Saint Martyr

Moritz (Maurice)

Commander

of the Theban Legion of the Roman Army

of Emperor Maximian Herculius

Translated

By

Meleka Habib Youssef

from

LES SAINTS D’EGYPTE

Lectures édifiantes, instructives, agréables

Par Le R.P. Père Paul Cheneau, d’Orléans

Docteur en Droit canonique

Jerusalem

Couvent des RR.PP. Franciscains

Custodie de Terre-Sainte

1923

Under the fair rule of the meek Constance-Chlore who was emperor for a year from 305 to 306, the Valais, which is today a Swiss canton in the upper valley of the river Rhone, was a dependancy of the Gauls.

The region of the Gauls was the most important region of the Roman Empire. France, Belgium, Switzerland, and a part of Germany, are today in the lands of the ancient Gauls.

That region had nearly remained sheltered from the persecutive measures which were then taken against the Christians; with the exception of some old decrees which could have been re-established through the tyranny of the chief of a certain village, or the excessive zeal of a subordinate.

Diocletian was born in the year 245 in Dalmatia, near Salona, of an obscure family. He had accessed to the throne in the year 284, and thought it advisable on the third year of his reign, to join to himself his old colleague in the army, Maximian Herculius.

Maximian Herculius was the son of a peasant from the ancient region of Europe called Sirmium, which today is Hungary. He had been so much distinguished in the army by his courage, that having attracted the attention of the emperor Diocletian, the latter associated him to the empire, giving him the West, with Milan as residence.

He made him Caesar and sent him to the Gauls in order to fight against Amandus who had proclaimed himself emperor together with his colleague Aelianus in theyear 285. These two were behind the insurrection of the rebellious peasants that were named the Bagaudes.

The prefects who were mandated by Diocletian, exceeded in their barbarism all that could be imagined. The executioners teared the bodies of the victims with pieces of broken glass until every trace of skin had disappeared. Women were exposed, completely nude, being suspended by one foot in the air, having their heads down, during a whole day. Two trees that were distant apart, were forcibly brought near one another, then the victim was tied by one foot to each tree, and then the trees were left to return to their natural position; and the body would be divided and the entrails spread on the ground.

Maximian spent some months in the north of Italy in order to gather his troops, and then he crossed the Alps and set up his camp in Valais. A troop of numerous Egyptian soldiers, horsemen and infantrymen reinforced his army. These were valiant, hardened, and untiring men who were all originated from Egypt from the Thebaid province of which they were the frontier guards. All of them were Christians, having fiery faith. They were firmly and in all loyalty, ready to serve the emperor, but they also were firmly decided not to sacrify any of their beliefs. While they were in the army, they knew how to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.

So the troops were camping in the open country, in the valleys between the mountains. Some were in Octodure, an ancient capital city in Helevetia, which is today called Martigny; and the others at Agaune, which is today St. Maurice (St. Moritz) in Valais, Switzerland, four miles far from the lake Leman, (or lake of Geneve). But the way was narrow and tough; because the river Rhone that runs like a fool amidst the steep rocks, hardly respected the small edge of the path that was followed by the traveller. Once this pass is crossed, the country opens wide enough amidst the dominationg summits. There Agaune was established, and the soldiers set up their camp very near to the place.

Before the confrontation with the enemy, and according to a spread custom, Maximian ordered a general sacrifice in order to obtain for his troops the protection of the guardian gods, and also perhaps in order to get sure of the faithfulness of his men by making them take oaths. The Christian conscience could not oppose taking oaths, were it not for the accompanying idolatric prayers. Sacrificing to the idols is absolutely reprobable by the Christian conscience.

Having the choice between Caesar’s command and God’s law, the Thebans did not hesitate for a moment, and refused to take part in a ceremony that hurt their conscience. In fact, this was counted as committing a serious transgression of discipline; it was immediately reported to the emperor, who became terribly angry; and swore to make the Theban regiment respect his decrees. To this end, he resorted to a punishment which the military Roman code had always provided, although it was exceptionally practised, that was decimation. So the Theban soldiers appeared before all the troops that have come for the occasion from Octodure (Martigny) and from others places. After balloting on their names, the tenth soldier was first beaten with sticks, and then beheaded.

Far from being terrorised by this bloody show, those who survived dod not stop praying and exhort themselves to the great sacrifice. Their chiefs went from rank to rank in order to encourage those whom they considered as their children: Moritz (or Maurice) the chief commander, Exuper the instructor of the troops, and Candide the senator did not cease to excite them to confess their faith without fear, and to die, till the last one if that was needed, following the example of their comrades who had suffered martyrdom.

Being inspired by their leaders, they signed a letter, written by their commanders to the emperor; that was altogether a very clear, very firm and very courteous declaration of faith which admirably expressed the feelings of their souls. Here is nearly its content:

“Illustrious caesar, we sincerely declare that we are your soldiers, but we are at the same time the servants of God. We owe to you the service of the army; and to Him, the innocence of our hearts. We receive from you our daily salary, He will recompense us at the end of our lives. Illustrious emperor, we cannot obey any orders that are opposed to the cult which is solely due to God, our Creator, our master and your master too, whether you are willing or not. So long as your commands will not be contradictory to His law, we shall obey them in all faithfulness, as we have done till the present time. In the contrary case, we shall obey God rather than you. Do not be offended by that; because we have first been sworn to the King of heaven, before anything else. We are not rebelling; we have weapons and could have used them to sell our lives very expensively; we prefer to die while being innocent, rather than to live while being guilty. We are ready to endure whatever sufferings you order, we are Christians and we highly confess it.”

After this reading, Maximian turned pale with anger; he considered this calm and loyal letter as an insult; he felt all the instincts of the human beast surging from the depth of his soul, and instantly commanded a second decimation of the Theban troops. The soldiers who were named, without boasting, fearlessly went forward towards the executioners, got rid of their weapons, threw their casks and their breastplates down on the ground; and then offered their backs to the sticks and their heads to the sword.

When the troops were assembled, while they were still under the spell of unspeakable emotion, and had already been diminished, they were again asked to sacrifice victims in honour of the protective gods during war. Not a single man went forward; and because of their unanimous rejection, Maximian, whose cruelty regarding the troops was legendary, ordered to execute them till the last one.

It was then an immense slaughter, a foolish hecatomb, a real butchery; corpses littered the valley of Agaune (St. Moritz) that was bathed in their blood.

After having finished their sinistral task, the executioners shared the belongings of the victims. That was a gratification which Rome granted to the executioners in order to keep their zeal and loyalty always awake. It is according to this law that the executioners at the Calvary, shared the clothes of our Lord Christ, and casted lots on his tunic. During the massacre of Agaune, it is well beleivable that the emperor and the superior officers had shut their eyes and left to the executioners all the equipment and the personal belongings of their victims. One can think of the joy of these human brutes, who were partly intoxicated by killing, when they saw the unhoped for fortune that had come to them. Therefore, they assembled to concert and finish that memorable day with an unprecedented carousing.

It is then that a veteran named Victor, who was travelling in the country, passed nearby them. As they were excited through drinking and good food, they invited him to share their riot. The traveller simply turned away their invitation, either because he was in a hurry to arrive at the end of his voyage, or that the exalted condition of the soldiers left a bad impression on him. Briefly these people considered his refusal as an insult, laughed at his reasons, and took hold of him as they wanted to force him to revelry. Victor objected. As they could not understand his refusal to share their feast, and having nothing in mind but the Christians, they supposed that this individual was himself too one of the damned sect. They questionned him sharply. They had rightly guessed, Victor was a Christian; he admitted it, affirmed it, and highly confessed it amidst the whooping and the howling voices of the drunk soldiers. They hurled themselves upon him and killed him like a vulgar Theban. This veteran of the army of the empire shared the destiny of his comrades in the active service, and entered with them to the triumphant legions of paradise.

The greatest part of the corpses were thrown in the Rhone river and were taken away in its rapid course. The relics of saint Moritz were deposed by the Rhone on the shore at Vienna where they were honoured in great pomp.

The Saint Martyrs

Of

Alexandria

who were killed by the Arians in 372

in the Church or Saint Theonas

and from 372 to 379 in Egypt

Translated from

LES SAINTS D’EGYPTE

LECTURES EDIFIANTES, INSTRUCTIVES, AGREABLES

PAR LE

R.P. PAUL CHENEAU D’ORLEANS

DOCTEUR EN DROIT CANONIQUE

JERUSALEM

COUVENT DES RR. PP. FRANCISCAINS, CUSTODIE DE TERRE-SAINTE

1923

VOL. I PAGES 587-592

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

BY MELEKA HABIB YOUSSEF

2002

Bibliography

Authors to be consulted:

THEODORET DE CYR, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 21 and what follows.

SAINT GREGORY OF NAZIANZE, in laudem Heronis, sermon 23

RUFINUS, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. II, chapter 22

SOCRATE, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 21

SOZOMENE, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. VI, chapter 19

See the details of this persecution in

the life of Saint Melas of Rhinocolure who was one of its victims.

====================================================

TEXT

The archdeacon Boutros who was the faithful fellow of the labors and perils of Saint Athanassius, was called to become his successor on the See of Alexandria. The great Patriarch had designated him to the choice of his people who acclaimed his name. This election was not to the taste of the prefect Palladius who was a very fanatic heathen. He gathered the people of the same religion as his, together with some Jews, encircled the Church where resided the new patriarch Boutros II, and summonned him that he had to empty the place very quickly, otherwise the emperor would act energetically. The newly elected patriarch yielded face to the tempest. The passions of different kinds which had been constrained in respect by the influence of Saint Athanassius during his life, and which now had become at ease, could freely run their course.

The emperor Valens had sent a secret mandate to his stately representative, the prefect Palladius, that he had to be favorable to all the undertakings of the Arians. Such a mission was well in tune with the sectarian spirit of Palladius who without delay, seized the Patriarch Boutros II and shut him in jail. He enthroned Lucius at his place and ascribed all the churches to the Arians. These outrages against the liberty of worship were the equivalent to a declaration of war; Alexandria was starting to live the worst days of its history.

The emperor had issued decrees to give the buildings to the Arians, but he continued to take them; and nobody doubted that the projected assault was the signal for a bloody persecution and the occasion for customary horrors.

(see, Vie de S. Athanase, page 550 in the same volume; and see also Les Martyrs des Ariens 17, 21 et 26 Mars.)

These horrors surpassed in their wickedness, all that had been seen before.

The first church to be invaded, was the church of Saint Theonas which was the Cathedral then. The scenes of disturbance which happened through the agency of this scandalous team, have been described by the expulsed Patriarch Saint Boutros II himself. The author (R.P. Paul Cheneau) will do nothing but to translate his long narrative, shortening some rough descriptions, and mitigating many details which would be in our days, too coarse for a work that respects its readers.

(This letter of the twenty-first patriarch of Alexandria Saint Boutros II has been kept for us by THEODORET DE CYR, 386-457, in his Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 22)

Extract

from the writings of Saint Boutros II,

21st Patriarch of Alexandria.

Therefore our church (the church of Saint Theonas) was besieged by an innumerable troop of heathens and Jews; they smashed the doors and entered, singing blasphemous songs and idolatrous hymns; then there were shoutings and roarings followed by endless applause. They attacked the virgins who were consecrated to the Lord, and made their pure ears hear the most inconvenient language; then, joining acts to words, they snatched their clothes and made them ramble in the most humiliating condition in the streets of the city while the passers-by jeered them. Whoever showed pity or disapproval, was unmercifully beaten on the spot. A great number of these saint girls were subjected to violence, and many died under the sticks with which these frenzied people strucked their heads.

(Saint Gregory of Nazianze positively says that some women were literally cut to pieces; and Rufin adds that the persons who had vowed themselves to celibacy (men and women) suffered from such violence as the heathen persecutions do not offer any example.)

But why should I tarry over these details, which are unhappily common to every such upheaval; when I have to describe unheard-of profanations, by which no history was ever polluted until now?

When they absolutely mastered the sacred place, they let an adolescent who was disguised as a woman, mount on the altar. They had painted his eyes with antimony, as they do to idols.

[Egyptian women used to make-up their lips red; their eyes were surrounded with a black strip which extended to the temples, and nearly touched their hair. The powder which they used for this, was a mixture of antimony and of very finely pulverised charcoal, that enhanced the whiteness of the complexion giving brightness to the look, and protected the eyes against ophtalmia.

(“Au temps de Ramsès”, by MASPERO, page 12)].

At the very place where we celebrate the Holy Mysteries, this youngster starts to dance and to jump, affecting the most lascivious postures, and making shameful gestures, while a band of madmen dance frantically around the altar yelling vile songs.

A young man who was known by everybody for his lewdness, climbs on the pulpit completely naked, and starts from there to vomit against the Lord Christ, the most filthy blasphemes. The sweetness of drunkenness and the practice of the least acknowledgeable debaucheries, are exalted at the place where we teach piety, modesty and temperance.

It is perhaps at this moment that Saint Boutros escaped from his prison, and embarked in disguise on a ship to Italy.

The saint continues:

Having withdrawn, I was given a successor. It was a certain Lucius, who was unfaithful to the truth, a chief of thieves, a wolf that entered into the sheepfold, a second Arius. His election was not the result of the vote of the orthodox bishops, and the clergy, and the faithful, as is required by the sacred laws. He made his official entry, but neither the priests, nor the clerical men, nor the sacred crowd accompanied him. His retinue was not composed of monks singing hymns or psalms, no; there walked besides him the imperial treasurer Count Magnus,

(Count Magnus is the same financial superintendant who had, under the reign of Julian the Renegate, set on fire the church in Beyrouth in October 362),

together with Euzoius, who was once a deacon in Alexandria, and a follower of Arius, and afterwards, the plague of the Church of Antioch of which the arian Valens had made him the Patriarch.

( Euzoius was a deacon in Alexandria. He was accepted again into the Church in 335, after having submitted a confession of faith which appeared to be orthodox, to the emperor Constantin. He was promoted Patriarch at the place of Meletius. He baptised the emperor Constantin at his death-bed. When Jovien succeeded on the throne after Julian the Renegate, Euzoius made intrigues to the sovereign in order to make him replace Saint Athanassius by a creature whom he, Euzoius, had chosen, the thing that resulted into the disorders which we know. He did not stay more than one year on the See of Antioch.)

Troops had been mobilised to escort and protect this trio of ungodly men.

The first thing which these satraps did, was to send soldiers to seize nineteen priests and deacons, pretending that they were arrested because of some horrible crime. Some of those who were arrested, were more than eighty years of age. When they arrived, the prefect repeatedly asked them to deny their faith; that was an absolutely indispensable matter in order to conquer the favour of the emperor. And as these worthy ministers of God refused, he shouted saying:

“Abjure, you wretched, abjure; make yourselves arians, God will forgive you this weekness; because it is necessity which compels you to that. Subscribe immediately to the faith of your eloquent bishop Lucius. Honours will be the reward of your obedience; in case of resistance, you will be tortured”.

Without exception, all of them persisted in the true faith, inspite of the multiplied attempts of Palladius in order to bring them to apostasy. [the authors of the time accumulated upon this Palladius the most disgracing attributes: “he is an ungodly, a scoundrel, a vile corrupted person, a real demon” (Saint Gregory of Nazianze)]

The prefect kept them for a long time in jail, anticipating a moment of weekness from their part. Finally, when he dispaired from bringing them to act according to his aims, he set up a temporary tribunal near the port, so that a greater multitude of lawless people could decry them; then he violently issued a decree of banishment against all of them; they had to leave Alexandria instantly, and go to Hierapolis in Phenicia, which was yet a completely heathen town.

Hierapolis is the ancient Tibekhat and Baalbiqii of the Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions. It was a town dedicated to Baal. The Greeks identified it with Helios, the sun.

“Under the reign of the Roman emperors Antonin le Pieux (138-161), and Caracalla (211-217), an imposing temple was erected inside a sacred enclosure dedicated to three divinities of Heliopolis: Jupiter, Mercurius and Venus; and another temple but a smaller one, was erected very near to that one, and was dedicated to the honour of Bacchus” (Meistermann, “Guide de Terre-Sainte”, page 545). These grandiose ruins are perhaps the most beautiful in the Middle-East.

The generous confessors of the faith went across the few steps which were separating them from some ordinary boat, while the arian and pagan crowd yelled, and the indignant protests of the faithful grievously echoed their shouts. The prefect with his unsheathed sword in his hand, pitilessly presided over their departure; he refused them to carry anything, not even some food for the crossing, unwilling to alleviate in any way the severity of their exile. When the crew who had been previously advised, had made their last arrangements, the prefect himself gave the order to sail and to take off the anchor. At the same moment, when the boat left the port, a frightening thunder-storm stroke, and the sea which was suddenly let loose, started to break enormous waves on the shore. This matter was believed to be a miracle, because there was nothing that made it predictable.

The departure of these innocent victims did not quieten the fanatism of Palladius. He prohibited any demonstration of sadness; mere tears were considered to be an offence. Twenty-three persons made this costly experience. They were incarcerated; they were beaten and tortured in jail; then they were deported, some of them to the mines Phenon, and some to the quarries of Proconnese,

[that is an island of the Protontide (the sea of Marmara). It is today the island of Marmara, which is famous for its marbles].

A Deacon who had carried comforting letters from the Pope Damasus, was joined to them. He was subjected to all the imaginable ill-treatments; he had his hands bound behind his back, he was imprisonned, beaten on his head with stones and daggers made of lead, and finally he was thrown with the others in the boat to the destination of Phenon.

The fury of that tyrant, the new Herod, turned to some young children; he tortured them; then he slaughtered them, and, extending barbarism to the limit, he prohibited anybody, whatever he was, even their parents, to mourn them or to bury them; their bodies were to be the prey of the hyenas and the vultures.

A Byzantine historian named Theophane the Confessor (758-818) says: “most of the faithful Christians, men, women and virgins, were shamefully cut to pieces by flagellation, and many of them died consequently”.

All Alexandria was thrust into grief; there was not a single house where death had not caused some mourning; and nevertheless, these appalling sceneries which were daily renewed, could not satisfy the arian rabble, that was thirsty of blood and lewdness.

The persecution reached the provinces and Count Magnus was delegated to recruit his victims there. Eleven of the most venerable bishops were snatched from their sees and were sent to Diocesarea, which was a completely Jewish town.

(Diocesarea is today Sephoris, near Nazareth. The Old Saint Melania, left Jerusalem in order to go to releave these confessors of the faith. She was arrested there and thrown into the shackles. When the emperor Valens knew who she was, he apologized to her, and gave her the permission to practice her charity towards the Christian prisoners. Sephoris is the native land of Saint Joachim, the father of the Holy Virgin).

Round-ups which were organised in the deserts at Nitria and especially at Scethis, brought the detention of more than three thousand hermits. Without resistance, these gave their heads to the executioners, who were operating in all impunity, while being sheltered from embarassing protestations, in these solitary and remote regions.

This appalling era of barbarism ended only after the death of the emperor Valens, who was killed near Andrinopolis in 378 during a battle against the Goths.

From the physical point of view, Valens had little advantages: he was short, his complexion was blackish, his eye was covered with a white stain on the cornea, that had the most unpleasant aspect. From the moral point of view, he had neither judgement, nor character; and he was subjected to the most ominous influences. A mere single expression of war expedition, rendered him pale.

In the following year Valentinian and Gratian subdued the arians, and the 21^st Patriarch Boutros II returned to his throne. The people who had been disgusted from the excesses of Lucius, shamefully chased him away. Lucius turned to Constantinople to claim for the imperial assistance. But he never obtained it, and that was for due cause.

The Saint Martyrs

PHILIP governor of Alexandria

&

EUGENIA his daughter

&

her comrades

Translated

By

Meleka Habib Youssef

from

LES SAINTS D’EGYPTE

Lectures édifiantes, instructives, agréables

Par Le R.P. Père Paul Cheneau, d’Orléans

Docteur en Droit canonique

Jerusalem

Couvent des RR.PP. Franciscains

Custodie de Terre-Sainte

1923

Philip was the governor of Alexandria at the time of the persecution of the Roman Emperor Gallus who was proclamed emperor after the death of Decius in 251 AD. He was distinguished by his righteousness and the correctness of his manners. When he became convinced of the Christian religion, he resigned from his high magistracy and entered into the private life, in order to be able to abandon himself to the Christian practices, without compromising the dignity with which he was honoured. He had a blessed child called Eugenia, who was the ornament of his home, and later greatly illustrated his noble family.

Terentius was mandated from Rome to inherit the responsibilities of Philip. As he could not understand the reasons that motivated the resignation of his predecessor, (the position being so much elevated and advantageous!) he undertook a thorough enquiry, and observed the outgoings and incomings of the previous governor, noted his frequentations, spied upon the manner of his life, and soon acquired the conviction that he was one of the odious sect of the Christians, who were the cause of the misfortune that was then decimating the human race: at that time, a most deadly pestilence that had never happened in history, was raging; far from stopping the persecution, it stirred it up; because the pestilence was imputed to the Christians.

Terentius had several talks with Philip who, far from denying his conversion, made it a subject of glory and honour, and spoke so well and so loud, that his successor had the regret of reminding him of the terrible edicts of Decius that were still enforced. Now Philip knew what to reckon, it was either apostasy or martyrdom.

A person of such an elevated character as Philip, is not a two-faced man: he had given himself to Christ by baptism, and will remain faithful until death. In order to avoid any turmoil in the city, Terentius ordered that his throat be pierced with the sword, while he was praying in his own house in the district of Iseum, that corresponds to the northern part of the Nebi Daniel street; where he was buried. A beautiful church was built later at this place.

Eugenia was the daughter of the martyr Philip and Claudia. She accompanied her parents when they came to Egypt, as her father had been mandated from Rome to be the governor of Alexandria. They came with a numerous retinue, among whom there were two egyptian young eunuch slaves, called Protus and Hyacinthus. These were distinguished by their spirit and their good manners. Their names and their beneficient roles will be mentionned many times in this story.

Eugenia took the advantage of her sojourn in Alexandria in order to frequent the famous Schools, as was then the fashion amidst young distinguished people. She was always accompanied by the two intelligent slaves. She honoured them by her trust, and they returned it by their tireles devotion.

All the three of them greatly profited by their studies, and were particularly attracted toward philosophy. In the light of this torch, the two young men quickly concluded at the unity of God and the vanity of the idolatric cult: that was their first step toward conversion; the society of good comrades made the rest.

Little by little the Christian truths filtered inside their spirits; and they reached the point of desiring baptism. The shrewd look of Eugenia did not fail to notice the happy change that was operated inside them. She pressed them with questions, and finally knew the motive. The respectful familiarity with which Protus and Hyaninthus dealed with her, urged them to confidence, and they told her about their saint desires. Eugenia whose spirit was opened to serious matters, let them expose the Christian mysteries to her, and soon she became stimulating them in their practice of virtues and in the thirst for the sacred baptism.

About this time, a son of a consul came to ask for her hand. As she was already a Christian in her heart, she felt herself ready to vow her virginity to God; and so she rejected this noble match.

At that time the conversion of a young girl of such a rank to Christianity represented many great difficulties; because one had to act in the utmost secret the violation of which exposed to terrible inconvenience: quarrels and discord inside the family, jail and death if the agents of the governor ever knew of the matter. In the case of Eugenia, the governor was her own father, who had a large spirit, was tolerant and honest, but in any case he was subject to the changing commands of the emperor.

They discussed at length the conduct they would follow inside this small group of young souls who were ready for everything. Nevertheless they wanted to avoid scandal at all price, and to this end, they had to be very careful not to arouse suspicion. They planned for an escape and convened with a saint priest who was leading a retired life in the company of some men who had given themselves entirely to God. Protus and Hyacinthus brought to Eugenia men clothes, and were decided to keep the matter secret. The daughter of the governor, under the masculine name of Eugene, bade farewell to the fatherly home and escaped together with the two slaves, who were her comrades in the studies and who were stimulated by her faith. The priest Helenus, greatly joyful, welcomed them, and prepared them to the favour which they sollicited, and then he baptised them and admitted them to the service of God inside his small community.

Firstly, the parents did not worry very much about the absence of their child, considering the freedom which the young girls in the Roman world enjoyed at that time. But soon, they suspected some accident, and dreaded some catastrophy, and they alerted all their police in order to find out the mystery of this unaccountable disappearance. The search brought no result, as one would think. Nothing remained but to consult the oracles in the hope that the gods would answer. Philip sought for the most illustrious of the foretellers, and exposed to him his case, beseeching him to reveal to him the whereabouts of his daughter and the two eunuchs. The inspired man thought for a moment, and then, with a radiant face, he exclaimed: “Your daughter and your slaves are counted in the number of gods.”

Philip took this oracle as being an article of faith, and made them paint the image of the fugitives, in order to render to them his family cult.

After some time, a great lady of Alexandria felt a vivid affection in her heart for the young religious man who was so kind and whose face was so fresh. She entertained in herself a budding passion, and finally she became unrestrained to such a degree that she declared her love to him. Eugene rebuffed this unseemly matron, as was due. She was vividly hurt by the disdainful refusal of the pseudo young man; and the wretched woman reversed the roles, and, playing the role of Putiphar, went to the governor to complain against the incongruous man, of an immoral attempt upon her venerable person. Eugenia was summonned to appear before the court. She took with herself Protus and Hyacinthus and went to the tribunal where her own father was seated. The latter, who was not suspecting with whom he was dealing, reviled, blamed and threatened his disguised daughter. She bent under the thunderstorm, and let him discharge his heart and detonate, as it pleased him, against the pretended misdemeanour. When he finished his recriminations, she quietly opened her tunic in order to show her breast and reveal her sex; then while throwing her name to her bewildered father, she fell down at his knees which she kissed with tears, asking for his forgiveness for the pain which her escape could have caused to him, and said that she would explain the motives later.

Philip loved and respected his daughter too much to let himself indulge into scenes of reproach. The joy of seeing all his family being reconstituted, prevailed over all the other feelings. Protus and Hyacinthus found again the esteem and the trust with which they were surrounded a little time ago.

Nevertheless, Eugenia did not lose time after the first outpourings of her filial love. Her zeal made her esteem it too precious to be lost. She had to acknowledge to her father who was so good, the real motive of her departure, gently, cautiously, probing, and little by little. She graciously and eloquently did it with such regards, and with such a touching accent, that not even the least blaming word came out of the lips of her parents. They only asked her questions that gave evidence of the interest which they had in religious discussion. Soon, it was sympathy for the sect that had been till then abhorred, then admiration, then inclination, then formal desire, then the will to become Christians. Philip, his wife and all the house together received the grace of holy Baptism.

The governor of Alexandria quickly understood the difficulty of blending certain duties of his office with his new convictions; so, with a delicacy that honours him, and also in order to recover his entire freedom, he gave up his high office. His resignation was accepted, and his successor soon took charge of the business.

This newly come, sniffing some queer motive for the retirement of his predecessor, the thing that was unheard of in the empire, discovered the proof of his chritianity. Philip generously paid his head for his faithfulness to Christ.

The head of the family having disappeared, the sojourn in Egypt became unbearable to Claudia and her daughter; Alexandria reminded them of the horrible scene of the sufferings of their martyrdom. Who could then detain them there while their parents and friends seemed to call them to Rome, in order to comfort them and to sympatize with them in their great misfortune? So they put in order their business, and embarked together with their slaves towards the capital of the world.

When they arrived there, the town was in a peculiar excessive excitation. The emperor Valerian had just published his second edict against the Christians, in the year 258, still more aggravating the edict of the previous year, and replacing exile by the penalty of death, and taking off the freedom of gatherings and graveyards. The noble family that had just arrived on the day before, could have left the turmoil to pass, and quietly wait for better days, were it not for the active zeal which Eugenia and her servants could not restrain. Their outgoings and incomings became suspect; many conversions were ascribed to them; and soon the chief commissioner ordered their arrest. The fate of many saint martyrs awaited them.

Among those martyrs were:

S. Sixtus, pope of Rome from 257 to 258, who was arrested during the celebration of mass, while he was preaching, sitting on his chair; he was condemned to be beheaded on his own chair on the 6^th of August 258.

S. Laurent, his deacon, who died while being roasted on a grill on weak fire.

S. doctor Hippolytus, who was very old. He died while he was tied to horses that tore him to pieces in their furious course, on the 13^th of August 258.

The judge submitted the young girl to a long cross examination, trying by every possible means to snatch from her lips a word of retraction. Eugenia was unflinching in face of flattery and during torture. She was condemned to be thrown in the river Tiber with a stone tied to her neck. God assisted her: she miraculously floated on the water. When she was brought again before the tribunal, the judge locked her up inside a burning oven; she was preserved there without suffering the slightest discomfort. For the sake of peace, they left her to die of hunger; but after ten days of absolute fasting in a stinking dark jail, she reappeared shining with health. The tyrant ordered to cut off her head. She was executed, probably on the 25^th of December 258. Her body was buried on the Latine road, in the graveyard of Apronian.

Protus and Hyacinthus shared her glorious fate; they were first cruelly flagellated; then they were burnt alive. They were buried in the graveyard of S. Hermes on the ancient Salaria road.

Authors to be consulted:

Rufin, Vie des Pères

Rosweyde, Vies des Pères

S. Aldhelme, Louanges de la Virginité

preparation to Communion

the Holy Family in Egypt