.jpg)
Martyre
de Saint Anthimus de Nicomédie, Menologion de Basile II (Constantinople,
cca. 1,000 AD)
Hieromartyr
Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, and those with him: Martyrs Theophilus the
Deacon, Dorotheus, Mardonius, Migdonius, Peter, Indes, Gorgonius, Zeno, Virgin
Domna, and Euthymius Мученики Никомидийские
Константинополь.
985 г. Миниатюра Минология Василия II.
Ватиканская
библиотека. Рим.
Miniature from the Menologion of Basil II
Saint Anthime
Évêque et martyr à
Nicomédie (+ 303)
Evêque de Nicomédie, il
connut la violente persécution de l'empereur Maximien qui, en 288, fit périr
les chrétiens par milliers. Capturé à son tour, il connut de cruels supplices,
dont celui d'être attaché à une roue qui lui brisait les membres tandis que ses
bourreaux le brûlaient au passage. Il fut enfin décapité.
Eusèbe de Césarée,
l'historien de cette époque, nous apprend qu'un incendie avait ravagé le palais
impérial de Nicomédie. La cause n'en était sans doute qu'une chandelle mal
éteinte ou l'étincelle d'une cuisine. Mais ce fut l'occasion d'accuser les
chrétiens et l'empereur décida une persécution violente. Ils furent très
nombreux à être arrêtés dans un massacre épouvantable. Tous ceux qui n'avaient
eu le temps de s'enfuir, furent brûlés vifs. Quelques-uns jetés à la mer. Saint
Anthime n'était pas connu des soldats qui poursuivaient les chrétiens. Comme
ils arrivaient à la ferme où il se cachait, il les reçut, les invita en leur
disant: "Vous ne connaissez pas l'évêque Anthime? moi je le connais, je
vous le livrerai tout à l'heure." Il leur offrit un repas comme pour fêter
un heureux événement, puis il dévoila son identité. Il eut la tête tranchée.
À Nicomédie en Bithynie,
l’an 303, saint Anthime, évêque et martyr. Durant la persécution de Dioclétien,
il eut la tête tranchée pour avoir confessé le nom du Christ et obtint ainsi la
gloire du martyre. Presque tout son troupeau le suivit: par sentence du juge,
les uns furent décapités, d’autres livrés aux flammes, d’autres mis sur des
barques pour être noyés dans la mer.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1043/Saint-Anthime.html
Saint Anthime
Fête saint : 27 Avril
Présentation
Titre : Évêque et Martyr
Date : 303
Pape : Saint Marcellin
Empereur : Dioclétien
La piété et la modestie
qu'il faisait paraître dès son enfance, le distinguaient de tous ceux de son
âge. À la fleur de sa jeunesse, il s'appliqua à la philosophie chrétienne avec
tant d'ardeur qu'il devint un objet d'admiration pour tous ceux qui le
connurent, et les porta à l'amour de cette vraie sagesse.
La Vie des Saints : Saint
Anthime
Auteur
Mgr Paul Guérin
Les Petits Bollandistes -
Vies des Saints - Septième édition - Bloud et Barral - 1876 -
Saint Anthime
À Nicomédie, saint
Anthime, évêque et martyr, qui arriva à la gloire du martyre dans la
persécution de Dioclétien. + 303.
Hagiographie
La ville de Nicomédie,
si souvent arrosée du sang des Martyrs, n’a pas été seulement le lieu de la naissance de
saint Anthime, mais encore le théâtre de sa gloire et le champ de bataille où,
en perdant la vie, il s’est acquis l’immortalité.
La piété et la modestie
qu’il faisait paraître dès son enfance, le distinguaient de tous ceux de son
âge. À la fleur de sa jeunesse, il s’appliqua à la philosophie chrétienne avec
tant d’ardeur qu’il devint un objet d’admiration pour tous ceux qui le
connurent, et les porta à l’amour de cette vraie sagesse. Un mérite si éclatant
le fit bientôt ordonner prêtre ; et, quelque temps après, Cyrille, évêque de
Nicomédie, étant décédé, il fut élu à sa place, du consentement unanime de tous
les chrétiens. Il savait que cette charge était lourde et s’en jugeait indigne.
Il fit donc tout son possible pour l’éviter, mais inutilement ; il fut obligé
de l’accepter. C’était au temps où la persécution de Dioclétien et
de Maximien-Galère éclata
d’une manière si horrible à Nicomédie, d’où elle se répandit dans tout
l’empire. Il fallait donc à cette ville un évêque ferme dans sa foi et capable
d’y affermir les autres ; tel fut Anthime : il soutint si bien le courage de
ses diocésains, qu’un nombre prodigieux, vingt mille, dit-on, endurèrent
héroïquement le martyre. On arrêta bientôt celui qui était le chef et comme
l’âme de cette vaillante armée de Jésus-Christ. Ceux qui furent chargés de
cette mission s’étant adressés à lui, sans le connaître, il leur dit qu’il
connaissait Anthime, promit de le leur livrer, et, en attendant, il les invita
à se reposer chez lui : là il leur fit servir un festin magnifique, à la fin
duquel il leur dit :
« Je vous ai promis de
vous amener et de vous livrer Anthime, évêque de Nicomédie. C’est moi : je suis
celui que vous cherchez. Réjouissez-vous donc, et me conduisez à l’empereur ».
Ces paroles du vieillard,
la joie, l’assurance qui brillaient sur son visage, remplirent d’admiration les
soldats chargés de l’arrêter. Ils lui conseillèrent la fuite ; mais le saint
Pontife leur exposa le bonheur du martyre, leur expliqua les vérités de la
religion chrétienne, les convertit, les baptisa, puis il marcha devant eux
après s’être fait lier les mains derrière le dos, et alla se présenter à
l’empereur. Maximien, s’environnant de tout l’appareil des supplices, demanda
au prisonnier si c’était lui qui s’appelait Anthime, qui combattait la divinité
des dieux avec mépris, et qui corrompait et pervertissait le peuple par ses
prédications.
« Votre demande,
seigneur, répondit Anthime, ne recevrait point de réponse, si le divin apôtre
saint Paul ne nous avait appris que nous devons toujours être prêt à rendre
raison de notre foi, et si notre souverain Maître Jésus-Christ ne nous avait
assuré qu’il nous donnerait dans ces occasions, des paroles si puissantes, que
nos adversaires n’y pourraient pas résister. Certes, je déplore infiniment
votre misère et votre aveuglement ; je vous plains d’adorer de vains simulacres
et de leur donner le titre de dieux ; mais je suis encore plus surpris de ce
que vous prétendez m’obliger, par vos menaces, ou par vos supplices, à en faire
de même et à imiter votre folie. Croyez-vous, ô empereur, avoir assez de
pouvoir, soit par la douceur de vos belles paroles, soit par la terreur de vos
tourments, pour le faire renoncer à la foi et à l’honneur que je dois à
Jésus-christ, mon Sauveur et mon Dieu ? Non, non, vous vous trompez ; ce serait
être déraisonnable que de préférer les voluptés passagères de ce monde aux
délices célestes et aux biens éternels du paradis ».
Maximien se moqua de ce
discours ; et, s’imaginant que c’était une bravade, qui ne durerait pas, il
commanda que l’on meurtrît la tête du saint Martyr à coups de pierres et de
cailloux ; mais ce grand homme, bien loin de se plaindre, ne cessait de crier :
« Que les dieux qui n’ont
pas fait le ciel et la terre périssent maintenant ! ».
Le tyran lui fit ensuite
percer les talons avec de longues alènes de fer embrasé ; et, l’ayant fait
jeter sur des têts pointus, il l’y fit fouetter avec une cruauté, inouïe ; puis
il lui fit chausser des bottes de bronze que l’on avait, fait rougir dans le
feu, s’efforçant ainsi par la rigueur de ces tourments de surmonter sa
constance. Mais Dieu, qui ne s’éloigne jamais de ses élus, consola son
serviteur au milieu de ses supplices, lui faisant entendre une voix du ciel qui
l’encourageât, et qui lui promettait la récompense de ses travaux après
l’entière victoire : le saint Martyr, reprenant de nouvelles forces et faisant
paraître dans ses yeux lès douces consolations qui abondaient en son âme, dit à
l’empereur :
« Je vous ferai bientôt
voir que c’est une pure folie et une vaine pensée de religion qui vous fait
adorer ces fausses divinités, et blasphémer le saint nom de Jésus-Christ ».
C’était mettre de l’huile
dans le feu, et irriter de plus en plus la colère de Maximien ; il commanda
donc que le saint Martyr fût attaché sur une roue ; et que, pendant qu’elle
tournerait sans cesse, on lui brûla peu à peu tout le corps avec des flambeaux
ardents. Les bourreaux étaient habiles à exécuter ces ordres ; mais lorsqu’ils
pensaient réduire son corps en pièces et en cendres, ils furent eux-mêmes renversés
par terre ; et, leurs instruments leur tombant des mains, ils demeurèrent comme
paralysés. Maximien les stimula par des sarcasmes et des menaces ; ils lui
répondirent qu’ils ne manquaient pas de courage pour lui obéir, mais qu’ils ne
le pouvaient pas, parce que trois personnages pleins de majesté, et tout
éclatants de lumière, assistaient le Martyr, et le protégeaient contre leurs
violences. Anthime, de son côté, tout rempli de joie et de consolation,
chantait au milieu de ses tourments, et rendait mille louanges à Dieu pour les
victoires qu’il lui faisait remporter.
L’empereur, vaincu par la
constance du Martyr, fut contraint de le faire détacher de la roue et de le
renvoyer en prison, chargé et presque accablé de chaines. Mais il arriva qu’au
milieu du chemin elles se brisèrent miraculeusement, et s’ôtèrent d’elles-mêmes
de ses pieds et de ses mains, ce qui donna une telle épouvante aux archers qui
le conduisaient, qu’ils tombèrent par terre, tout saisis et tremblants de
frayeur. Cependant, ils furent relevés par Anthime, qui les prit par la main,
et leur commanda de continuer à remplir leur charge. Il rentra donc en prison
avec une joie que l’on ne peut exprimer. Les criminels, qui y étaient en grand
nombre, reçurent tant de consolations de sa présence, et furent si touchés de
ses saints entretiens, qu’ils se convertirent tous à la foi catholique, et
reçurent le sacrement du Baptême. Maximien, qui se voyait vaincu de quelque
côté qu’il se tournât, fit encore venir le Martyr devant lui ; et, changeant
ses moyens d’attaque, lui promit de grandes faveurs, et même l’office de
souverain prêtre des dieux, s’il voulait leur offrir de l’encens. Mais Anthime,
se moquant de ses offres, lui dit fort généreusement :
« Je suis prêtre du grand
et souverain pontife Jésus-Christ, à qui je m’offre moi-même en sacrifice. Pour
ce qui est de vos dieux et de leurs dignités, dont vous me parlez, ce n’est
qu’une moquerie et une pure folie ».
L’empereur, ne pouvant
plus supporter ces mépris, commanda enfin qu’il eût la tête tranchée. Anthime
acheva ainsi son glorieux martyre et ne cessa de vaincre qu’en cessant de
vivre, le 27 avril, l’an de Notre-Seigneur 303.
SOURCE : https://www.laviedessaints.com/saint-anthime/
Le Hiéromartyr Anthime,
Évêque de Nicomédie, et ceux qui ne le lui permirent pas, pendant la
persécution contre les chrétiens sous l'Empereur Dioclétien (284-305) et
Maximien (305-311). La persécution est devenue particulièrement intense après
un incendie à la cour impériale de Nicomédie. Les païens ont accusé les
chrétiens d'avoir mis le feu et ont réagi contre eux avec une férocité
terrible.
A Nicomédie seulement, le
jour de la Nativité du Christ, jusqu'à 20 000 chrétiens ont été brûlés dans une
église. Cependant, cette monstrueuse inhumanité n'a pas effrayé les chrétiens,
qui ont bien avoué leur foi et subirent le Martyre pour le Christ.
Dorothée, Mardonius,
Migdonius, Peter, Indes et Gorgonius morts au cours de cette période. L'un
d'eux a été décapité par l'épée, d'autres ont péri par le feu, ou être enterré
vivant, ou par noyade dans la mer. Le Zeno soldat hardiment dénoncé l'empereur
Maximien, pour lequel il a été lapidé, puis décapité.
Ensuite, la sainte Vierge
Martyre Domna, une prêtresse païenne ancienne, ont péri aux mains des païens,
et aussi saint Euthyme, en raison de leur crainte que les corps des saints
martyrs doivent être enterrés. Évêque Anthime, qui a dirigé l'Eglise de
Nicomédie, se cacha dans un village non loin de Nicomédie, à la demande de son
troupeau. De là, il a envoyé des lettres aux chrétiens, leur demandant de
s'attacher fermement à la foi sainte et ne pas avoir peur des tortures.
Une de ses lettres,
envoyé avec Deacon Théophile, a été intercepté et remis à l'empereur Maximien.
Théophile a été interrogé et il est mort sous la torture, sans révéler à ses
bourreaux la localisation de l'évêque Anthime. Après un certain temps Maximien
réussi à savoir où St Anthime était, et envoya un détachement de soldats après
lui.
L'évêque les a rencontrés
le long du chemin, mais les soldats ne reconnaissent pas le saint. Il les
invite à se joindre à lui et a fourni un repas, après quoi il a révélé qu'il
était celui qu'ils cherchaient. Les soldats ne savaient pas quoi faire. Ils ont
voulu le quitter et dire à l'empereur qu'il ne l'avait pas trouvé. Évêque
Anthime n'était pas homme à tolérer un mensonge, et ainsi il ne consentirait
pas à cela.
Les soldats sont venus à
croire en Jésus-Christ et ont reçu le saint baptême. Le saint leur a ordonné
d'exécuter les instructions de l'empereur. Lorsque l'évêque Anthime a été porté
devant l'empereur, l'empereur ordonna que les actes d'exécution sont mis en
évidence et placé devant lui. «Pensez-vous, empereur, pour me faire peur avec
ces outils d'exécution?" demanda le saint. "Non, vraiment, vous ne
pouvez pas effrayer celui qui veut mourir pour le Christ! Exécution est
effrayant que pour les lâches, pour qui la vie présente est le plus
précieux." L'empereur a ordonné que le saint est farouchement torturé et
décapité par l'épée.
L'Évêque Anthime avec
joie a glorifié Dieu avec son dernier souffle, et reçut la couronne du martyre.
(Voir Décembre 28 pour un autre compte des martyrs Nicomediens.)
Saint Hiéromartyr ANTHIME,
Évêque de Nicomédie
Saint Anthime était
Évêque de la ville de Nicomédie (Bithynie, Asie Mineure) lorsque, sur l'ordre
de l'empereur Maximien (288), on mit le feu à l'église en y faisant mourir
vingt mille Chrétiens1. Il se trouvait à la tête de ses fidèles dans l'épreuve
et les encourageait à ne placer qu'en Dieu toute leur espérance. Par protection
de Dieu, il échappa alors à la mort et put aller se réfugier dans les montagnes
environnantes. Mais il fut capturé quelque temps plus tard et amené devant
Maximien. Interrogé devant tous les effrayants instruments de torture étalés
Saint Anthime confessa inébranlablement sa foi dans le Christ. On le soumit
alors à de nombreux et cruels supplices: on le battit à coups de bâton, on le
chaussa de sandales de bronze brûlant en l'obligeant à marcher; enfin, on
l'attacha à une roue qui lui brisait les membres pendant que les bourreaux lui
brûlaient le corps avec des torches allumées. Renforcé par la grâce divine, le
Saint restait inébranlable et, comme l'or que l'on fait passer par le feu, il
devenait comme plus resplendissant au mileu des tourments. Il prophétisa à
l'empereur Maximien la fin prochaine de l'empire païen et le triomphe du
Christianisme. Fou de rage à la vue de la patience et de l'assurance du
bienheureux Anthime, Maximien en déchira son manteau de pourpre et donna
l'ordre de lui trancher la tête. Après la mort d'Anthime, des cheveux
poussèrent miraculeusement de sa tête.
1. Fêtés le 28 décembre.
SOURCE : http://calendrier.egliseorthodoxe.com/sts/stsseptembre/sept03.html
Saint
Anthimos from Nicomedia
Священномученик
Анфим, епископ Никомидийский, XIV век (?) (www.russianculture.ru)
Also
known as
Anthime
Anthimus
Antimo
Antimus
Antym
27
April (Martyrologium Hieronymianum; Roman Martyrology prior to 2001)
27
September (Armenian Church)
3
September (Coptic Church; Byzantine Church)
28
December as one of the 20,000
Martyrs of Nicomedia
Profile
Bishop of
Nicomedia. Martyred in
the persecutions of Diocletian for
refusing to sacrfice to idols.
beheaded in 303 in
Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey)
basilica erected
over his tomb by Justinian
Additional
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MLA
Citation
“Saint Anthimos of
Nicomedia“. CatholicSaints.Info. 24 April 2017. Web. 15 May 2022.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-anthimos-of-nicomedia/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-anthimos-of-nicomedia/
St. Anthimus, Bishop, and
Many Other Martyrs, at Nicomedia
From Lactantius, l. De
Mortibus Persecut. ed. nov. t. 2, p. 197. Eusebius, Hist. b. 8, c. 4, 6. See
Tillemont, t. 5.
A.D. 303.
THESE martyrs were the
first victims offered to God in the most bloody persecution raised by
Dioclesian. That prince was a native of Dalmatia, of the basest extraction, and
a soldier of fortune. After the death of the Emperor Numerian, son of Carus,
slain by a conspiracy in 284, he was proclaimed emperor by the army at
Chalcedon. The year following he defeated Carinus, the other son of Carus, who
reigned in the West: but finding the empire too unwieldy a body to govern
alone, and secure himself at the same time against the continual treasons of
the soldiery, especially the Pretorian guards, who during the last three
hundred years had murdered their emperors almost at pleasure; having moreover
no male issue, and reposing an entire confidence in Maximian Herculeus,
Dioclesian chose him for his partner in the empire, and honoured him with the
title of Augustus. He was a barbarian, born of obscure parents at a village
near Sirmium in Pannonia, of a cruel and savage temper, and addicted to all
manner of wickedness; but was reckoned one of the best commanders of his time.
The two emperors, alarmed at the dangers which threatened the empire on every
side, and not thinking themselves alone able to oppose so many enemies at once,
in 292 named each of them a Cæsar, or emperor of an inferior rank, who should
succeed them respectively in the empire, and jointly with them defend the Roman
dominions against foreign invaders and domestic usurpers. Dioclesian chose
Maximian Galerius for the East, who, before he entered the Roman army, was a
peasant of Dacia; a man of a brutal ferocity, whose very aspect, gesture,
voice, and discourse were all terrifying; and who, besides his cruel
disposition, was extremely bigoted to idolatry. Maximian Herculeus chose
Constantius, surnamed Chlorus, for the West, an excellent prince and nobly
born.
The first years of the
reign of Dioclesian were tolerably favourable to the Christians, though several
even then suffered martyrdom by virtue of former edicts. But Galerius began to
persecute them in the provinces within his jurisdiction, by his own authority;
and never ceased to stir up Dioclesian to do the like, especially in 302, when
he passed the winter with him at Nicomedia. Dioclesian, however, appeared
unwilling to come into all his violent measures, foreseeing that so much blood
could not be spilt without disturbing the peace of the empire to a high degree.
The oracle of Apollo at Miletus was therefore consulted, and gave such an
answer as might have been expected from an enemy to the Christian religion. 1 The
same author in two places 2 relates
another accident which contributed to provoke the emperor against the faith. Whilst
Dioclesian was offering victims at Antioch, in 302, in order to consult the
entrails for the discovery of future events, certain Christian officers, who
stood near his person, “made on their foreheads the immortal sign of the
cross.” This disturbed the sacrifices and confounded the aruspices, or
diviners, who could not find the ordinary marks they looked for in the entrails
of the victims, though they offered up many, one after another pretending that
the divinity was not yet appeased. But all their sacrifices were to no purpose,
for no signs appeared. Upon which the person set over the diviners declared,
that their rites did not succeed, because some profane persons, meaning the
Christians, had thrust themselves into their assembly. Hereupon Dioclesian, in
a rage, commanded that not only those who were present, but all the rest of his
courtiers should come and sacrifice to their gods; and ordered those to be
scourged who should refuse to do it. He also sent orders to his military
officers to require all the soldiers to sacrifice, or, in case of refusal, to
be disbanded. Another thing determined Dioclesian to follow these impressions,
which one would have imagined should have had a quite contrary effect; it is
mentioned by Constantine the Great, who thus speaks in an edict directed to the
whole empire, preserved by Eusebius. 3 “A
report was spread that Apollo out of his dark cavern had declared, that certain
just men on earth hindered him from delivering true oracles, and were the cause
that he had uttered falsehood. For this reason he let his hair grow, as a token
of his sorrow, and lamented this evil among men, having hereby lost his art of
divination. Thee I attest, most high God. Thou knowest how I, being then very
young, heard the emperor Dioclesian inquiring of his officers who these just
men were? when one of his priests made answer, that they were the Christians;
which answer moved Dioclesian to draw his bloody sword, not to punish the
guilty, but to exterminate the righteous, whose innocence stood confessed by
the divinities he adored.”
For beginning this work,
choice was made of the festival of the god Terminus, six days before the end of
February, that month closing the Roman year before the correction of Julius
Cæsar, and when that feast was instituted. By this they implied that an end was
to be put to our religion. Early in the morning the prefect, accompanied with
some officers and others, went to the church; and having forced open the door,
all the books of the scriptures that were there found were burnt, and the spoil
that was made on that occasion was divided among all that were present. The two
princes, who from a balcony viewed all that was done, (the church which stood
upon an eminence being within the prospect of the palace,) were long in debate
whether they should order fire to be set to it. But in this Dioclesian’s
opinion prevailed, who was afraid that if the church was set on fire, the
flames might spread themselves into the other parts of the city; so that a
considerable body of the guards were sent thither with mattocks and pickaxes,
who in a few hours time levelled that lofty building with the ground.—The next
day an edict was published, by which it was commanded that all the churches
should be demolished, the scriptures burnt, and the Christians declared
incapable of all honours and employments, and that they should be liable to
torture, whatever should be their rank and dignity. All actions were to be
received against them, while they were put out of the protection of the law,
and might not sue either upon injuries done them, or debts owing to them;
deprived moreover of their liberties and their right of voting. This edict was
not published in other places till a month later. But it had not been long set
up, before a certain Christian of quality and eminence in that city, whom some
have conjectured to be St. George, had the boldness publicly to pull down this
edict, out of a zeal which Lactantius justly censures as indiscreet; but which
Eusebius, considering his intention, styles divine. He was immediately
apprehended, and after having endured the most cruel tortures, was broiled to
death on a gridiron, upon a very slow fire. All which he suffered with
admirable patience. The first edict was quickly followed by another, enjoining
that the bishops should be seized in all places, loaded with chains, and
compelled by torments to sacrifice to the idols. St. Anthimus was, in all
appearance, taken up on this occasion; and Nicomedia, then the residence of the
emperor, was filled with slaughter and desolation.
But Galerius was not
satisfied with the severity of this edict. Wherefore, in order to stir up
Dioclesian to still greater rigours, he procured some of his own creatures to
set fire to the imperial palace, some parts of which were burnt down; and the
Christians, according to the usual perverseness of the heathens, being accused
of it, as Galerius desired and expected, this raised a most implacable rage
against them: for it was given out, that they had entered into consultation
with some of the eunuchs, for the destruction of their princes, and that the
two emperors were well nigh burnt alive in their own palace.—Dioclesian, not in
the least suspecting the imposture, gave orders that all his domestics and
dependents should be cruelly tortured in his presence, to oblige them to
confess the supposed guilt; but all to no purpose; for the criminals lay
concealed among the domestics of Galerius, none of whose family were put to the
torture. A fortnight after the first burning, the palace was set on fire a
second time, without any discovery of the author; and Galerius, though in the
midst of winter, left Nicomedia the same day, protesting that he went away
through fear of being burnt alive by the Christians. The fire was stopped
before it had done any great mischief, but it had the effect intended by the
author of it: for Dioclesian, ascribing it to the Christians, resolved to keep
no measures with them; and his rage and resentment, being now at the highest
pitch, he vented them with the utmost cruelty upon the innocent Christians,
beginning with his daughter Valeria, married to Galerius, and his own wife, the
Empress Prisca, whom, being both Christians, he compelled to sacrifice to
idols. The reward of their apostacy was, that after an uninterrupted series of
grievous afflictions, they were both publicly beheaded, by the order of
Licinius, in 313, when he extirpated the families of Dioclesian and Maximian.
Some of the eunuchs who were in the highest credit, and by whose directions the
affairs of the palace had been conducted before this edict, having long presided
in his courts and councils, were the first victims of his rage: and they
bravely suffered the most cruel torments and death for the faith. Among these
were SS. Peter, Gorgonius, Dorotheus, Indus, Migdonius, Mardonius, and others.
The persecution which began in the palace, fell next on the clergy of
Nicomedia. St. Anthimus, the good bishop of that city, was cut off the first,
being beheaded for the faith. He was followed by all the priests and inferior
ministers of his church, with all those persons that belonged to their
families. From the altar the sword was turned against the laity. Judges were
appointed in the temples to condemn to death all who refused to sacrifice, and
torments till then unheard of were invented. And that no man might have the
benefit of the law who was not a heathen, altars were erected in the very
courts of justice, and in the public offices, that all might be obliged to
offer sacrifice, before they could be admitted to plead. 4 Eusebius
adds, that the people were not suffered to buy or sell any thing, to draw
water, grind their corn, or transact any business, without first offering up
incense to certain idols set up in market places, at the corners of the
streets, at the public fountains, &c. But the tortures which were invented,
and the courage with which the holy martyrs laid down their lives for Christ,
no words can express. Persons of every age and sex were burnt, not singly one
by one, but, on account of their numbers, whole companies of them were burnt
together, by setting fire round about them: while others, being tied together
in great numbers, were cast into the sea. The Roman Martyrology commemorates,
on the 27th of April, all who suffered on this occasion at Nicomedia.
The month following,
these edicts were published in the other parts of the empire; and in April, two
new ones were added, chiefly regarding the clergy. In the beginning of the year
304, a fourth edict was issued out, commanding all Christians to be put to death
who should refuse to renounce their faith. Lactantius describes 5 how
much the governors made it their glory to overcome one Christian by all sorts
of artifice and cruelty: for the devil by his instruments, sought not so much
to destroy the bodies of the servants of God by death, as their souls by sin.
Almost the whole empire seemed a deluge of blood, in such abundance did its
streams water, or rather drown the provinces. Constantius himself, though a
just prince, and a favourer of the Christians, was not able to protect Britain,
where he commanded, from the first fury of this storm. The persecutors
flattered themselves they had extinguished the Christian name, and boasted as
much in public inscriptions, two of which are still extant. But God by this
very means increased his church, and the persecutors’ sword fell upon their own
heads. Dioclesian, intimidated by the power and threats of this very favourite
Galerius, resigned to him the purple at Nicomedia, on the first of April, in
304. Herculeus made the like abdication at Milan. But the persecution was
carried on in the East by their successors, ten years longer, till, in 313,
Licinius having defeated Maximinus Daia, the nephew and successor of Galerius,
joined with Constantine in a league in favour of Christianity. Dioclesian had
led a private life in his own country, Dalmatia, near Salone, where now
Spalatro stands, in which city stately ruins of his palace are pretended to be
shown. When Herculeus exhorted him to reassume the purple, he answered: “If you
had seen the herbs, which with my own hands I have planted at Salone, you would
not talk to me of empires.” But this philosophic temper was only the effect of
cowardice and fear. He lived to see his wife and daughter put to death by
Licinius, and the Christian religion protected by law, in 313. Having received
a threatening letter from Constantine and Licinius, in which he was accused of
having favoured Maxentius and Maximinus against them, he put an end to his
miserable life by poison, as Victor writes. Lactantius says, that seeing
himself despised by the whole world, he was in a perpetual uneasiness, and
could neither eat nor sleep. He was heard to sigh and groan continually, and
was seen often to weep, and to be tumbling sometimes on his bed, and sometimes
on the ground. His colleague Maximinian Herculeus thrice attempted to resume
the purple, and even snatched it from his own son, Maxentius, and at length in
despair hanged himself, in 310. Miserable also was the end of all their
persecuting successors, Maxentius, the son of Herculeus, in the West, and of
Galerius and his nephew Maximinus Daia, in the East. No less visible was the
hand of God in punishing the authors of the foregoing general persecutions, as
is set forth by Lactantius, in a valuable treatise entitled On the Death of the
Persecutors. 6
Thus, whilst the martyrs
gained immortal crowns, and virtue triumphed by the means of malice itself, God
usually, even in this world, began to avenge his injured justice in the
chastisement of his enemies. Though it is in eternity that the distinction of
real happiness and misery will appear. There all men will clearly see that the
only advantage in life is to die well: all other things are of very small
importance. Prosperity or adversity, honour or disgrace, pleasure or pain,
disappear and are lost in eternity. Then will men entirely lose sight of those
vicissitudes which here so often alarmed, or so strongly affected them. Worldly
greatness and abjection, riches and poverty, health and sickness, will then
seem equal, or the same thing. The use which every one has made of all these
things will make the only difference. The martyrs having eternity always
present to their minds, and placing all their joy and all their glory in the
divine will and love, ran cheerfully to their crowns, contemning the
blandishments of the world, and regardless even of torments and death.
Note 1. Lactantius
de Mort. Persec. c. 11, p. 197. [back]
Note 2. Ib. c. 10,
and Inst. l. 4, c. 27. [back]
Note 3. Vit. Const.
l. 2, c. 50, 51, p. 467. [back]
Note 4. Lact. c. 15,
De Mort. Pers. [back]
Note 5. Instit. l.
5, c. 11. [back]
Note 6. Tertullian
observes, that it was the glory of the Christian religion that the first
emperor who drew his sword against it was Nero, the sworn enemy of all virtue.
This tyrant, four years after he had begun, in 64, to exert his rage against
the Christians, in his extreme distress attempted to kill himself; but, wanting
resolution, he prevailed upon another to help him to take away his life, and
perished under the public resentment of the whole empire, and the universal
detestation of all mankind, for his execrable cruelties and abominations.
Domitian persecuted the church in 95, and was murdered by his own servants the
year following. Trajan, Adrian, Titus, Antoninus, and Marcus Aurelius rather
tolerated than raised persecutions, and escaped violent deaths. Severus, after
he began, in 202, to oppress the Christians, fell into disasters, and died
weary of life, leaving behind him a most profligate son, who had attempted to
take away the life of his father, and afterwards killed his brother: and his
whole family perished miserably. Decius, after a short reign, died in battle.
Gallus was killed the year after he commenced persecutor. Valerian was a cruel
enemy to the Christians, and died in miserable captivity in Persia. Aurelian
was killed in 274. Maximinus I. was slain after a reign of three years. Nothing
prospered with Dioclesian after he began his war against the church: out of
cowardice he abdicated the empire, and at length put an end to his own life.
His colleague, Maximian Herculeus was compelled to hang himself in 310.
Maximian Galerius, the most cruel author of Dioclesian’s persecution, was
seized with a grievous and terrible disease: for, being extremely fat and
unwieldy, his huge mass of flesh was overrun with putrefaction, and swarmed
with vermin; and the stench that came from him was not to be borne even by his
own servants, as Eusebius relates, (b. 8, c. 16.) Maxentius was overcome by
Constantine, and drowned in the Tiber. Maximinus II. after being defeated by
Licinius, was compelled by him to repeal his edicts against the Christians, and
died in 313, in exquisite torments, under a distemper not unlike that of
Galerius—for, whilst his army was drawn up in the field, he was lurking and
hiding his cowardly head at home, and flying to Tarsus, not knowing where to
find a place of refuge on land or sea, but scared every where with his fears:
he was also struck with a sore distemper over his whole body. In the most acute
and insufferable anguish, he rolled himself upon the ground, and pined away by
long fasting, so that he looked like a withered and dried skeleton. At last, he
who had put out the eyes of the Christians, lost his sight, and his eyes
started out of his head; and, yet still breathing and confessing his sins, he
called upon death to come and release him, which advanced slowly, and not till
he had acknowledged that he deserved what he suffered for his cruelty, and for
the insults which he had committed against Jesus Christ, as Eusebius relates:
(Hist. l. 9, c. 10,) who adds, that all the rulers of provinces, who had acted
under him, and persecuted the Christians, were put to death, as Pincentius, his
principal favourite, Culcianus, in Egypt, Theotecnus, and others. Urbanus, the
cruel governor of Palestine, had been convicted of many crimes at Cæsarea, and
condemned to a shameful death by Maximinus himself; and his successor,
Firmilianus, had met with the same fate from the hands of his master, whom, by
his cruelties, he had studied to please. Licinius, the last of these
persecutors, was a worthless and stupid prince, who could not read or write his
own name, hated all men of learning, and was a foe to religion. He, to please
Constantine, for some time favoured the Christians, and pretended himself ready
to become one; but at last threw off the mask, and persecuted the church, when
he was conquered and put to death by Constantine, in 323. See Mr. Jortin, t. 3,
Tillemont, Hist. des Emp. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
IV: April. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/4/271.html
Hieromartyr Anthimus the
Bishop of Nicomedia
Commemorated on September
3
The Hieromartyr Anthimus,
Bishop of Nicomedia, and those with him suffered during the persecution against
Christians under the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311). The
persecution became particularly intense after a fire at the imperial court at
Nicomedia. The pagans accused the Christians of setting the fire and reacted
against them with terrible ferocity.
In Nicomedia alone, on
the day of the Nativity of Christ, as many as twenty thousand Christians were
burned inside a church. However, this monstrous inhumanity did not frighten the
Christians, who firmly confessed their faith and endured martyrdom for Christ.
Sts Dorotheus, Mardonius,
Migdonius, Peter, Indes and Gorgonius died during this period. One of them was
beheaded by the sword, others perished by burning, or being buried alive, or by
drowning in the sea. The soldier Zeno boldly denounced the emperor Maximian,
for which he was stoned, and then beheaded.
Then the holy Virgin
Martyr Domna, a former pagan priestess, perished at the hands of the pagans,
and also St Euthymius, because of their concern that the bodies of the holy
martyrs should be buried. Bishop Anthimus, who headed the Church of Nicomedia,
hid himself in a village not far from Nicomedia at the request of his flock.
From there he sent letters to the Christians, urging them to cleave firmly to
the holy Faith and not to fear tortures.
One of his letters, sent
with Deacon Theophilus, was intercepted and given to the emperor Maximian.
Theophilus was interrogated and died under torture, without revealing to his
torturers the whereabouts of Bishop Anthimus. After a while Maximian managed to
learn where St Anthimus was, and sent a detachment of soldiers after him.
The bishop met them along
the way, but the soldiers did not recognize the saint. He invited them to join
him and provided a meal, after which he revealed that he was the one they sought.
The soldiers did not know what to do. They wanted to leave him and tell the
emperor that they had not found him. Bishop Anthimus was not one to tolerate a
lie, and so he would not consent to this.
The soldiers came to
believe in Christ and received holy Baptism. The saint ordered them to carry
out the emperor’s instructions. When Bishop Anthimus was brought before the
emperor, the emperor ordered that the instruments of execution be brought out
and placed before him. “Do you think, emperor, to frighten me with these tools
of execution?” asked the saint. “No indeed, you cannot frighten one who wishes
to die for Christ! Execution is frightening only for the cowardly, for whom the
present life is most precious.” The emperor then directed that the saint be
fiercely tortured and beheaded by the sword.
Bishop Anthimus joyfully
glorified God with his last breath, and received the crown of martyrdom. (See
December 28 for another account of the Nicomedian martyrs.)
SOURCE : http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/09/03/102467-hieromartyr-anthimus-the-bishop-of-nicomedia
The Hieromartyr Anthimus.
01
From the Prologue
Born in Nicomedia, he was
brought up from childhood as a true Christian. 'His body was mortified, his
spirit humble; jealousy was uprooted, anger tamed, sloth banished. ... he had
love for all and was at peace with all, had a good understanding with all, was
filled with zeal for the glory of God and was open to all.' It is not
surprising that a man of such virtues was made a bishop. St Anthimus worked as
a bishop in Nicomedia at the time of a harsh persecution of Christians under
the two wicked Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. Streams of Christian blood
were spilled, especially in Nicomedia. One year, on the feast of the Nativity
of Christ, twenty thousand martyrs were burned in one church (see Dec. 28th).
This happened during Anthimus's episcopate. The persecution did not end with
this, but continued, and many Christians were thrown into prison and kept there
for torture and death. St Anthimus withdrew to a village, Omana, not to escape
death but to be able thence to strengthen his flock in the path of martyrdom,
that none should draw back through fear. One of his letters to the Christians
in prison was seized and taken to the Emperor Maximian. The Emperor sent twenty
soldiers to find Anthimus and take him. The grey-beard, discerning this, went
out to meet the soldiers, brought them into his house as his guests and only
then revealed that he was Anthimus. The soldiers, amazed at his kindness, urged
him to hide, and said that they would tell the Emperor that they had been
unable to find him, but Anthimus replied that he dared not allow God's Law to
be violated by a lie in order to save his life. So he set out with the
soldiers. On the way, all the soldiers came to faith in Christ and were
baptised by Anthimus. Brought before the Emperor, Anthimus was submitted to
harsh and long-drawn-out torture, and was finally beheaded with an axe. He
glorified God and entered into rest in the Lord at the beginning of the fourth
century.
NAME:The Holy Martyr
Vasilissa.
A nine-year-old girl, she
suffered in Nicomedia not long after the death of Anthimus. The torturers
covered her whole body with wounds, but she remained faithful to Christ. God
preserved her unharmed in fire and before wild beasts. Her torturer, Alexander,
seeing these wonders, repented and became a Christian. Vasilissa went out into
a field, fell on her knees and prayed to God, thanking Him for her endurance
under torture, and, while thus praying, gave her soul into God's hands. This
was in the year 309.
NAME:St Joannicius,
Archbishop and First Patriarch of Serbia.
Born in Prizren, he
served at first as secretary to King Dusan. He became Archbishop in 1339, and
in 1346 was raised to the rank of Patriarch. He was a zealous pastor, and
brought order to the Serbian Church, being 'a great upholder of the Church's
laws'. He entered into rest on September 3rd, 1349, and his relics are
preserved at Pec.
NAME:Our Holy Father
Theoctistus.
A faster and
fellow-ascetic of St Euthymius the Great, Theoctistus was abbot of Euthymius's
monastery six miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Jericho. He was in all
things a disciple of Euthymius, governing the monastery under his guidance to
the age of ninety. He led a godly life, and entered into rest in the middle of
the fifth century, in the time of Patriarch Anastasius of Jerusalem.
From The Prologue From
Ochrid by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich
©1985 Lazarica Press,
Birmingham UK
SOURCE : http://www.orthodox.net/menaion-september/01-hieromartyr-anthimus.html
Sant' Antimo di Nicomedia Martire
Emblema: Palma
Martirologio
Romano: A Nicomedia in Bitinia, nell’odierna Turchia, sant’Antimo,
vescovo, e compagni, martiri: durante la persecuzione dell’imperatore
Diocleziano, per aver professato la fede in Cristo ricevette con la
decapitazione la gloria del martirio, seguito da numerosi membri del suo
gregge, dei quali per ordine del giudice alcuni furono decapitati con la spada,
altri bruciati con il fuoco, altri infine messi su piccole imbarcazioni e fatti
affogare in mare.
Fu una delle vittime della persecuzione di Diocleziano. Secondo la narrazione di Eusebio, poco dopo la promulgazione del primo editto (24 febbraio 303) scoppiò un incendio nel palazzo imperiale di Nicomedia; la colpa fu data ai cristiani, i quali in gran numero furono trucidati, bruciati vivi o annegati. A. fu decapitato. Sul suo sepolcro più tardi l'imperatore Giustiniano edificò una splendida basilica ricca di marmi e di oro. Eusebio non indica il dies natalis di Antimo, mentre nel Geronimiano è ricordato il 27 aprile. La chiesa bizantina, invece, lo festeggia il 3 settembre, come il Calendario palestino-georgiano del Sinaitico 34 (sec. X), forse nell'anniversario della dedicazione della chiesa o della morte che, secondo l'affermazione di R. Janin, sarebbe avvenuta il 3 settembre 303. Nel Martirologio siriaco del IV sec. è commemorato un Antimo il 24 nisan (aprile).
Esiste di Antimo anche una passio, molto leggendaria e contesta di luoghi comuni, attribuita a Simeone Metafraste, secondo la quale egli era oriundo di Nicomedia; da giovinetto si esercitò nelle virtù e, consacrato vescovo, si adoperò molto per incoraggiare i martiri. All'inizio della persecuzione si trovava a predicare in un villaggio, dove furono mandati per arrestarlo venti soldati che Antimo convertì e battezzò. Condotto al tribunale di Massimiano, fu sottoposto a terribili tormenti dai quali uscì sempre illeso, finché fu decapitato. Uno scritto attribuitogli sembra apocrifo.
Autore: Agostino Amore
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90553
Den hellige Antimus av
Nikomedia (d. 303)
Minnedag: 24.
april
Den hellige Antimus
(Anthimus, Anthimos) var på slutten av 200-tallet biskop av Nikomedia i Bitynia
i Lilleasia (i dag Izmit i Tyrkia), hvor den romerske keiseren Diokletian
(284-305) hadde en av sine favorittresidenser. Forfølgelsene av kristne under
keiser Diokletian begynte i 303 og var spesielt sterk i denne delen av
imperiet. Den berømte kirkehistorikeren Eusebius av Caesarea (ca
260-340) skriver at en nidkjær kristen rev ned det keiserlige ediktet som ga
ordre om ødeleggelse av kirker og hellige bøker, og fra da av ble de kristne
prestene bedt om å ofre røkelse til de hedenske gudene hver gang de viste seg
offentlig. Antimus nektet å ofre, og da ble han halshogd i 303.
Legenden forteller at da
forfølgelsene brøt ut, gjemte biskop Antimus seg i en landsby ikke langt fra
Nikomedia på anmodning av sin flokk. Derfra sendte han brev til de kristne og
formante dem til å holde fast ved den hellige tro og å ikke frykte tortur. Et
av hans brev som ble sendt med diakonen Theofilos, ble snappet opp og gitt til
keiseren. Theofilos ble avhørt og døde under torturen, men uten å røpe for
torturistene hvor biskop Antimus hadde gjemt seg.
Men etter en stund klarte
keiseren å få greie på hvor biskopen var, og han sendte en gruppe soldater ut
etter ham. Biskopen møtte dem på veien, men soldatene kjente ham ikke igjen.
Han inviterte dem til å spise et måltid med ham, og etter det avslørte at han
var den de lette etter. Soldatene visste ikke hva de skulle gjøre, men de
ønsket å forlate ham og fortelle keiseren at de ikke hadde funnet ham. Men
biskop Antimus var ikke en som ville tolerere en løgn, så han gikk ikke med på
dette.
Soldatene kom til tro på
Kristus og lot seg døpe, og deretter ga biskopen dem ordre om å handle i
henhold til keiserens instruksjoner. Da biskop Antimus ble brakt for keiseren,
ga Diokletian ordre om at henrettelsesredskapene skulle bringes ut og plasseres
foran ham. Biskopen spurte: «Tror du, keiser, at jeg blir skremt av å se disse
redskapene for henrettelse? Nei, du kan sannelig ikke skremme en som ønsker å
dø for Kristus! Henrettelse er skremmende bare for de feige, for den som holder
det nåværende livet for mest verdifullt». Keiseren ga da ordre om at biskopen
skulle utsettes for streng tortur og deretter halshogges med sverd. Biskop
Antimus priste med glede Gud med sitt siste åndedrag og mottok martyrkronen.
Eusebius forteller videre
at like etter promulgeringen av Diokletians første edikt den 24. februar 303
brøt det ut en brann i keiserpalasset i Nikomedia, som de lokale kristne fikk
skylden for. Årsaken til brannen var uten tvil et dårlig slukket lys eller en
gnist fra kjøkkenet. Men det var et etterlengtet påskudd til å anklage de
kristne, og keiseren bestemte seg for en voldsom forfølgelse.1 Svært
mange kristne henrettet på keiserens ordre da forfølgelsene ble utvidet til også
å gjelde legfolk. Alle som ikke hadde tid til å flykte, ble brent levende, mens
noen ble kastet i sjøen. Noen snakker om 2.000 martyrer, andre om 20.000.
Det synes å være en viss
forvirring om Antimus allerede var henrettet før dette. I noen martyrologier
nevnes flere ledsagere sammen med Antimus, og det er mulig at de alle døde ved
samme anledning – se De hellige Gorgonios, Peter og
Dorotheos av Nikomedia og De 20.000 martyrer av
Nikomedia.
Antimus' minnedag er 24.
april, men Martyrologium Hieronymianum sier 27. april. I den armenske
kirke minnes hans den 27. september, mens kopterne minnes ham den 3. september.
Den bysantinske kirken feirer ham den også 3. september, som kan ha vært datoen
for kirkevigselen, men det kan også hende at hans dødsdato var 3. september
303. Hans 20.000 ledsagere minnes av de ortodokse den 28. desember. Brev som
skal ha blitt skrevet av biskopen for å oppmuntre de hellige Indes, Domna, Agape
og Theofila, som ble henrettet sammen med dem som fikk skylden for brannen,
er ikke autentiske. Keiser Justinian (483-565) bygde en praktfull basilika i
marmor og gull over Antimus' grav.2
1. Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, VIII 6, 13
2. Prokopius av Caesarea in Palestina, De aedificiis Justiniani Imperatons, I, 6
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Butler (IV), Benedictines, Bunson, KIR, Infocatho, Bautz,
Heiligenlexikon, santiebeati.it, en.wikipedia.org, ocafs.oca.org -
Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Opprettet: 1998-07-13 01:41 - - -
Sist oppdatert: 2009-04-22 17:49
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/anthimus
De 20 000 martyrer av
Nikomedia (d. 303)
Minnedag: 28.
desember
På slutten av 200-tallet
hadde den romerske keiseren Diokletian (284-305)
en av sine favorittresidenser i Nikomedia i Bitynia i Lilleasia (i dag Izmit i
Tyrkia). Den siste store forfølgelsen som Diokletian satte i gang i februar
303, var spesielt sterk i denne delen av imperiet.
Den berømte
kirkehistorikeren Eusebius
av Caesarea (ca 260-340) forteller i sin Kirkehistorie (Historia
ecclesiastica) hvordan forfølgelsene begynte. Keiser Diokletian utstedte
den 24. februar 303 et edikt som ga ordre om at alle kirker og hellige bøker
skulle ødelegges. Like etter promulgeringen av ediktet brøt det ut en brann i
keiserpalasset i Nikomedia, som de lokale kristne fikk skylden for. Årsaken til
brannen var uten tvil et dårlig slukket lys eller en gnist fra kjøkkenet. Men
det var et etterlengtet påskudd til å anklage de kristne, og keiseren bestemte
seg for en voldsom forfølgelse.{Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, VIII 6,
13}
Eusebius skriver at en
nidkjær kristen rev ned det keiserlige ediktet, og fra da av ble de kristne
prestene bedt om å ofre røkelse til de hedenske gudene hver gang de viste seg
offentlig. Byens biskop, den hellige Anthimos, nektet å ofre,
og da ble han halshogd i 303. Svært mange kristne henrettet på keiserens ordre
da forfølgelsene ble utvidet til også å gjelde legfolk. Alle som ikke hadde tid
til å flykte, ble brent levende, mens noen ble kastet i sjøen, noen ble
halshogd og noen ble begravd levende. 20 000 kristne skal ha blitt brent
inne i en kirke på juledag 303.
Blant de første som led
martyrdøden, var tre av keiserens mest betrodde menn i palasset, de
hellige Gorgonios,
Peter og Dorotheos. Blant dem som ble kastet i fengsel, var Mardonios,
diakonen Migdonios og andre. Biskop Anthimos oppmuntret dem ved å sende brev
til dem. En av budbringerne, diakonen Theofilos, ble tatt og torturert for å få
ham til å røpe hvor biskopen gjemte seg. Men han avslørte ingenting og ble til
slutt henrettet. Det samme ble dem som biskopen hadde skrevet til i fengselet. Selv
om de ble henrettet på ulikt vis, viste de alle det samme mot og mottok sine
kroner fra Gud.
En stund etter gikk
keiseren inn i en kirke og forlangte at alle der inne skulle avsverge Kristus;
hvis de nektet, lovte han å brenne kirken og drepe alle de kristne som var der.
Den kristne presten Glykerios svarte ham at de kristne aldri avsverger sin tro,
selv under trussel om tortur. Keiseren skjulte sitt sinne og forlot kirken, men
etter en stund ga han ordre om at presten Glykerios skulle arresteres og
stilles for retten. Han ble torturert, men han fortsatte hele tiden å be og
påkalle Herrens navn. Da keiseren ikke klarte å tvinge en avsvergelse ut av
Glykerios, ga han ordre om at han skulle brennes levende. Glykerios ble bundet
til en påle og deretter brent.
På festen for Herrens
fødsel i 303, da rundt 20 000 kristne hadde samlet seg i katedralen i
Nikomedia, sendte keiseren en herold inn i kirken som proklamerte keiserens
ordre om å forlate kirken og ofre til avgudene. Hvis de nektet, truet han med å
brenne kirken sammen med alle dem som ba i den. Men alle de tilstedeværende
nektet å tilbe avgudsbilder. Mens keiserens menn gjorde seg klar til å
iverksette trusselen, gjorde biskop Anthimos seg ferdig med gudstjenesten og
døpte alle katekumener og ga kommunion til alle. Alle de 20 000 troende
døde i brannen som fulgte. Blant dem var abbedisse Agape (Agathia) og nonnen
Theofila. Biskop Anthimos klarte imidlertid å komme seg unna brannen. Brev som
skal ha blitt skrevet av biskop Anthimos for å oppmuntre de hellige
jomfruene Indes,
Domna, Agape og Theofila, som ble henrettet sammen med dem som fikk skylden
for brannen, er ikke autentiske.
Keiseren trodde at han nå
hadde utryddet alle kristne i Nikomedia, men han fant snart ut at det var mange
igjen og at de alle fortsatt ville bekjenne sin tro og var villige til å dø for
Kristus. Keiseren grublet over hva han skulle gjøre. Kommandanten for et
regiment Zeno (Zenon, Zinon) fordømte modig keiser Diokletians framferd i full
offentlighet, og han ble da på keiserens ordre arrestert, steinet og deretter
halshogd. Keiserens menn fengslet kammerpiken Indes (i andre versjoner evnukken
Indysos) fordi han nektet å delta i feiringen av en hedensk festdag. Jomfruen
Domna, en tidligere hedensk prestinne, og Euthymios led også martyrdøden i
hedningenes hender på grunn av sin omsorg for at legemene til de hellige
martyrene skulle få en verdig begravelse. De 20 000 martyrene feires den
28. desember i den ortodokse kirke.
Hos bollandistene står
den 28. desember Indes, Domna, Gorgonius, Peter, Dorotheus, Theofilus og Agape.
I aktene hos Surius den 26. desember forekommer også alle disse, men i stedet
for martyren Theofilus står Theofila. Men i tillegg har Surius også noen andre
navn, som også alle opptrer hos bollandistene, men på andre dager. Det gjelder
Glykerios (21. desember), Mardonius med Migdonius (23. desember), Zeno (22.
desember) og Euthymios (24. desember). Alle disse inngår i den store mengden
som på slutten av aktene angis til 20 000 martyrer.
Kilder: Bautz,
Heiligenlexikon, en.wikipedia.org, ocafs.oca.org, goarch.org, orthodox.cn -
Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/pnikomed
Voir aussi : http://orthodoxievco.net/ecrits/vies/synaxair/septembr/anthime.pdf
