E00388: Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine includes the story of *Silvanos from Gaza and his companions (martyrs of Palestine, S00193). Written in 311 in Caesarea (Palestine); written in Greek, but parts of the text survive only in Syriac.

online resource

posted on 2015-04-14, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine, 13.4-10

Summary:
On 19 September 310, bishop Silvanos, a veteran soldier from Gaza, who had been tortured and then condemned to the copper mines at Phaeno in Palestine by the governor Urbanus on 5 November 308 (Martyrs of Palestine 7:3 [short recension]), was beheaded. Together with him were executed another thirty-nine Christian prisoners, who due to deteriorated health or advanced age were no longer able to work in the mines. According to the short recension, one of these martyrs was a certain John from Egypt, who despite his blindness was able to memorise and recite all the books of the Old and New Testaments by heart.

Summary: Sergey Minov

History

Evidence ID

E00388

Saint Name

Silvanos from Gaza, martyr in Palestine, ob. 311 : S00193

Saint Name in Source

Σιλβανός

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Silvanos_from_Gaza_and_his_companions_martyrs_in_Palestine/13729648

Type of Evidence

Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

311

Evidence not after

340

Activity not before

311

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 - Festivals

Saint’s feast

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. Martyrdom of Silvanos and his companions: ed. Cureton 1861, pp. 50*-51* (long recension); ed. Schwartz et al. 1999, vol. 2, pp. 947-949 (short recension); English trans. Lawlor and Oulton 1927-1928, vol. 1, pp. 397-399. 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).