E00718: Basil of Caesarea, in his Homily on the *Forty Martyrs (S00103), delivered during a festival of the saints at Kaisareia/Caesarea (central Asia Minor) recounts their story, insisting on the unity of their veneration, and recommending them as exemplars and intercessors for the troubled and the sick. Written in Greek in Caesarea in c. 373.

Basil of Caesarea, Homily 19, On the Forty Martyrs (CPG 2863, BHG 1205)

Εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους τεσσαράκοντα μάρτυρας

1. Μαρτύρων μνήμης τίς ἂν γένοιτο κόρος τῷ φιλομάρτυρι; διότι ἡ πρὸς τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς τῶν ὁμοδούλων τιμὴ ἀπόδειξιν ἔχει τῆς πρὸς τὸν κοινὸν Δεσπότην εὐνοίας. Δῆλον γὰρ, ὅτι ὁ τοὺς γενναίους ἄνδρας ἀποδεχόμενος ἐν τοῖς ὁμοίοις καιροῖς οὐκ ἀπολειφθήσεται τῆς μιμήσεως. Μακάρισον γνησίως τὸν μαρτυρήσαντα, ἵνα γένῃ μάρτυς τῇ προαιρέσει, καὶ ἐκβῇς χωρὶς διωγμοῦ, χωρὶς πυρὸς, χωρὶς μαστίγων, τῶν αὐτῶν ἐκείνοις μισθῶν ἠξιωμένος. Ἡμῖν δὲ οὐχ ἕνα πρόκειται θαυμάζειν, οὐδὲ δύο μόνους, οὐδὲ μέχρι δεκάδος ὁ ἀριθμὸς πρόεισι τῶν μακαριζομένων· ἀλλὰ τεσσαράκοντα ἄνδρες, ὡς μίαν ψυχὴν ἐν διῃρημένοις σώμασιν ἔχοντες, ἐν μιᾷ συμπνοίᾳ καὶ ὁμονοίᾳ τῆς πίστεως, μίαν καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰ δεινὰ καρτερίαν, καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας ἔνστασιν ἐπεδείξαντο. Πάντες παραπλήσιοι ἀλλήλοις, ἴσοι τὴν γνώμην, ἴσοι τὴν ἄθλησιν. […]

2. Δεῦρο δὴ οὖν, εἰς μέσον αὐτοὺς ἀγαγόντες διὰ τῆς ὑπομνήσεως, κοινὴν τὴν ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ὠφέλειαν τοῖς παροῦσι καταστησώμεθα, προδείξαντες πᾶσιν, ὥσπερ ἐν γραφῇ, τὰς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀριστείας. Ἐπεὶ καὶ πολέμων ἀνδραγαθήματα καὶ λογογράφοι πολλάκις, καὶ ζωγράφοι διασημαίνουσιν, οἱ μὲν τῷ λόγῳ διακοσμοῦντες, οἱ δὲ τοῖς πίναξιν ἐγχαράττοντες, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐπήγειραν πρὸς ἀνδρίαν ἑκάτεροι. Ἃ γὰρ ὁ λόγος τῆς ἱστορίας διὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς παρίστησι, ταῦτα γραφικὴ σιωπῶσα διὰ μιμήσεως δείκνυσιν. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀναμνήσωμεν τῆς ἀρετῆς τῶν ἀνδρῶν τοὺς παρόντας, καὶ οἱονεὶ ὑπ’ ὄψιν αὐτῶν ἀγαγόντες τὰς πράξεις, κινήσωμεν πρὸς τὴν μίμησιν τοὺς γενναιοτέρους καὶ οἰκειοτέρους αὐτοῖς τὴν προαίρεσιν. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι μαρτύρων ἐγκώμιον, ἡ πρὸς ἀρετὴν παράκλησις τῶν συνειλεγμένων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ καταδέχονται νόμοις ἐγκωμίων δουλεύειν οἱ περὶ τῶν ἁγίων λόγοι. Διότι οἱ εὐφημοῦντες ἐκ τῶν τοῦ κόσμου ἀφορμῶν τὰς ἀρχὰς τῶν εὐφημιῶν λαμβάνουσιν· οἷς δὲ ὁ κόσμος ἐσταύρωται, πῶς δύναταί τι τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ ἀφορμὴν παρέχειν εἰς περιφάνειαν; Οὐκ ἦν μία πατρὶς τοῖς ἁγίοις· ἄλλος γὰρ ἀλλαχόθεν ὥρμητο. Τί οὖν; ἀπόλιδας αὐτοὺς εἴπωμεν, ἢ τῆς οἰκουμένης πολίτας; Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἐράνων συνεισφοραῖς τὰ παρ’ ἑκάστου καταβληθέντα κοινὰ τῶν εἰσενεγκάντων γίνεται· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν μακαρίων τούτων ἡ ἑκάστου πατρὶς κοινὴ πάντων ἐστί· καὶ πάντες εἰσὶ πανταχόθεν ἀντιδιδόντες ἀλλήλοις τὰς ἐνεγκούσας. Μᾶλλον δὲ τί δεῖ τὰς χαμαὶ κειμένας περιζητεῖν, ἐξὸν τὴν νῦν αὐτῶν πόλιν, ἥτις ἐστὶν, ἐννοεῖν πόλις τοίνυν μαρτύρων ἡ πόλις ἐστὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ᾗ τεχνίτης καὶ δημιουργὸς ὁ Θεὸς, ἡ ἄνω Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἡ ἐλευθέρα, ἡ μήτηρ Παύλου, καὶ τῶν ἐκείνῳ παραπλησίων. Γένος δὲ τὸ μὲν ἀνθρώπινον ἄλλο ἄλλου· τὸ δὲ πνευματικὸν ἓν ἁπάντων. Κοινὸς γὰρ αὐτῶν πατὴρ ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἀδελφοὶ πάντες, οὐκ ἀπὸ ἑνὸς καὶ μιᾶς γεννηθέντες, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς υἱοθεσίας τοῦ Πνεύματος εἰς τὴν διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης ὁμόνοιαν ἀλλήλοις συναρμοσθέντες. χορὸς ἕτοιμος, προσθήκη μεγάλη τῶν ἀπ’ αἰῶνος δοξαζόντων τὸν Κύριον, οὐ καθ’ ἕνα συναθροισθέντες, ἀλλ’ ἀθρόως μετατεθέντες. [...]


'On the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebastea

1. How could one who loves martyrs have enough of their memory? Indeed, bestowing honour to the good among our fellow servants contains the proof of our own faithfulness towards our common Master. For it is evident that he who acknowledges the brave, will not fall short of imitating them under similar circumstances. Bless the martyred person sincerely, so that you may become a martyr by intention, and may end up enjoying the same rewards as they, but without persecution, without fire, without flogging. But we are about to express our admiration not just for one man, nor only two, nor does the number of those to be blessed extend to ten; but forty men, as if having one single soul in divided bodies, in one harmony and concordance in the faith, united did they also demonstrate their perseverance in adversities, and endurance for the sake of truth. All of them similar to one another, equal in their disposition, equal in their martyrdom. For this reason, they were equally honoured with the crowns of glory. […]

2. So let us bring them in our midst with our narrative, and make all those attending share the benefit from them, exposing before everyone the feats of these men, as if in a painting. Indeed, both writers and painters very often describe brave acts of war, the former beautifying them in word, the latter engraving them on panels, and both arouse many to bravery. For what narrative discourse conveys by hearing, painting depicts silently by copying. In this way then let us too remind those present here of the bravery of these men, and, bringing as it were the events before their eyes, let us motivate towards imitation the braver and those who are more akin to them in their disposition. For the praise of the martyrs consists precisely of this: the encouragement of the assembly towards virtue. Indeed, speeches about saints by no means deign to conform to the norms of encomia [worldly laudatory panegyrics]: because eulogists pick the starting points of their eulogies from the affairs of this world. But how can something of the world give reasons for pride to men to whom the world has been crucified? The saints did not have only one home, because each one of them hailed from a different place. What then? Shall we call them men of no city, or rather citizens of the entire world? For just like contributions in collections, which, although offered by different individuals, become a shared possession of the contributors, similarly, for these blessed men, the home city of each is common to all. And all of them, from all places, share with one another the homes which produced them. But, more importantly, why should we seek for their homes which lie down here, when we can contemplate on their current city? The city of the martyrs is namely the city of God (Heb. 12:22); its craftsman and workman is God (Heb. 11:10); the upper Jerusalem, the free one, the mother of Paul and of those like him. In their humanity, they were of different origins, but, in the spirit, their belonged to one and the same race: for God was their common father, and all of them were brothers, not because they were born by the same father and mother, but because they were joined to one another by the adoption of the Spirit into the harmony of love. They were a proper chorus, a great addition to those who praise the Lord since all eternity, not gathered together one by one, but taken up as a group. […]'

3. They were distinguished soldiers enjoying the highest honours by the emperors, and renowned for their virtue. As the decree against Christians is published, many people appear weak and cede to the threat of torture and death. These men, however, openly confessed to Christians when the emperor published his decrees and demanded obedience.

4. Their names matter no more, since all are now declared by the Christian name. Their persecutor attempts to change their mind by flattering, promising them money and offices, and finally by threats. The martyrs reject everything, because none of the temporary goods of this world is greater than the perpetual happiness of the righteous in heaven.

5. Their persecutor is enraged and, considering the cold climate of the area and the fact that it was winter, he decides to let them stay naked outside in the city during a very cold night – a dreadful and very painful way to die. At that time the lake by the city was completely frozen.

6. The martyrs accept the condemnation with enthusiasm, take off their clothes, and encourage one another to endure one night’s suffering in order to win eternity. Their common prayer is to receive the crown of martyrdom all the forty of them together, but one of them is weakened, and abandons them, causing their distress. A man entrusted with their keeping is watching their martyrdom from a bath-house nearby, which has been prepared in order to tempt them to abandon their struggle.

7. He has a vision of powers coming down from heaven and distributing prizes to all the soldiers, except for one, and immediately takes off his clothes and joins the martyrs shouting that he is a Christian himself. He thus replaces the renegade who not only loses eternal life, but also dies immediately from the contact of his frozen flesh with the heat of the bath. The keeper turned martyr is compared to Matthias who replaced Judas, or to Paul who, from persecutor was turned into an apostle of Christ.

8. Next morning, while still alive, the martyrs are given up to be burned, and their remains are thrown into the river.

8. Καὶ οὕτως, ἡμέρας ἀρχομένης, ἔτι ἐμπνέοντες τῷ πυρὶ παρεδόθησαν, καὶ τὰ τοῦ πυρὸς λείψανα ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν ἀπεῤῥίφη· ὥστε διὰ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως διεξελθεῖν τῶν μακαρίων τὴν ἄθλησιν. Ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἠγωνίσαντο, τῷ ἀέρι ἐνεκαρτέρησαν, τῷ πυρὶ παρεδόθησαν, τὸ ὕδωρ αὐτοὺς ὑπεδέξατο. Ἐκείνων ἐστὶν ἡ φωνή· Διήλθομεν διὰ πυρὸς καὶ ὕδατος, καὶ ἐξήγαγες ἡμᾶς εἰς ἀναψυχήν. Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὴν καθ’ ἡμᾶς χώραν διαλαβόντες, οἱονεὶ πύργοι τινὲς συνεχεῖς, ἀσφάλειαν ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἐναντίων καταδρομῆς παρεχόμενοι, οὐχ ἑνὶ τόπῳ ἑαυτοὺς κατακλείσαντες, ἀλλὰ πολλοῖς ἤδη ἐπιξενωθέντες χωρίοις, καὶ πολλὰς πατρίδας κατακοσμήσαντες. Καὶ τὸ παράδοξον, οὐ καθ’ ἕνα διαμερισθέντες τοῖς δεχομένοις ἐπιφοιτῶσιν· ἀλλ’ ἀναμιχθέντες ἀλλήλοις, ἡνωμένως χορεύουσιν. Ὢ τοῦ θαύματος! Οὔτε ἐλλείπουσι τῷ ἀριθμῷ, οὔτε πλεονασμὸν ἐπιδέχονται. Ἐὰν εἰς ἑκατὸν αὐτοὺς διέλῃς, τὸν οἰκεῖον ἀριθμὸν οὐκ ἐκβαίνουσιν· ἐὰν εἰς ἓν συναγάγῃς, τεσσαράκοντα καὶ οὕτω μένουσι, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς φύσιν. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἐξάπτοντα μεταβαίνει, καὶ ὅλον ἐστὶ παρὰ τῷ ἔχοντι· καὶ οἱ τεσσαράκοντα καὶ πάντες εἰσὶν ὁμοῦ, καὶ πάντες εἰσὶ παρ’ ἑκάστῳ. Ἡ ἄφθονος εὐεργεσία, ἡ μὴ δαπανωμένη χάρις· ἑτοίμη βοήθεια Χριστιανοῖς, ἐκκλησία μαρτύρων, στρατὸς τροπαιοφόρων, χορὸς δοξολογούντων. Πόσα ἂν ἔκαμες, ἵνα ἕνα που εὕρῃς ὑπὲρ σοῦ δυσωποῦντα τὸν Κύριον; Τεσσαράκοντά εἰσι, σύμφωνον ἀναπέμποντες προσευχήν. Ὅπου δύο ἢ τρεῖς εἰσι συνηγμένοι ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐκεῖ ἐστιν ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν. Ὅπου δὲ τ