thoughtful worship. We do not sacrifice
to stones or wood, nor do we bow to them. Your gods have ears, but they do not
hear the prayers of humans; just as they have noses but do not smell the
sacrifice brought them, have mouths but do not speak, hands but do not feel,
feet but do not walk. 'They that make them,' as the Scripture says, 'are like
unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them because Thou are with us.'''
The emperor's
countenance was transformed with anger; immediately he ordered their belts cut
off, their tunics and all other military garb removed, the gold torcs taken from
around their necks, and women's clothing placed on them; thus they were to be
paraded through the middle of the city to the palace, bearing heavy chains
around their necks. But when they were led into the middle of the marketplace
the saints sang and chanted together, "Yea, though we walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, Lord"; and this
apostolic saying: "Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and putting off
the form of the old man, naked in faith we rejoice in you, Lord, because you
have clothed us with the garment of salvation, and have covered us with the
robe of righteousness; as brides you have decked us with women's gowns and
joined us together for you [or: "joined us to you"] through our
confession. You, Lord, commanded us, saying, 'Ye shall be brought before
governors and kings for my sake.... But when they deliver you up, take no
thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour
what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father
which speaketh in you.' Rise, Lord, help us and rescue us for your name's sake;
strengthen our souls that we may not be separated from you and the impious may
not say, 'Where is their God?' "
When they reached the
palace Maximian summoned them and said, "Most wicked of all men, so much
for the friendship which I had bestowed on you, thinking you to have proper
respect for the gods, and which you, confident of my openness and affection,
have despised, brazenly offering me in return that which is against the law of
obedience and subjection. But why should you blaspheme the gods as well,
through whom the human race enjoys such abundant peace? Do you not realize that
the Christ whom you worship was the son of a carpenter, born out of wedlock of
an adulterous mother, whom those called Jews executed by crucifixion, because
he had become the cause of dissensions and numerous troubles among them,
leading them into error with magic and claiming to be a god? The very great
race of our gods were all born of legal marriage, of the most high Zeus, who is
thought to be the most holy, giving birth through his marriage and union with
the blessed Hera. I imagine that you will have also heard that the heroic and
twelve greatest labors were worthy of a god, those of heavenly Hercules, born
of Zeus."
The noble soldiers of
Christ answered, "Your majesty is mistaken. These are myths that ring in
the ears of the simpler men and lead them to destruction. He whom you say to
have been born of adultery as the son of a carpenter, he is God, the son of the
True God, with and through whom was all made. He established the heavens, he
made the earth, the abyss and the great sea he bounded with sand, he adorned
the heavens with the multitude of stars, the sun he invented for the
illumination of the day and as a torch in the night he devised the moon. He
divided the darkness from the light, he imposed measure on the day and limits
on the night, in wisdom he brought forth all things from nonbeing to being. In
these last days he was born upon the earth for the salvation of humankind, not
from the desire of a man, nor the desire of the flesh, but from the Holy Spirit
and an ever-virgin girl, and living among humans he taught us to turn from the
error of vain idols and to know him and his father. He is true God of true God,
and in accord with an unknowable plan he died for the salvation of the human
race, but he plundered hell and rose on the third day in the power of his
divinity, and he established incorruptibility and the resurrection of the dead
to eternal life."
Beside himself with rage
on hearing these things, the emperor ordered that their accusers be enrolled in
their positions in the army and said to them, "I am sending you to Duke
Antiochus, thrice-cursed ones Ñ the very man you were able to promote to such
rank because of the friendship and familiarity you had with me Ñ so that you
will realize how great is the honor you have lost by speaking against the gods
and how trivial a court you merit for the worst punishments, since the
greatness of the gods has apprehended and brought your blasphemy to the
judgment seat for justice."
Immediately he sent them
to Duke Antiochus, ordering that their entire bodies be bound with heavy
chains, and that they be sent thus to Eastern parts through a succession of
officials. He also wrote a letter along these lines: "From Maximian,
eternal emperor and triumphant ruler of all, greetings to Duke Antiochus. The
wisdom of the greatest gods is unwilling that any men should be impious and hostile
to their worship, especially shield and spear-bearers of our empire. Wherefore
I commend to your severity the vile Serge and Bacchus, convicted with apposite
proof of belonging to the unholy sect of the Christians and plainly deserving
of the worst punishment, whom I consider unworthy of the administration of
imperial justice. If they should be persuaded by you to change their minds and
sacrifice to the gods, then treat them with their own innate humanity, free
them from the prescribed torments and punishments, assure them of our forgiving
kindness and that they will receive back immediately their appropriate military
rank and be better off now than they were before. But if they will not be
persuaded and persist in their unholy religion, subject them to the severest
penalties of the law and remove from them hope of long life with the penalty of
the sword. Farewell."
The same day the
offficials took them out of the city as far as the twelfth mark, and when
evening overtook them they stopped at an inn. About midnight an angel of the
Lord appeared and said to [the saints], "Take courage and fight against
the devil and his evil spirits, as noble soldiers and athletes of Christ, and
once you have thrown the enemy put him under your feet so that when you appear
before the king of glory we, the host of the army of angels, may come to greet
you singing the hymn of victory, conferring on you the trophies of triumph and
the crowns of perfect faith and unity.
When morning came they
rose and took the road with great joy and alacrity. There were also some of
their household servants with them, united with them in longing for the love of
Christ, and in true love for their corporal masters, on account of which they
would not leave them when they were in such straits. They heard them discussing
with each other the appearance of the angel in the night.
Taking the road, the two
chanted psalms together and prayed as if with one mouth, thus, "We have
rejoiced in the way of martyrdom, as much as in all riches. We will meditate in
thy precepts and search out thy ways. We will delight ourselves in thy
statutes: we will not forget thy word. Deal bountifully with thy servants, that
we may live and keep thy word."
As the emperor had
commanded, the soldiers of Christ were sent from city to city through a
succession of changing officials with great security along the road of
martyrdom laid down for them, until they were brought to the eparchy of
Augusto-Euphrates, which was on the borders next to the people of the Saracens,
to a certain fortress called Barbalisus where Duke Antiochus had his seat.
Appearing promptly
before him around the ninth hour, their custodians handed over the emperor's
letter and also the holy martyrs Serge and Bacchus. Antiochus rose from his
dais and accepted the emperor's rescript in his purple general's cloak; when he
had read it he summoned privately the official in charge and told him,
"Take the prisoners and secure them in the military prison, seeing that
apart from the usual constraints they do not suffer anything, and do not place
their feet in full manacles of wood. Bring them to the bench of my justice
tomorrow, so that I can hear them at the prescribed time, according to the
law." The official took them and bound them as the duke had commanded him.
When it was evening, they sang together and prayed, as with one mouth, speaking
thus: "Thou, Lord, brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters; thou
didst cleave the fountain and the flood; thou hast set all the borders of the
earth. Cast thine eye upon us, O Lord, for the enemy hath reproached us, and
the foolish people have blasphemed thy holy name. Deliver not the souls of
those confessing thee to men more savage than beasts, forget not the
congregation of thy poor forever. Have respect unto thy covenant: for the dark
places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. Let us not be
returned humbled, ashamed: so that we, thy humble servants, may praise thy
name. Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the pride of them that hate thee
ascendeth continually against us, thy servants, and in vain have the people
hated us. But do thou, O Lord, rescue us and free us for thy name's sake."
Then, while they slept
for a while, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and said, "Take heart,
stand fast and unmovable in your faith and love. It is God who aids and watches
over you."
Rising from their sleep
and reporting to their household the apparition of the angel, they were
encouraged and began to chant again: "ln my distress I cried unto the
Lord, and he heard me from his holy mountain. I laid me down and slept; for the
Lord sustained me. We will not be afraid of thou sands of people, that have set
themselves against us round about. Arise, Lord, and save us, O our God: for
salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people."
On the following day,
when the duke was seated on the bench of justice in the praetorium, he summoned
the commentarius and said, "Bring in the prisoners." The latter
responded, "They are at hand before the righteous bench of your authority."
When the saints appeared, he commanded the emperor's letter to be read. Once
this was done, Duke Antiochus, prompted by his associate, announced, "It
is incumbent on you to obey the orders of the glorious emperor, our lord, and
to sacrifice to the gods and become worthy of their benevolence. Since you were
unwilling to do this, you have forfeited great glory, and having made
yourselves unworthy, were discharged from the military and deprived of all your
former wealth. Nonetheless, if you will now obey me and sacrifice to the gods
to earn their goodwill, you could earn even greater honor and glory than
before, and receive back your military rank and more besides.
"This was
prescribed in the letter sent to me, as you yourselves have heard. Being
humane, the most holy emperor has disposed that if you repent of those things
you have rashly done, and now sacrifice to the gods, you may yet enjoy his
favor. Wherefore I, feeling compassion for you, and mindful of your friendship
and kindnessÑespecially yours, my Lord Serge, for I myself have benefited from
your generosityÑadvise you that if you will not do this, you force me to obey
our lord the emperor and to see that his orders concerning you are strictly
observed."
In reply the saints
declared, "We have left all and followed Christ, so that heedless of
earthly and temporal honor, we may become rivals of the angels in heaven, and
ignoring terrestrial and corruptible wealth, we may heap up treasure in heaven.
What profit would it be if we gained the whole world, but lost our souls? Do
not, therefore, so advise us, Antiochus. For your tongue is forked, and the
poison of adders is under your lips. You will hardly be able to change our
minds while God himself encourages us. Do, therefore, what you will; we will not
sacrifice to wood, nor worship stones. We serve Christ, the son of God, the
eternal ruler, before whom 'every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things on earth, and things under the earth,' and whom every tongue should
confess. Your gods are man-made idols: if they were divine, they themselves
would command humans, and would not [need to] be avenged through human design
on those who decline to serve and worship them."
The duke rejoined,
"We do not avenge the gods. It is through their disposition that all the
powers of our enemies have been subjected to us. But we call you to justice
because of your accursed and unholy superstition."
To which the saints
responded, "It is you who are accursed and unholy, and all those persuaded
by you to sacrifice to demons and worship insensate stones and wood. All of
them will soon be cast eternally into flames, and you also will be punished
with them."
In a great rage the duke
commandel that the blessed Serge be taken from the praetorium and returned to
prison; the blessed Bacchus he ordered held for flogging. The henchmen went at
this until they collapsed exhausted and near dead on the floor. When they could
go on no longer, he directed that [Bacchus] be turned over on his stomach to be
beaten with four whips of rawhide, saying to him, "Let's see if your
Christ will free you from my hands." From the first hour until evening
they wore away his flesh; blood flowed everywhere; both his stomach and liver
were ruptured.
The blessed Bacchus said
to Antiochus: "The devil's servants, your torturers have failed; your
impudence is overthrown; the tyrant Maximian is conquered; your father the
devil has been put to shame. The more the man without is ravaged by your blows,
the more the man within is renewed in preparation for the eternal life to
come."
After he said this,
there was a great voice from heaven: "Come, rest henceforth in the kingdom
prepared for you, my noble athlete and soldier, Bacchus." Those standing
by hearing the voice were stupefied and struck dumb. He himself, having borne
the blows so long, gave up his spirit to the angels.
The duke, frustrated by
his defeat, ordered that his remains not be buried, but thrown out and exposed
as meat to the dogs, beasts, and birds outside the camp. Then he rose and left.
When the body was tossed some distance from the camp, a crowd of animals
gathered around it. The birds flying above would not allow the bloodthirsty
beasts to touch it, and kept guard through out the night.
In the morning, some of
the monks who lived nearby in caves came and liked up the body the animals Ñ as
if they were rational human beings Ñ had been mourning. They buried him in one
of their caves.
Meanwhile the blessed
Serge, deeply depressed and heartsick over the loss of Bacchus, wept and cried
out, "No longer, brother and fellow soldier, will we chant together,
'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity!' You have been unyoked from me and gone up to heaven, leaving me alone
on earth, bereft [literally, "made single"], without comfort."
After he uttered these things, the same night the blessed Bacchus suddenly
appeared to him with a face as radiant as an angel's, wearing an officer's
uniform, and spoke to him. "Why do you grieve and mourn, brother? If I
have been taken from you in body, I am still with you in the bond of union,
chanting and reciting, 'I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou hast
enlarged my heart.' Hurry then, yourself, brother, through beautiful and
perfect confession to pursue and obtain me, when finishing the course. For the
crown of justice for me is with you.'' At daybreak when he rose he related to
those who were with him how he had seen the blessed Bacchus in the night and in
what sort of garb.
The next day the duke
planned to go out of the fortress of Barbalisus to that of Souros, and
commanded that the blessed Serge follow. He enjoined him to sacrifice, but the
latter, with noble judgment, refused his blandishments. When they reached the
castle of Souros, Antiochus took his seat in the praetorium, summoned the
blessed Serge, and told him, "The most sacrilegious Bacchus refused to
sacrifice to the gods and chose to die violently; he got the death he deserved.
But you, my lord Serge, why give yourself over to such misery by following that
deceptive and impious cult. Mindful of your kindness to me I am disposed to
mercy; and it embarrasses me that you were the cause of my having obtained this
authority, since now you stand in the dock as the accused, and I sit on the
bench as the prosecutor."
To this Christ's witness
answered, "Antiochus, this very suffering and present disgrace will stand
as a patron for me of great eloquence and eternal glory with the king of heaven
and of earth and of every living thing, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If only you
would now heed me and recognize my God and king, Christ, and be as circumspect
in regard to the heavenly ruler, Christ, as you are in dealing with earthly
kings, you would provide yourself with power unending and perpetual glory. For
earthly rulers pass quickly, as the psalm says: 'Ye shall die like men, and
fall like one of the princes.' And again, 'I have seen the wicked highly
exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus. And I passed by, and lo, he
was not: and I sought him and his place was not found.' "
The duke replied,
"Spare us this idiocy and ignorant foolishness; sacrifice to the gods in
obedience to the holy command of our ruler, the emperor Maximian. If you will
not, know that you force me to forget all that has come to me through you and
to subject you to the most rigorous punishment decreed by law."
Serge answered, "Do
as you will. I have Christ to preserve me, who said, 'Fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell.' The body is subject to you: torture and
punish it if you wish. But bear in mind that even if you kill my body, you can
not dominate my soul Ñeither you nor your father, Satan."
The duke responded
angrily: "It appears that my patience has served only to prod you along
the path of willfulness." He summoned the official in charge and told him,
"Fasten long nails in his boots, sticking straight up, and then put them
on him." Once the boots were on, Antiochus sat in his carriage, directed
that the animals be driven fiercely all the way to Tetrapyrgium, and ordered
the blessed one to run in front of him. Tetrapyrgium is nine miles from Syrum.
While he ran, the blessed one sang, "I waited patiently for the Lord, and
he inclined unto me. He brought me up also out of a horrible pagan pit, out of
the miry clay of idolatry, and set my feet upon a rock, and establishes my
goings."
When they reached the
castle of Tetrapyrgium the duke said, "It amazes me, Serge, that having
first been kept in such confinement you can now sustain these bitter
torments." The most holy martyr answered, "These tortures are not
bitter to me, but sweeter than honey." The duke got out of the chariot and
went in to breakfast, indicating that [Serge] should be retained in the soldiers'
custody.
In the evening [Serge]
sang psalms. "Those who did eat of my bread hath lifted up their heels
against me, and with the cords of hideous torture they have laid a net for my
feet, hoping to trip me up. But rise, Lord, outrun them and cause them to
stumble, and rescue my soul from the wicked." About midnight an angel of
the Lord came to him and healed him, restoring his feet completely. In the
morning, mounting the bench, the duke ordered him brought in, thinking he would
be unable to walk and would have to be carried, on account of his feet. When he
saw him coming, walking a considerable distance and not limping at all, he was
astounded, and exclaimed, "The man is a sorcerer. This must be how he
managed to enjoy such familiarity with the emperor: he accomplished it through
sorcery. What I am seeing is the proof of what they said about him. I would
have thought it wholly impossible for him to walk on his feet after having been
disabled by the torture inflicted on him yesterday. By the gods I am confounded
at seeing him now walk as if nothing had happened!"
When the blessed Serge
stood before the bench Antiochus addressed him. "Come to your senses even
now, sacrifice to the gods, and you will avoid further torture. I will spare
you out of respect for your kindness. If you will not, know that the witchcraft
with which you devised to heal yourself will not avail you."
To which the blessed
Serge replied, "If only you could escape the intoxication of diabolical
error. I am in my senses in the Lord who has trampled the weapons of your
father the devil under the feet of his humble servant, and has given me victory
over you, and sent his angel to heal me. It is you who are the magician, and
those who worship demons. It is the cult of your nameless idols that invented
every sorcery, that is the beginning and cause and conclusion of all
evil."
Antiochus sat down on
his carriage even angrier, and commanded [Serge] to run before him wearing the
same boots as far as the castle of Rosafae, another nine miles from Tetrapyrgium.
When they came to the castle of Rosafae, the duke said to the blessed Serge,
"Has the agony of the nails untied the knot of your idiocy?' Are you
prepared now to sacrifice to the gods, or will you persist in this insane
obsession?"
The noblest martyr
rejoined, "Know this, Antiochus: with this foolishness I will dissolve and
undo your malicious and wicked strength. Do what you will: I will not worship
demons, nor sacrifice to idols. Blameless in this, I strive to offer sacrifice
only to my Lord."
Seeing that he remained
steadfast and immovable in his faith and confession of Christ, the duke
pronounced sentence against him: "You have rendered yourself unworthy of
the favor of the gods, Serge, and become a member of the unholy sect called
Christians, injuring the great good of our ruler, the emperor Maximian, by
refusing to comply with his holy decree and sacrifice to the gods. For this the
law requires that you suffer the penalty of the sword." A number of those
present shouted out that the sentence issued against him was just. The guards
came immediately and gagged his holy lips, took him out of the courtroom, and
led him away to be executed.
A great crowd of men,
women, and children followed, to see the blessed one meet his end. Seeing the
beauty blooming in his face, and the grandeur and nobility of his youth, they
wept bitterly over him and bemoaned him. The beasts of the region left their
lairs and gathered together with the people, doing no injury to the humans, and
bewailed with inarticulate sounds the passing of the holy martyr.
When they reached the
place where the holy martyr of Christ was to meet his end, he called on the
guards to allow him a little time to pray. Extending his hands to heaven, he
said, "The beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, recognizing your
dominion and rule, Lord, have gathered together for the glory of your holy
name, so that you will incline and wish of your goodness to turn through their
unreason the reason of humans to knowledge of you. For you wish all to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth. When you lay death upon them, accept
their repentance, Lord, and do not remember the sin of ignorance which they
have perpetrated against us for your sake. Enlighten the eyes of their minds
and lead them to the knowledge of you. Receive, Lord, my spirit, and give it
rest in the heavenly tents with all the others whom you have found acceptable.
To you do I commend my soul, which you have rescued from the snares of the
devil."
Saying this and signing
himself, he knelt and was beheaded, giving up his spirit to the angels. A voice
from heaven said, "Come, also, Serge, soldier and victor, to the kingdom
prepared for you. The hosts of angels, the ranks of patriarchs, the choirs of
apostles and prophets, the souls of the just all await your coming to share
with them the wonderful things in store for you there."
The place that received
the holy martyr's blood became a great chasm; God arranged this so that those
who wallow like pigs in the mire of paganism, terrified when they saw the
abyss, would not dare to approach or trample in this spot the blood of the holy
martyr. That was the reason this great chasm came into existence, and the spot
has remained so up to the present day, bearing the signs of great antiquity at
the command of God, to establish the miracle visually for unbelievers, so that
they may build on it a firm foundation of faith.
Some of those who had
come to witness the death of the holy martyr, seeing that they shared a common
nature [with him], gathered up his remains and buried them handsomely where the
holy one had died. After a great while some religious men from the castle of
Souros, prompted by zeal for the service of Christ, but pious in a somewhat
piratical way, tried to steal the body from the spot, as if it were some
precious treasure. The saint would not suffer his body, which had been dragged
around, whipped, and triumphed so publicly in the faith of Christ, to be moved
in secret, so he asked of God that a fire be set in the spot, not to seek revenge
on those attempting the theft or to burn them, but so that by lightening the
gloom of night he would reveal the robbery to those in the castle of Rosafae,
which is just what happened. Once the fire was burning in the place where the
saint lay, some of the soldiers living there saw the flames reaching to the
sky, and thought that the great blaze had been set by some enemy, so they came
out armed and pursued those attempting to steal the saint's body. They
prevailed on them to remain there a few days and to build from stones and clay
a tomb where he lay. Once they had honorably covered the body of the saint,
they went away.
After a time, when the
religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Chrisr had begun to flourish, some very
holy bishops Ñ fifteen in number Ñ gathered together and constructed near the
castle of Rosafae a shrine worthy of [Serge's] confession, and moved his
remains there, installing them in the shrine on the very day he was martyred:
the seventh of October.
Many miracles and cures
were effected wherever his holy relics were, especially in the tomb where he
had first lain. For it is a quality of the place of his death that the saint is
able to prevail upon God to heal all those who come there with any sort of
disease, and to cure those possessed of unclean spirits, and to render savage
beasts completely tame. The animals, in fact, observe the day of his death
every year as if it were a law, coming in from the surrounding desert and
mingling with the humans without doing them any harm, nor do their savage
impulses move them to any violence against the humans who come there. Rather,
they come to the place in gentleness out of reverence for the holy martyr, at
the command of God, to whom be glory, honor, and power, now and for ever.
Amen.
Little
Hagia Sophia (Église des Saints
Sergius et Bacchus),
Troparia and kontakia for October 7
Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus in Syria
Troparion — Tone 4
Your holy martyrs Sergius and
Bacchus, O Lord, / through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns
from You, our God. / For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries,
/ and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through their intercessions,
save our souls!
Kontakion — Tone 2
Podoben: “Seeking the highest...” /
Having courageously confronted the enemy, / you brought an end to his guiles,
and received from on high the crown of victory. / Illustrious martyrs, Sergius
and Bacchus, / with one heart you cry aloud: / “How good and pleasant it is to
dwell with God.”
Troparion
— Tone 4
All burdened with sins, / let us
fall down before her wonderworking Icon of Tenderness, / kissing it and crying
aloud with tears: / “O Lady, accept the prayer of your unworthy servants, / and
to us who ask, grant your great mercy.”
Kontakion — Tone 6
We have no other help, we have no
other hope but you, O Lady. / Help us, for in you do we hope, / and of you do
we boast, for we are your servants. / Let us not be put to shame.
SOURCE : https://www.oca.org/saints/troparia
Église Santi Sergio e Bacco degli Ucraini,
Piazza Madonna dei Monti, Rione de Monti, Rome.
Maître-autel
Martyrs Sergius
and Bacchus in Syria
The emperor, wanting to convince himself of the truth of the accusation, ordered Sergius and Bacchus to offer sacrifice to the idols, but they replied that they honored the One God and worshiped only Him.The Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus in Syria were appointed to high positions in the army by the emperor Maximian (284-305), who did not know that they were Christians. Envious people informed Maximian that his two trusted counsellors did not honor the pagan gods. This was considered to be a crime against the state.
Maximian commanded that the martyrs be
stripped of the insignia of military rank (their belts, gold pendants, and
rings), and then dressed them in feminine clothing. They were led through the
city with an iron chains around their necks, and the people mocked them. Then
he summoned Sergius and Bacchus to him again and in a friendly manner advised
them not to be swayed by Christian fables, but to return to the Roman gods. The
saints refuted the emperor’s words, and demonstrated the folly of worshiping
the pagan gods.
The emperor
commanded that they be sent to the governor of the eastern part of Syria,
Antiochus, a fierce hater of Christians. Antiochus had received his position
with the help of Sergius and Bacchus. “My fathers and benefactors!” he said.
“Have pity on yourselves, and also on me. I do not want to condemn my
benefactors to cruel tortures.” The holy martyrs replied, “For us life is
Christ, and to die is gain.” The enraged Antiochus ordered Bacchus to be
mercilessly beaten, and the holy martyr surrendered his soul to the Lord. They
shod Sergius with iron sandals with nails in their soles and sent him to
another city, where he was beheaded with the sword.
Église Santi Sergio e
Bacco degli Ucraini,
Piazza Madonna dei Monti, Rione
de Monti, Rome
Santi Sergio e Bacco Martiri
in Siria
Barbalisso e Rosapha in Siria, † 310 ca.
Martirologio
Romano: Nella regione di Rusafah in Siria presso il fiume Eufrate, santi Sergio
e Bacco, martiri.
Santi
SERGIO e BACCO, martiri in Siria
Questi due santi martiri orientali, ebbero nell’antichità una grande
venerazione sia in Oriente che in Occidente, benché le notizie che li
riguardano hanno scarso valore storico, ad ogni modo di esse rimangono
redazioni in diverse lingue.
Sergio e Bacco erano soldati delle Legioni di confine, ed occupavano un alto
grado nel palazzo di Massimino Daia († 313), divenuto Cesare nel 305 con il
governo dell’Oriente; accusati come cristiani da nemici invidiosi, furono
condotti al tempio di Giove ed invitati a sacrificare, ma essi rifiutarono,
venendo così degradati e fatti girare per dileggio per le vie della città,
vestiti da donna.
Lo stesso imperatore fece invano un tentativo di farli apostatare, essi poi
furono inviati da Antioco, prefetto della Provincia Siro-Eufratese, perché
fossero uccisi.
Nel ‘castrum’ di Barbalisso, Bacco fu sottoposto ad una cruenta flagellazione,
tanto spietata che sotto i colpi morì; il suo corpo fu lasciato insepolto, ma
di notte i cristiani lo raccolsero seppellendolo in una grotta vicina.
Sergio invece fu costretto a camminare con dei chiodi conficcati nei piedi,
attraverso i ‘castra’ di Saura, Tetrapirgio e Rosapha, finché in quest’ultima
città fortificata venne decapitato.
Venne sepolto nello stesso luogo del martirio e sulla sua tomba venne eretta
una piccola chiesa; quando finite le persecuzioni, tornò la pace anche per i
cristiani, accanto al ‘castrum’ di Rosapha, fu costruita una grande chiesa, in
cui venne trasferito il corpo del martire, nel giorno anniversario della sua
morte, il 7 ottobre.
Il culto per Sergio fu certamente più diffuso, lasciando talvolta in ombra
quello di Bacco; a testimonianza che essi furono uccisi a pochi giorni l’uno
dall’altro, in Siria venivano celebrati il 1° ottobre (Bacco) e il 7 ottobre
(Sergio) ma poi la celebrazione venne unificata al 7 ottobre, sia in Oriente
che in Occidente.
Ad aumentare il culto per s. Sergio, contribuì senz’altro la costruzione della
grandiosa basilica nella Frigia, nel secolo V, da parte del vescovo Alessandro
di Gerapoli; attorno al tempio divenuto meta di pellegrinaggi e al quale
accorrevano anche le tribù nomadi a sud dell’Eufrate, si formò un villaggio che
Giustiniano imperatore, chiamò Sergiopoli, arricchendolo di molte opere come
acquedotti e fortezze.
I miracoli avvenuti a Sergiopoli, diffusero il culto anche in Occidente, mentre
in tutti gli Stati Medio-Orientali, sorsero tante chiese dedicate a s. Sergio;
le reliquie proprio per questa diffusione, erano sparse dappertutto. Chiese in
loro onore esistevano anche a Roma e Ravenna; nel periodo bizantino Sergio e
Bacco furono invocati come protettori delle milizie e nei secoli dal VI all’XI
sono stati sempre effigiati come ufficiali con la collana d’oro dei dignitari
di corte.
La città di Trieste ha nel suo stemma, la punta di un’alabarda in campo rosso,
essa è detta “alabarda di san Sergio”, perché si racconta che il tribuno Sergio
della XV Legione Apollinare, si stanza a Trieste, qui si convertì al
cristianesimo.
Quando fu scoperto, venne richiamato alla corte imperiale ed egli congedandosi
dai compagni di fede cristiana triestini, promise loro un segno annunciante la
sua morte, che prevedeva imminente.
Quando fu decapitato a Rosapha in Siria, secondo la tradizione, un’alabarda
cadde dal cielo sereno, nel Foro cittadino. L’arma è conservata nel tesoro
della cattedrale di Trieste; gli Statuti comunali del 1350 la chiamavano più
appropriatamente “lancia di s. Sergio”.
Autore: Antonio
Borrelli
SOURCE :
http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91356
Voir
aussi : David Woods, The Origin of the Cult of SS. Sergius and Bacchus, April 2000, https://www.ucc.ie/archive/milmart/sergorig.html