A. D. 344.]

MARTYRDOMS IN PERSIA.

69

CHAP. XII.-MARTYRDOM OF TARBULA, THE SISTER OF

1

SYMEON.

ABOUT the same period, the queen was attacked with a disease, and Tarbula, the sister of Symeon the bishop, a holy virgin, was arrested, as likewise her sister, who was a widow and had abjured a second marriage, and her servant, who, like her, had devoted herself to a religious life. The cause of their arrest was the calumny of the Jews, who reported that they had injured the queen by their enchantments, in revenge for the death of Symeon. As invalids easily give credit to the most frightful representations, the queen believed the calumny, and especially because it emanated from the Jews, for she had great confidence in their veracity and in their attachment for herself; she had embraced their sentiments, and lived in the observance of the Jewish rites. The Magi having seized Tarbula and her companions, condemned them to death; and, after having sawn them asunder, fastened them up to posts, advising the queen to pass through the place of execution, that the charm might be dissolved and the disease removed. It is said that Tarbula was extremely beautiful, and that one of the Magi having become deeply enamoured with her, sent some money secretly to her, and promised to save her and her companions if she would accede to his de-` sires. But, instead of listening to his proposals, she rebuked his licentiousness, and joyfully prepared for death, for she preferred to die rather than to lose her virginity.

As it was ordained by the edict of Sapor, which we mentioned above, that the Christians should not be slaughtered indiscriminately, but that the priests and teachers of religion should be slain, the Magi and Arch-magi traversed the whole country of Persia in search of the bishops and presbyters. They sought them especially in the country of the Adiabenians, a part of the Persian dominions in which many Christians were located.

1 i. e. consecrated to religion.

CHAP. XIII.-MARTYRDOM OF ST. ACEPSIMUS AND OF HIS COMPANIONS.

ABOUT this period they arrested Acepsimus the bishop, and many of his clergy. After having taken counsel together, they despoiled the clergy and then dismissed them. James, however, who was one of the presbyters, voluntarily followed Acepsimus, obtained permission from the Magi to share his prison, and joyfully ministered to him and dressed his wounds; for the Magi had cruelly scourged him in order to compel him to worship the sun, and on his refusal to do so, had remanded him to prison. Two priests, named Aithalas and James, and two deacons, by name Azadanus and Abdiesus, were castigated and imprisoned in the same manner by the Magi, on account of their adherence to the doctrines of Christ. After a long time had elapsed, the great Arch-magi inquired of the king what was his pleasure concerning them: and having received permission to deal with them as he pleased, unless they would consent to worship the sun, he made known this decision of Sapor's to the prisoners. They replied that they would never betray the cause of Christ nor worship the sun, and were immediately subjected to the most excruciating tortures. Acepsimus persevered in the manly confession of his faith till death put an end to his torments. Certain Armenians, whom the Persians retained as hostages, secretly carried away his body and buried it. The other prisoners were severely scourged, but did not expire beneath the blows, and as they would not renounce their sentiments, were again consigned to prison. Aithalas was one of those who experienced this treatment; both his arms were broken when preparations were being made for the scourging; and he afterwards lost the use of his hands so completely that he was obliged to depend upon others to convey the food to his mouth. Subsequently, a multitude of presbyters, deacons, monks, holy virgins, ministers of the church, and labourers in word and doctrine, terminated their lives by martyrdom. The following are the names of the bishops, so far as I have been able to ascertain: Barbasymes, Paul, Gadiabes, Sabinus, Mareas, Mocius, John, Hormisdas, Papas, James, Romas, Maares, Agas, Bochres, Abdas, Abdiesus, John, Abraham, Agdelas, Sapor, Isaac, and Dausas.

A. D. 309–349.] PERSECUTION UNDER SAPOR.

71

The latter had been made prisoner by the Persians, and brought from a place named Zabdæus: he died about this time in defence of the Christian doctrine; and Mareabdes Chorepiscopus, and about two hundred and fifty of his clergy, who had also been captured by the Persians, suffered with him.

CHAP. XIV.-CONDUCT AND MARTYRDOM OF MILLES THE BISHOP; MULTITUDE OF BISHOPS SLAIN IN PERSIA BY SAPOR, BESIDES OBSCURE INDIVIDUALS.

ABOUT this period Milles suffered martyrdom. He originally served the Persians in a military capacity, but afterwards abandoned that vocation in order to embrace the apostolical mode of life. It is related that he was ordained bishop over a Persian city, where he underwent a variety of sufferings; and that, failing in his efforts to convert the inhabitants to Christianity, he uttered imprecations against the city and departed. Not long after, some of the principal citizens incurred the anger of the king, and an army with three hundred elephants was sent against them; the city was utterly demolished, and corn was sown on its site. Milles, taking with him nothing but the holy Book of the Gospels, repaired to Jerusalem to worship; thence he proceeded to Egypt in order to see the monks. The extraordinary and admirable works which he accomplished are attested by the Syrians, who have written an account of his life and actions. For my own part, I think that I have said enough of him and of the other martyrs who suffered in Persia during the reign of Sapor. It would be difficult to relate in detail every circumstance respecting them, such as their names, their country, the mode of their martyrdom, and the species of torture to which they were subjected.2 I shall briefly state that the number of men and women whose names have been ascertained, and who were martyred at this period, has been computed to be upwards of sixteen thousand, while the multitude of martyrs whose names are unknown was so great

1 Otherwise spelt Zaudæus. It was on the banks of the river Tigris, and had been in the hands of the Romans since the reign of Galerius.

2 The ingenuity of the Persians in devising tortures is mentioned by Plutarch in his Life of Artaxerxes.

that the Persians, the Syrians, and the inhabitants of Edessa, have failed in all their efforts to compute the number.

CHAP. XV.-CONSTANTINE WRITES TO SAPOR TO STAY THE

PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS.

CONSTANTINE, the Roman emperor, was vividly affected when he heard of the sufferings to which the Christians were exposed in Persia. He desired most anxiously to render them assistance, yet knew not in what way to effect this object. About this time some ambassadors from the Persian king arrived at his court, and after granting their requests and dismissing them, he thought it would be a favourable opportunity to address Sapor in behalf of the Christians in Persia, and wrote to him to that effect.1 "There is nothing in their religion," said he, "of a reprehensible nature; by prayers alone do they offer supplication to God, for he delighteth not in the blood of sacrifices, but taketh pleasure only in a pure soul devoted to virtue and to religion; so that they who believe these things are worthy of commendation." The emperor then assured Sapor that God would be propitious to him if he treated the Christians with lenity, and adduced his own example and that of Valerian in proof thereof. He had himself, by faith in Christ, and by the aid of Divine power, come forth from the shores of the Western Ocean, and reduced to obedience the whole of the Roman world, and had terminated many wars against foreigners and usurpers; and yet had never had recourse to sacrifices or divinations, but had merely offered up a holy prayer, and carried the symbol of the cross at the head of his army. The reign of Valerian was prosperous so long as he refrained from persecuting the Church; but he afterwards commenced a persecution against the Christians, and was delivered by Divine vengeance into the hands of the Persians, who took him prisoner, and put him to a cruel death.

It was in this strain that Constantine wrote to Sapor,

The letter of Constantine to which Sozomen here alludes is extant in Euseb. Vit. Const. iv. 9. But Sozomen is mistaken about its date; as it was written before Sapor had commenced his persecution of the Christians.

A. D. 328.]

EUSEBIUS AND THEOGNIS.

73

urging him to protect the professors of religion; for the emperor extended his watchful care over all the Christians of every region, whether Roman or foreign.

CHAP. XVI.-EUSEBIUS AND THEOGNIS, WHO, AT THE COUNCIL OF NICE, HAD ASSENTED TO THE WRITINGS OF ARIUS, ARE REINSTATED IN THEIR OWN BISHOPRICS.

A. D. 328.—Nor long after the council of Nice, Arius was recalled from exile; but the prohibition to enter Alexandria was unrevoked. It shall be related in the proper place, how he strove to obtain permission to return to Egypt. Not long after, Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, and Theognis, bishop of Nicæa, regained possession of their bishoprics, after expelling Amphion and Chrestes, who had been ordained in their stead. They owed their restoration to a document which they had presented to the bishops, containing a retractation2 of their sentiments, and couched in the following terms :-" Although we have been condemned without a trial by your piety, we deemed it right to remain silent concerning the judgment passed against us. But as it would be absurd to remain longer silent, when silence is regarded as a proof of the truth of calumny, we now declare to you that we hold the same faith that you do; that, after a diligent examination of the word "consubstantial," we are wholly intent upon preserving peace; and that we are seduced by no heresy. Having proposed for the safety of the church such suggestions as occurred to us, and having certified what we deemed requisite, we signed the confession of faith. We did not certainly sign the anathemas,4

Valesius shows that in this matter Sozomen has followed Socrates (i. 10) in an error, as to the date of the recall of Arius, which he fixes very shortly after the synod of Nicæa.

2 This retractation is given also by Socrates, Eccl. Hist. i. 14.

3 The facts (as we learn from the Epistle of Eusebius of Cæsarea, which is given also by Socrates and Theodoret,) are as follows. The bishops who demurred to the term oμoovolov as defined in the Nicene symbol, proposed another form to the synod. But the Nicene fathers rejected this form, and refused to depart from their own definition. Eusebius and his party then signed the catholic and orthodox creed, for fear of the emperor.

We are not to suppose from this, that a separate signature was appended to the anathemas from that which was affixed to the creed; for they both compose one document. It is probable that they added a note to their