E02493: The Martyrdom of *Euticius (priest and martyr of Ferento, S01228) is written in Latin at an uncertain date, perhaps in the 9th c. It narrates Euticius’ celebration of liturgy at the tomb of the martyrs *Gratilianus and Felicissima (martyrs of Faleri, S01477), his arrest, tortures endured, death, and his burial by the bishop Dionysius in a crypt fifteen miles outside Ferento, where later, according to an appendix, a church with a miraculous spring is built.

Martyrdom of Euticius (BHL 2779-2780)

Summary:

§ 1: There is a great persecution of Christians under the emperor Claudius: all are required to sacrifice and those who refuse are to be tortured and killed. The priest Euticius (Eutitius) is instructed by an angel to travel from the city of Ferento (civitas Ferentina) to Faleri (civitas Faleritana), and celebrate there vigils with hymns and the Eucharist, at the tomb of the martyrs Gratilianus and Felicissima, who are buried in a new sarcophagus. He is also instructed to come back to Ferento to be martyred.

§ 2: Euticius celebrates the mysteries at the bodies of the saints in Faleri. Relatives (parentes) of Gratilianus come to him and thank him for having converted them and Gratilianus. Euticius instructs them about the faith and the teaching of Jesus Christ, then he returns to Ferento. He is arrested by soldiers of the tribune Maximus for having disregarded the emperor’s order and acted against the gods.

§ 3: Euticius is interrogated by Maximus and rejects the idols, underlining that all things have been created and are governed by Jesus Christ (quoting Proverbs 8:15). Maximus orders him to be placed in custody.

§§ 4-6: Maximus orders a tribunal and all sorts of instruments of torture to be prepared. The bishop of the city Dionysius pleads in favour of Euticius but Maximus orders him to be beaten with cudgels and thrown out of the city. Then Maximus interrogates Euticius, who again speaks against worshipping idols, quoting Psalm 113:8. Quoting further passages from the Gospels (Matthew 10:19, 16:25, 19:29), he emphasises that he is ready to speak out and suffer for Christ in order to obtain eternal life. Maximus tells Euticius that either he can sacrifice and be made wealthy by Claudius, or refuse and die under torture. Euticius refuses to sacrifice, again condemning worshippers of the gods, who he says will suffer forever in hell. Maximus orders him to be beaten with cudgels.

§§ 6-7: Euticius is further tortured but asks for Christ’s help and rejoices in the Lord. Then Maximus, seeing that tortures do not work, orders Euticius to be brought not far outside the city and beheaded. Before dying, Euticius prays to God:

Deus omnipotens, pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, accipe spiritum meum, & numera me inter sanctos Martyres, quia tempus est ut condat terra corpus meum. Precor te, Domine, ut omnes qui nomen meum invocaverint & ad te conversi fuerint, habeant partem nobiscum in æterna secula, & in isto seculo de quacumque tribulatione digne ad te clamaverint, petitiones suas impetrare mereantur, & nobis frui in futuro, quia tu es Deus, manes & regnas in secula seculorum. Amen

‘Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit, and number me among your holy martyrs, since it is time for earth to bury my body. I pray you, Lord, to grant that all those who invoke my name and turn towards you may share eternity with us, and that those who worthily call upon you in this world for any sort of distress may merit their prayers to be fulfilled, and through us delight in the time to come, since you are God, remain and reign for ever and ever’.

Euticius is beheaded on the Ides of May, that is the 15th day of May.

§ 8: This is the martyrdom of the saints who were martyred together, the priest Euticius, the priest Valentinus, the deacon Hilarius, Gratilianus and Felicissima, and others [this passage is at odds with the rest of the text and corresponds, according to Dufourcq, to remains of the end of an original longer cycle from which our martyrdom was extracted]. At night the bishop Dionysius comes with clerics and collects Euticius’ body with prayers and hymns and buries it in his own small estate (praediolus) and crypt (crypta), around fifteen miles from Ferento. They fast in that place and hold vigils for some days, thanking the Lord who performs many miracles there: the blind are given sight, demons are expelled and the infirm are healed.

The text is followed by an appendix (BHL 2780) at §§ 9-10 describing later cult buildings around Euticius’ burial place: it notably states that after the end of the persecutions a church was built, as well as a deep crypt, reaching water underground that is drunk with an invocation to Euticius as a remedy. In the right (eastern) part of the crypt Euticius is buried with other saints, the tomb being covered with marble slabs (tabulae marmoreae). On the left side there is an altar with decorated marble for *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030) and other saints.

Text: Acta Sanctorum, Mai., III, 460-461. Summary M. Pignot.