E00377: Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine includes the story of the martyrdom of Domninos (martyr of Palestine, S00190) and Auxentios (martyr of Palestine, S00298), and the suffering of three unnamed young men (unnamed Confessors, S00184). Written in 311 in Caesarea (Palestine); written in Greek, but parts of the text survive only in Syriac.

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posted on 2015-04-12, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine, 7.3-4

Summary:
In a description of various harsh measures taken against Christians by the governor of Caesarea, Urbanus, on 5 November 308, Eusebius mentions the young man Domninos, who, after undergoing tortures at the copper mines, was condemned to execution by fire; on the same day, three other young Christians were condemned to combat (in boxing). Moreover, an old man, named in the short version Auxentios, was executed by being thrown to the wild beasts.

Later on, in 8.2-4, Eusebius provides more information on the fate of the three young men and relates that, after their refusal to be trained as gladiators, they were tortured and, after the tendons of their left ankles were destroyed with hot irons and their left eyes plucked out, dispatched to the copper mines in Palestine.

Summary: Sergey Minov

History

Evidence ID

E00377

Saint Name

Domninos, martyr in Palestine, ob. 308 : S00190 Auxentios, martyr in Palestine, ob. 308 : S00298 Anonymous confessors : S00184

Saint Name in Source

Δομνῖνος Αὐξέντιος

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

311

Evidence not after

340

Activity not before

308

Activity not after

340

Place of Evidence - Region

Palestine with Sinai

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Caesarea Maritima

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Caesarea Maritima Caesarea Maritima Καισάρεια Kaisareia Caesarea Kayseri Turris Stratonis

Major author/Major anonymous work

Eusebius of Caesarea

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Composing and translating saint-related texts

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Officials

Source

In this work Eusebius presents an account of the suffering and death of Christian martyrs executed during the eight years of the Diocletianic (or Great) persecution, i.e. 303-311. Most of the martyrdoms described by Eusebius took place in Palestine, with the provincial capital city of Caesarea as the most prominent setting. Domninos, Auxentios and the three unnamed young men: ed. Cureton 1861, pp. 25*-26*, 30* (long recension); ed. Schwartz et al. 1999, vol. 2, pp. 923, 925-926 (short recension); English trans. Lawlor and Oulton 1927-1928, vol. 1, pp. 360-361, 366-367. For a full discussion of Martyrs of Palestine, see $E00294.

Discussion

This entry, typical of Eusebius' description of the martyrs of Palestine, consists of a brief account of torture and execution, with no reference to miraculous events. Although there is no explicit reference to the martyrs' or confessors' commemoration, the record of the day of their death by Eusebius might suggest that they were commemorated in Caesarea.

Bibliography

Editions and translations: Cureton, W. (ed.), History of the Martyrs in Palestine, by Eusebius, Bishop in Caesarea, Discovered in a Very Ancient Syriac Manuscript (London / Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate / Paris: C. Borrani, 1861). Lawlor, H.J., and Oulton, J.E.L. (trans.), The Ecclesiastical History and the Martyrs of Palestine. 2 vols (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1927-1928). Schwartz, E., Mommsen, T., and Winkelmann, F. (eds.), Eusebius Werke, Band 2, Teil 2 (Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte NF 6/2; 2nd ed.; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1999).