E06874: The Greek Martyrdom of *Leontios (martyr of Tripolis, Phoenicia, S00216), tells the tale of two soldiers, Hypatos and Theodoulos, who are converted by a Christian preacher, Leontios, in Tripoli, and martyred; Leontios is then martyred as well, after undergoing repeated torture. The text was written somewhere in the Greek-speaking eastern Roman empire possibly in the 7th-9th century; however, there is appended to it a miraculous story involving the saint and a pious married couple, Ioannia and Mauros, which may be derived from a hypothetical lost Greek Martyrdom of Leontios presumably written in Tripolis in the 5th century.
Creators: name: Dlambert
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2018
Subjects: History

description: Martyrdom of Leontios, Hypatos and Theodoulos (BHG 986-986a)<br><br>Summary (BHG 986a):<br><br>1. In the reign of Vespasianos, an impious and cruel man named Adrianos learns of the existence of Christians who refuse to worship the pagan gods and seek to prevent others from worshipping them, with the use of magic tricks and devious words. He therefore requests the emperor to grant him authority to persecute them. The emperor duly obliges and grants Adrianos a position of authority, ordering him to send to him all who comply with pagan dogma, and subject to torture any who resist.<br><br>2. When the impious imperial decree is published, Adrianos is informed by certain people that in the city of Tripolis there is a man named Leontios who neglects and abuses the gods, and persuades others not to sacrifice to them. Adrianos is overjoyed and sends a sizeable force to arrest Leontios. However, a tribune of that numerus, named Hypatos, is suddenly seized by a strong fever which he attributes to his failure to sacrifice to the gods upon setting out on the journey. After three days of their tribune's fever not abating, the soldiers are at a loss as to what they should do.<br><br>3. That night an angel of the Lord appears to Hypatos, instructing him to invoke the God of Leontios in order to be saved. Hypatos, incredulous, repeats the question back, asking whether the angel is really saying this, given that Hypatos is on his way with his men to arrest Leontios; the angel, however, disappears, and Hypatos is dumbstruck. He summons his men and tells them of the vision. The strange tale makes an especial impression on one of the soldiers, named Theodoulos. In the morning, Theodoulos sits next to the tribune, and when his comrades ask him to join their customary meal, he rejects the invitation despite being numbered among the foremost pagans. Theodoulos falls asleep on the ground, having refused to eat anything. When he wakes up, he reminds his fellow soldiers that the governor Adrianos is arriving on the next day, and they have not accomplished their mission; he proposes to go in the city with the tribune Hypatos (who was cured of his fever shortly after having the vision), to find Leontios and entrust him to the centurions until Adrianos' return.<br><br>4. When Hypatos and Theodoulos reach the edge of the city, Leontios greets them as brothers and asks who it is that they seek. The soldiers reply they have been sent to find a wise and faithful man and friend of the gods, called Leontios, of whom the emperor Vespasianos has been informed, and whom the governor Adrianos is arriving to honour and take before the emperor. The emperor and the senate are eager to meet this man of whose accomplishments they have heard and who is a fellow-soldier of the foremost persons in the city of Tripolis. Leontios invites the men to enter his house as guests, promising to show Leontios to them; however, he says that Leontios is not a friend of the gods but a Christian and believes in Jesus Christ. Hypatos and Theodoulos wonder who their interlocutor is, and what his relationship to Leontios is; they ask his name. Leontios replies his name is a scriptural one, and quotes Psalm 90:13 'You will tread upon the asp and the basilisk and trample the lion and the dragon' as referring to himself. Hypatos and Theodoulos are mightily confused by this, but they are reluctant to reveal their wicked design to the man who invited them to rest.<br><br>5. When the men arrive at Leontios' house, Hypatos and Theodoulos ask him to show Leontios to them in order to be rewarded and honoured by Adrianos. Leontios finally reveals his true identity, and the men fall flat on their faces and beg him to forgive their attempted deceit and to pray to God to deliver them from evil and from the hands of Adrianos; from now on they too confess Christianity. Leontios launches into a lengthy prayer in which he requests God to help the two men, to infuse them with the Holy Spirit and to allow them to prevail over Adrianos.<br><br>6. After the completion of Leontios' prayer, a cloud full of water appears and miraculously baptises Hypatos and Theodoulos. Leontios dresses them in white and has them bear candles before them. When some of the city's pagans witness the miracle, they begin to agitate for the apostates from paganism to be destroyed.<br><br>7. After two days, Adrianos arrives in the city with his entourage. Standing before the city gates he wonders at the tumult inside; the most prominent citizens explain to him that there is a man named Leontios in the city, who drives people away from idolatry by preaching Christ, and has used sorcery to bewitch and lead astray the emperor's soldiers, and has since had them wearing white in his house for three days. Adrianos, severely angered, orders the trio to be arrested and brought before his tribunal. The soldiers duly take the saints to prison, where during the day Leontios advises the converts to stand fast in their faith in order to gain eternal reward; during the night he sings psalms.<br><br>8. In the morning, the governor has Leontios, Hypatos and Theodoulos brought before his tribunal. He questions Leontios, asking if he is indeed the one who dared lead the emperor's trusted servants astray with his magic; he also asks what Leontios' social position is (ποίας τύχης τυγχάνεις). Leontios replies he is the son of the true light and a soldier of Christ. He says Hypatos and Theodoulos too have found that light and abandoned the pagan gods because of it. At this response, Adrianos becomes incensed with rage and commands his men to crush Leontios' bones with rods, but Leontios, as he is being struck, simply states that he cannot feel the pain and the governor is in effect only harming himself. Witnessing the martyr's resolve, Adrianos has him thrown again into gaol.<br><br>9. Adrianos now questions Hypatos and Theodoulos, asking them why they abandoned their military career and rations, to the grievance of the emperor. The two reply that they have been given bread and wine from heaven [i.e. Jesus Christ and his body and blood] and the company of angels in place of their earthly military service. Adrianos replies that he believes the two are speaking words taught to them by Leontios, and he gives them the choice, as commanded by the emperor, of sacrificing to the pagan gods and receiving great honours and an advance in rank, or persisting in Christianity and having their bodies torn apart and destroyed. The saints affirm they choose the heavenly military service, and tell the governor to do whatever he wishes, for they will not obey him. Then Adrianos has Hypatos suspended and his sides scraped, while Theodoulos receives sword-blows. Nevertheless, both persevere without complaint, only prayers on their lips. Adrianos, seeing their resolve, commands both to be beheaded. The sentence is carried out by the executioner as the saints sing a hymn, commending their souls to God.<br><br>10. Adrianos has Leontios brought before him once more, and attempts to persuade him to accept honours from the emperor and the senate, and avoid the torments suffered by Hypatos and Theodoulos. Leontios declines, and offers to show Adrianos the rewards granted by Christ if the governor would accept Christianity. Adrianos derisively asks if he is to receive the same salvation as Hypatos and Theodoulos, but Leontios explains their death was not a punishment, and that they are now rejoicing in the company of angels. Adrianos asks who would seek to reject the light of the present world and the just gods Zeus, Apollon, Hermes, Aphrodite and the rest, in favour of an ugly death; Leontios replies with Psalm 95:5 condemning the gods as demons.<br><br>11. Seeing the martyr's unshakeable resolve in persisting in the faith, Adrianos has him laid on the ground and struck with rods by four men, while a herald proclaims the punishment to be suffered by whoever defies the gods and the imperial decrees. When the torturers grow weary, Leontios exclaims the tyrant may mangle his body but can never overcome his spirit. The governor has him suspended on a wooden frame and his sides and calves raked [with sharp instruments]. At length, when Leontios merely gazes heavenwards and prays to God to keep him safe, Adrianos orders his servants to take the saint down, for he believes the martyr directs his eyes upwards in order to supplicate the pagan gods for relief. Leontios mocks him, and Adrianos has the saint suspended again, head downwards and with a rock tied around his neck, and struck with rods. Leontios bears the torments with grace, and prays to God to keep his faith firm and not let him fall.<br><br>12. After the saint's prayer, Adrianos tries again to persuade him to befriend the pagan gods, but the saint refuses adamantly, condemning the governor to perdition. Adrianos remands him to prison pending a second round of interrogation. Leontios sings psalms throughout the night, and at one point an angel appears to him, recounting that God has sent him to reinforce the saint.<br><br>13. Adrianos summons Leontios again from prison and asks if he has reconsidered his position. The saint replies with a lengthy statement of faith influenced in part by the Nicene Creed, explaining why resistance is in his own interest. The governor, enraged, has the saint suspended once more in order to receive blows until death. As the saint is being tortured and blood flows, the governor tries one last time to win him over with promises of worldly honours, but Leontios refuses once more.<br><br>14. Seeing once more the saint's unwavering resolve, Adrianos at last passes the death sentence, which is formulated as a judge's decision naming the subject and laying out his crime and the corresponding punishment: to be strung up by four stakes and beaten until death. Having received the decision, Leontios thanks God and prays for the salvation of all the faithful who invoke him and remember his marty