mercredi 13 avril 2016

Saint CARPUS, évêque et martyr, saint PAPYLUS, diacre et martyr, sainte AGATHONICA, martyre et saint AGATHODORUS, martyr

01

Saint Carpus

Martyr à Pergame ( 251)

Évêque de Thyatire et ses compagnons, martyrs à Pergame en Asie Mineure, Papylus, diacre, sa sœur Agathonica, et beaucoup d’autres, qui reçurent la couronne du martyre pour avoir généreusement confessé le Christ. Nous avons cette parole de lui, selon les actes de son martyre, en réponse aux questions du juge: "Mon premier nom est le plus beau, je suis chrétien."

À Pergame en Asie, au IIe siècle, les saints martyrs Carpe, évêque de Thyatire, Papyle, diacre, sa sœur Agathonique, et beaucoup d’autres, qui reçurent la couronne du martyre pour avoir généreusement confessé le Christ.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/964/Saint-Carpus.html

Les martyrs Papylus, Carpe, Agathodorus et Agathonike ont soufferts à Pergame pendant la persécution de Dèce, au troisième siècle.

         Le Gouverneur du district où les saints ont vécu a découvert que Carpe et Papylus ne célèbrent pas les fêtes païennes. Il a ordonné que les coupables soient arrêtés et amenés à accepter la Religion Romaine païenne. Les saints ont répondu qu'ils n'auraient jamais adoré de faux dieux. Le juge a ensuite ordonné qu'ils soient liés à des chaînes de fer et conduits à travers la ville, puis d'être lié aux chevaux et traîné dans la ville voisine de Sardes.

          Agathodorus et Agathonike ont volontairement suivi après Carpe et Papylus. St Agathonike a été étranglé à mort avec un nerf de boeuf et saints Carpe, Papylus et Agathodorus ont été décapités à Sardes.

         Au cours de sa vie Saint Papylus était connu pour son don de guérir les malades. Depuis son Martyre, il a accordé la guérison à tous ceux qui prient avec foi.

SOURCE : http://cosaque.over-blog.net/article-fete-le-13-octobre-saint-martyr-papylus-a-pergame-116036500.html

Agathonica, Papylus (Pamfilus),

Carpus & Companions MM (RM)

Died at Pergamum c. 170 or 250. Eusebius (History of the Church, iv, 15) records that during the Decian persecution, Carpus, bishop of Gordus in Asia Minor; Papylus, deacon of Thyatira; Agathonica, the sister of Papylus; and Agathodorus, their servant, were arrested. They were brought before Valerius, the Roman governor at Pergamos in Asia Minor, examined three times, and required to sacrifice to the gods. The third time, Agathodorus, was scourged to death in front of his masters.


Still the Christians remained resolute. Carpus answered the proconsul Optimus:

"I am a Christian, I worship Christ, the Son of God, who came in these latter times for our salvation and delivered us from the snares of the devil. I will not sacrifice to such idols. The living do not sacrifice to the dead . . . (the gods) look like men, but they are unfeeling. Deprive them of your veneration . . . and they will be defiled by dogs and crows."

When the proconsul insisted, Carpus said:

"I have never before sacrificed to images that have no feeling or understanding . . . I have pity on myself, choosing as I do the better part."

Carpus was hung up to be tortured with iron claws that flayed the skin from his sides. He continued to answer steadfastly until the pain overcame his voice.

The attention of the judges turned next to Papylus, a wealthy father of many children according to his testimony. A bystander interpreted his words as "He means he has children in virtue of the faith of the Christians." Papylus agreed that this was correct. Like Carpus, he continued to refuse and was treated in the same fashion as the bishop. After a time of silent endurance, he said:

"I feel no pain because I have someone to comfort me: one whom you do not see suffers within me." The last words of Carpus were:

"Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, because You judged me, a sinner, worthy to have this part in You!"

They refused to offer the oblations, and no arguments or ill treatment could overcome their resistance. They were therefore burnt alive in the amphitheater.

Saint Agathonica, a married woman, was admired by the crowd for her physical beauty. When they urged not to make her children motherless by her obstinacy, she replied, "God will look after them, but I will not obey your commands nor will I sacrifice to demons." She, too, went to the stake to be burnt to death. As the flames consumed her, she cried out: "Lord, Lord, Lord, help me, for I fly to You." The Christian witnesses came and took away the remains of the martyrs to cherish them.

Another version of the story relates that Agathonica was simply a woman in the crowd at the death of Carpus and Papylus, who was moved to share in their martyrdom, rather than the sister of the latter (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Farmer, Husenbeth). 





Saint Papylus of Pergamus

Also known as
  • Papilo
Profile


  • c.250 at Pergamus, Asia Minor

Saint Agathonica of Pergamus

Also known as
  • Agatonica
Profile


  • c.250 at Pergamus, Asia Minor


Carpus was Bishop of Thyateira and Papylus was a deacon. They were born in Pergamum where they finally suffered for the Christian Faith at the hands of the evil proconsul Valerius, during the reign of Decius. Valerius tied them to horses and dragged them to Sardis, where he subjected them to harsh tortures. Then an angel of God appeared to them, healed them of their wounds and encouraged them. Carpus’s servant, Agathadorus, followed his master with great sorrow. Valerius then condemned him to torture as well. The saints were again tied to horses, and were dragged from Sardis to Pergamum. They tied holy Carpus to a tree and flogged him so that his body was covered with wounds, and his blood flowed like a stream, soaking the ground; but Carpus smiled in the midst of these horrible tortures. When they asked him why he was smiling, the holy martyr replied that he saw the heavens opened and the Lord seated on His throne, surrounded by Cherubim and Seraphim. As Papylus was being tortured, by prayer he healed a man blind in one eye, and many who witnessed this came to believe in Christ the Lord. Thrown to wild beasts, the martyrs remained unharmed. Then they were thrown into a fiery furnace. Agathonica, Carpus’s sister, also leaped into the fire, but the fire did not consume them. Finally, they were all beheaded with the sword, in the year 251. Thus, after their righteous endeavors, they received a wreath of glory in the Kingdom of Christ.


Saints Carpus, Papylus (and Agathonice/Agathonike, and Agathodorus), 13 April (and 13 October in some Jurisdictions)

Martyrs of Pergamum, in Asia Minor, in 170, victims of a persecution by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In the longer "Acts" (Accounts) (see below) Carpus is said to be a bishop (of Gordion in Phrygia region of Turkey, and also Gordion was the King Midas' city), Papylus a deacon, and Agathonice the latter’s sister. The shorter " Acts" (see below) sinply state they are Christians.

The longer "Acts" of their martyrdom at the hands of the proconsul Optimus has survived and is full of heroic and stirring words of defiant faith. Carpus: “The gods are unfeeling; deprive them our your veneration and they will be defiled by dogs and crows. I have never before sacrificed to images which have no feeling or understanding”. Papylus: “I have many children, in virtue of the faith of the Christians; spiritual children in every province and city. I feel no pain because I have someone to comfort me; one whom you do not see suffers within me”. Agathonice: “If I am worthy I desire to follow the footsteps of my teachers. My children have God, who watches over them”.

They were sentenced to be tortured with clawing instruments and then burnt alive for refusing to worship the "gods".

Another account relates: The Martyrs Carpus, Papylus, Agathodorus and Agathonike, at Pergamun, suffered during a time of persecution against Christians under the emperor Decius in the third century. The governor of the district where the saints lived became aware that Carpus and Papylus did not celebrate the pagan festivals. He gave orders to arrest the transgressors and first to try to persuade them of the veracity of the Roman pagan religion. The saints replied that it would be improper to worship false gods. The judge then ordered them to be bound and led through the city in iron chains, and then to be tied to horses and dragged to the nearby city of Sardis. Agathodorus and Agathonike voluntarily followed after Carpus and Papylus. In Sardis they choked Agathonike to death with ox sinews, and beheaded Carpus, Papylus and Agathodorus. During life St. Papylus was known for his gift of treating the sick; after his martyr's death, he invariably gives healing to all who pray to him with faith.

A detailed account of the martyrdoms of Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonice is extant in numerous mss., and has been published more than once. It has, however, long been recognized as spurious and entirely untrustworthy. But in 1881 Aubè published in the Revue Archavalogique (Dec., p. 348 sq.) a shorter form of the Acts of these martyrs, which he had discovered in a Greek ms. in the Paris Library. There is no reason to doubt that these Acts are genuine and, in the main, quite trustworthy. The longer Acts assign the death of these martyrs to the reign of Decius, and they have always been regarded as suffering during that persecution. Aubè, in publishing his newly discovered document, still accepted the old date; but Zahn, upon the basis of the document which he had also seen, remarked in his Tatian's Diatessaron (p. 279) that Eusebius was correct in assigning these martyrdoms to the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and Lightfoot (I. p. 625) stated his belief that they are to be assigned either to that reign or to the reign of Septimius Severus. In 1888 Harnack (Texte und Unters. III. 4) published a new edition of the Acts from the same ms. which Aubè had used, accompanying the text with valuable notes and with a careful discussion of the age of the document. He has proved beyond all doubt that these martyrs were put to death during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and that the shorter document which we have contains a genuine account related by an eye-witness. These are evidently the Acts which Eusebius had before him. In the spurious account Carpus is called a bishop, and Papylus a deacon. But in the shorter account they are simply Christians, and Papylus informs the judge that he is a citizen of Thyatira.

Martyr Carpus at Pergamum

The Martyrs Carpus, Papylus, Agathodorus and Agathonike suffered at Pergamum during the persecution of Decius in the third century.

The governor of the district where the saints lived discovered that Carpus and Papylus did not celebrate the pagan festivals. He ordered that the transgressors be arrested and persuaded to accept the Roman pagan religion. The saints replied that they would never worship false gods. The judge then ordered them to be bound in iron chains and led through the city, and then to be tied to horses and dragged to the nearby city of Sardis.

Agathodorus and Agathonike voluntarily followed after Carpus and Papylus. St Agathonike was choked to death with ox sinews and Sts Carpus, Papylus and Agathodorus were beheaded in Sardis.
During his life St Papylus was known for his gift of curing the sick. Since his martyrdom, he has granted healing to all who pray to him with faith.

Martyr Papylus at Pergamum

The Martyrs Papylus, Carpus, Agathodorus and Agathonike suffered at Pergamum during the persecution of Decius in the third century.

The governor of the district where the saints lived discovered that Carpus and Papylus did not celebrate the pagan festivals. He ordered that the transgressors be arrested and persuaded to accept the Roman pagan religion. The saints replied that they would never worship false gods. The judge then ordered them to be bound in iron chains and led through the city, and then to be tied to horses and dragged to the nearby city of Sardis.

Agathodorus and Agathonike voluntarily followed after Carpus and Papylus. St Agathonike was choked to death with ox sinews and Sts Carpus, Papylus and Agathodorus were beheaded in Sardis.
During his life St Papylus was known for his gift of curing the sick. Since his martyrdom, he has granted healing to all who pray to him with faith.

Martyr Agathodorus at Pergamum

The Martyrs Carpus, Papylus, Agathodorus and Agathonike suffered at Pergamum during the persecution of Decius in the third century.

The governor of the district where the saints lived discovered that Carpus and Papylus did not celebrate the pagan festivals. He ordered that the transgressors be arrested and persuaded to accept the Roman pagan religion. The saints replied that they would never worship false gods. The judge then ordered them to be bound in iron chains and led through the city, and then to be tied to horses and dragged to the nearby city of Sardis.

Agathodorus and Agathonike voluntarily followed after Carpus and Papylus. St Agathonike was choked to death with ox sinews and Sts Carpus, Papylus and Agathodorus were beheaded in Sardis.

During his life St Papylus was known for his gift of curing the sick. Since his martyrdom, he has granted healing to all who pray to him with faith.

Martyr Agathonike at Pergamum

The Martyrs Agathonike, Carpus, Papylus, Agathodorus and suffered at Pergamum during the persecution of Decius in the third century.

The governor of the district where the saints lived discovered that Carpus and Papylus did not celebrate the pagan festivals. He ordered that the transgressors be arrested and persuaded to accept the Roman pagan religion. The saints replied that they would never worship false gods. The judge then ordered them to be bound in iron chains and led through the city, and then to be tied to horses and dragged to the nearby city of Sardis.

Agathodorus and Agathonike voluntarily followed after Carpus and Papylus. St Agathonike was choked to death with ox sinews and Sts Carpus, Papylus and Agathodorus were beheaded in Sardis.
During his life St Papylus was known for his gift of curing the sick. Since his martyrdom, he has granted healing to all who pray to him with faith.

SOURCE : https://oca.org/saints/all-lives/2015/10/13

The Holy Martyrs Carpus and Papylus.

October 13

From the Prologue

Carpus was Bishop of Thyateira and Papylus was a deacon. They were born in Pergamum, where they finally suffered for the Christian faith at the hands of the wicked governor, Valerius, in Decius' reign. Valerius bound them behind horses and dragged them off to Sardis, where he put them to harsh torture; but an angel of God appeared to them, healed them of their wounds and strengthened them. Carpus's servant, Agathodorus, followed his master with great sorrow until he also was taken for torture. After that, Valerius again bound them behind horses and dragged them from Sardis to Pergamum. When holy Carpus was tied to a tree and so terribly flogged that his whole body was laid open and his blood streamed down onto the ground, he smiled in the midst of these tortures. When they asked him why he smiled, the holy martyr replied that he saw the heavens open and the Lord sitting on his throne, surrounded by cherubim and seraphim. At the time of Papylus's martyrdom, this holy martyr healed a man, blind in one eye, by his prayers. Many, seeing this, came to believe in Christ the Lord. Thrown before wild beasts, the martyrs remained unhurt. When they were thrown into a fiery furnace, Agathonica, Papylus' sister, saw this and leapt into the flames. But the flames did not burn them. Finally, they were all beheaded with the sword in 251. Thus, after great spiritual endeavour, they received the wreath of glory in the Kingdom of Christ.

From The Prologue From Ochrid by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich


©1985 Lazarica Press, Birmingham UK



Santi Carpo, Papilo, Agatonica e compagni Martiri


m. Pergamo (Asia), 170 o 250 circa

Emblema: Palma, Rogo

Martirologio Romano: A Pergamo nell’Asia, nell’odierna Turchia, santi martiri Carpo, vescovo di Tiatira, Pápilo, diacono, Agatoníca, sorella di Papilo, e molti altri, che per la loro beata professione di fede ricevettero la corona del martirio.

Gli “Acta” relativi ai santi martiri Carpo, Papilo, Agatonica e loro compagni sono sicuramente tra i più attendibili nella storia della cristianità, anche se purtroppo non è ben chiara la datazione della persecuzione di cui rimasero vittime, cioè sotto il regno di Marco Aurelio (161-180), piuttosto che sotto Decio (249-251). Carpo era vescovo di Gurdos in Lidia, mentre Papiro era diacono di Tiatira, nella medesima provincia, ed Agatonica sua sorella: furono portati davanti al governatore romano di Pergamo ed invitati a mangiare la carne che era stata offerta agli idoli.


Carpo però replicò: “Io sono un cristiano, venero Cristo, Figlio di Dio, che è venuto nel mondo negli ultimi tempi per la nostra salvezza […] ma a questi idoli non offro sacrificio”. Subiti ulteriori interrogatori fu infine condannato alla flagellazione.

Anche Papilo rispose in modo simile al governatore: “Fin dalla giovinezza servo il Signore e non ho mai offerto sacrifici agli idoli: sono cristiano e nient’altro puoi sentire da me all’infuori di questo, poiché non c’è parola più grande e più bella di questa che io possa dire”.

Dopo che anche Papiro fu torturato, venne nuovamente chiesto loro di consumare la carne utilizzata per i sacrifici pagani ed al loro rifiuto furono condannati a morire bruciati sul rogo. Ancora in punto di morte Carpo affermò: “Sii benedetto, o Signore Gesù Cristo, Figlio di Dio, che ti sei degnato di far partecipe della tua gloria anche me peccatore”.

Agatonica era una madre cristiana che patì la persecuzione nel medesimo periodo: a chi la esortava a salvare la propria vita per il bene dei suoi figli rispose: “Mio figlio ha Dio che può avere pietà di lui, perché è lui che provvede a tutte le creature”. Fu così destinata a subire la stessa sorte di suo fratello Papilo e del vescovo Carpo, con la medesima motivazione.

L’antichità del culto dei tre martiri è attestata dalla “Storia ecclesiastica” del celebre Eusebio di Cesarea e dal Breviario Siriano. Il Martyrologium Romanum accolse in seguito tale memoria ponendola al 13 aprile ed aggiungendovi dei presunti numerosi compagni di martirio.



Autore: Fabio Arduino