The servants of Christ who live as aliens at Vienna and Lugdunum [Vienne
and Lyons] in Gaul, to the brothers in Asia Minor and Phrygia…The
adversary has fallen upon us with all his might. He has given us a
foretaste of the ignominy of his future when it breaks in.
One of our brothers was called Vettius Epagathus. He was filled with
abundant love towards God and his neighbor. He never hesitated to do a
service to his neighbor. He carried a great zeal for God in his heart. He
burned with the fervor of the Spirit. He also was received into the
select circle of the martyrs as a defender and advocate of the
Christians, he who carried within him the defending advocate, the spirit
of Zechariah. He was and is a true disciple of Christ in the full sense
of the word. He followed the Lamb wherever He went.
In the presence of all the people, the governor had given the order that
all of us with our households should be investigated. Prompted by Satan,
fearful of the tortures which they saw God’s people suffer, and under
pressure from the soldiers who talked them directly into it, pagan slaves
in our service brought forth lies against us. These lies were the usual
accusations of cannibalism, unnatural ***ual unions, and similar ghastly
things which we should never speak or think about or even believe that
they have ever happened among human beings. When this became known among
the pagans, they all flew into a truly bestial rage against us.
Through the slave girl, Blandina, Christ revealed that what is regarded
as mean, insignificant, and unattractive by humans is accounted worthy of
great glory in the sight of God because of the fact that love towards him
proves itself with power and does not vaunt itself for the sake of making
an impression. Her comfort, her relief, her refreshment, her pain-killing
remedy for everything she suffered was the cry, “I am a Christian, and
nothing evil happens among us.”
Also Sanctus, a serving brother, steadfastly endured tortures beyond all
measure and all human strength – all the tortures that human beings are
able to inflict. Those lawless men hoped that, through the persistence
and cruelty of their tortures, they could force him to say something that
would be harmful to the Christians. But he resisted with unshakable
firmness. He did not even say what his name was, or his race or native
city, or whether he was a slave or free. To every question he gave only
one answer, in Latin, “I am a Christian.” This was his glory; it was his
answer to all and everything instead of giving his name, native city, and
family. No other sound did the pagans hear from his lips. The governor
and his torturers became very bitter on account of this. When they could
think of nothing else they pressed red-hot metal plates against the most
sensitive parts of his body. These burned until they grew cold, but still
he stood firm in his confession.
Biblis was one of those who had denied Christ. She was the only one to
come to her senses actually during the agony of torture, awaking out of a
deep sleep as it were. The tortures of the present age reminded her of
the punishments of eternity, and she flatly contradicted the slanderers.
Even the blessed Pothinus, the overseer of the church at Lugdunum, who
had reached the great age of more than ninety years, was dragged before
the tribunal. He was physically so feeble that he was scarcely able to
breathe, but he was strong with inward joy and full of longing for the
crown of martyrdom. His body was tired to death because of his great age
and his physical ailments, but his soul was kept in him so powerfully
that Christ was to triumph through him. He was led before the tribunal by
soldiers accompanied by the city authorities. A great multitude yelled
and shouted in a wild uproar. It happened in just the same way as when
Christ was condemned. He gave a good witness. When the governor asked
him, “Who is the god of the Christians?” he answered, “If you were worthy
you would know.” Thereupon he was ill-treated in the most merciless way.
Those closest to him pounded him and kicked him viciously from all sides,
not respecting his old age in the slightest. Those further away hurled at
him whatever came into their hands. Scarcely breathing any more Pothinus
was thrown into prison, and after two days he gave up his soul.
Maturus, Sanctus, Blandina, and Attalus were taken to the wild beasts in
the amphitheater, to give the pagan crowd which was gathered there a
public spectacle of inhumanity. They ran the gauntlet of whips. They were
already used to this. They let themselves be dragged around and mauled by
the wild beasts. Everything the raving, yelling mob wanted, now from this
side, now from that, they endured. They sat upon the iron chair which
roasted their bodies so that the fumes rose up. Yet they heard nothing
from Sanctus beyond the confession of faith he had repeated over and over
again from the beginning. When they were still found alive in spite of
the terrible and prolonged torture, they were finally killed. Blandina
was hung on a post, delivered up to the wild beasts for food. Hung up
like this in the shape of the Cross, she could be seen from afar, and
through her ardent prayers she aroused increased zeal in those who were
fighting, for during this fight they saw with their own eyes, right in
and through the person of their sister, the one who was crucified for
them. In this way it was shown to all who believe in him that everyone
who suffers for the glory of Christ is always in fellow****p with the
living God. As none of the wild beasts had yet touched Blandina, she was
taken down from the post and thrown into prison once more, to be kept
ready for a new fight.
Most of those who had denied their faith were received back into the
bosom of the church. The fire of their lives was rekindled and burned
brightly. They learned to confess and stood before the tribunal again,
full of life and vigor, once more to be plagued by the governor. In the
meantime the command of the Emperor had arrived: those who denied their
faith should be set free; the others should be executed.
The great festival had just begun. Large numbers of people had flocked
together from many faraway places. Before the eyes of the crowd the
governor had all the blessed ones conducted to the tribunal in a
ceremonial procession. Again he started to examine them. All those who
clearly possessed Roman citizen****p were beheaded. The rest were sent to
the wild beasts. Christ was glorified magnificently by those who had
formerly denied him. The pagans could not grasp it. They gave witness.
Attalus sat in the iron chair. His body burned. The fumes rose up. On
being asked, “What is God’s name?” he answered, “God does not have a name
as a man has.”
The glorified Blandina had already learned to know the scourging, the
wild beasts, and the red-hot griddle. Finally they tied her in a fi****ng
net and threw her to a bull. For a long time the animal tossed her about,
and so she was killed. She did not feel anymore what was happening to her
because she lived only in the hope and expectation of the things that
were prepared for her through her communion with Christ. Even the pagans
had to admit that none of their women had ever suffered so many tortures
for so long. Yet not even this was enough to satisfy their rage and
cruelty towards the holy ones.
The bodies of those that had perished in prison they threw to the dogs,
watching carefully night and day that none of us could be buried. The
remains of those who had been torn to pieces by the wild beasts and those
charred by the fire they put on public view just as they were. The heads
and trunks of the others, carefully guarded by soldiers, they also left
unburied for many days. Some of them were raging and gna****ng their
teeth, seeking to take even more vengeance on them. Others laughed and
jeered at them and exalted their own idols, to whom they attributed the
punishment of the martyrs.
The more reasonable ones, those of whom one could believe that they knew
pity to a certain extent, slandered them, crying, “Where is your god? How
were they helped by the faith which they loved more than their own
lives?” For six days the bodies of the martyrs, mocked in every possible
way, were exposed to the elements. Finally they were burned to ashes by
these lawless men and swept into the Rhône, which flows nearby. Not a
trace of them was to remain on earth. This they did thinking that they
could defeat God and deprive them of their restoration. They said that
they should not be allowed to have any hope of resurrection, for it was
through their faith in this that they introduced a strange and new
religion. “Now let us see whether they will rise again, whether their god
can help them, and whether he can deliver them out of our hands.”
Letter from Vienne and Lyons (Southern France) to Phrygia:
Eusebius V.1 ff. In the year 177.
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