E00384: Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine includes the story of *Peleus, Neilos, Patermouthios and Elias (martyrs of Palestine, S00197). Written in 311 in Caesarea (Palestine); written in Greek, but parts of the text survive only in Syriac.

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posted on 2015-04-13, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine, 13.1-3

Summary:
On 19 September 310, the dux of Palestine ordered the execution of four Egyptian Christians imprisoned at the copper mines of Phaeno in Palestine: the bishops Peleus and Neilos, and the laymen Patermouthios and Elias, in order to install fear in their fellow believers. After undergoing tortures, they were put to death by fire.

Summary: Sergey Minov

History

Evidence ID

E00384

Saint Name

Pēleus, Neilos, Patermouthios and Ēlias, martyrs in Palestine, ob. 310 : S00197

Saint Name in Source

Πηλεύς, Νεῖλος, Πατερμούθιος

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Peleus_Neilos_Patermouthios_and_Elias_martyrs_in_Palestine/13729660

Type of Evidence

Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

311

Evidence not after

340

Activity not before

310

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

Ecclesiastics - bishops

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. Peleus, Neilos, Patermouthios, and Elias: ed. Cureton 1861, pp. 49*-50* (long recension); ed. Schwartz et al. 1999, vol. 2, p. 947 (short recension); English trans. Lawlor and Oulton 1927-1928, vol. 1, pp. 395-397. 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 death, with no reference to miraculous events. Although there is no explicit reference to the martyrs' commemoration, the record 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).

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Keywords

S00197 History

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