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
Brother of Saint
Agathonica of Pergamus. Deacon. Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.
- c.250 at Pergamus, Asia Minor
Saint Agathonica of
Pergamus
Also known as
- Agatonica
Profile
Sister of Saint
Papylus of Pergamus. Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.
- 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
