ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN DECEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 9th of December
SAINT HIPPARCHUS AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS OF SAMOSATA
Hipparchus and his friend Philotheus lived at the time of Emperor Maximian. They were highly respected by their high birth and by their offices. In A.D. 297, the Emperor Maximian held public festivals in honour of the gods at Samosata on the Euphrates to celebrate his five-year reign, and an order was issued that all inhabitants should gather in the temple of the goddess of fortune for the sacrifices. Hipparchus and Philotheus stayed at home and prostrated themselves in front of the Crucifix on the wall, praying to the true Lord and thanking God for the grace of their conversion. Here they were interrupted by the visit of five young citizens called James (Jacobus), Paragrus, Habidus, Roman, and Lollianus.
When asked why they kept themselves shut up at home and did not rush to the Temple of Fortuna as every citizen was instructed to, Hipparchus replied that they worshipped the Creator of the worlds. "How?" replied James, "do you think this cross is the creator of the universe?" To this Hipparchus replied that they did not worship the cross, but rather Him who hung on the cross and redeemed the world there, etc. They continued to relate the mysteries of the Gospel and mentioned that they themselves had been brought to the faith by a Christian priest named Jacobus three years ago, had received baptism and been initiated into the mysteries of Christianity. Therefore they considered it sinful to go out these three days of celebration of the Emperor's jubilee, as they could not endure the odor of sacrifice with which the city was infected. After some time, the young friends were struck by the ray of divine grace and also asked for Holy Baptism. The prayer of the two friends before the cross, they said, had moved their hearts and exercised a secret power over them.
Philotheus thereupon penned a quick message to the priest Jacobus with the following content: “Come to us as soon as possible and bring water and a host and oil for anointing. Your presence is much needed by young lambs, who have increased our flock and are now impatiently awaiting the sign of Jesus.” Not long after, the priest appeared and brought under his robe what was requested. He found the five youths kneeling along with Hipparchus and Philotheus; all were engrossed in devout prayer. As he entered he said: "The peace of the Lord be upon you, the peace of Him who was crucified for his creatures."
Everyone rose. But James, Paragrus, Habidus, Roman, and Lollianus fell at the feet of the priest and begged, "Have pity on us and mark us with the mark of Christ whom we worship." He asked them if they were willing to suffer tribulation and persecution for Jesus too, and when they said yes, he prayed at length. Then he said, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." Then he made them confess their faith, baptised them there and then, and gave them the body and blood of our Lord. Then he hurried back home. In order not to be recognised by the pagans, he was disguised as a beggar.
Because Hipparchus and Philotheus, who had not sacrificed to the gods for so long, did not appear on this occasion either, the officials performed a check at their house, which led to their arrest, and the incarceration of the five new converts, too. All were separated from one another, tortured, and thrown into dark prisons, with orders to give them only enough food to keep them from starving to death. They survived thus from April 15 to June 21. At the second interrogation they appeared to be corpses rather than living people.
Nevertheless, they steadfastly declared that they would not deviate from the path that Christ opened up for them. The emperor then ordered them to be bound with ropes and crucified. These ropes went through their mouths so that they could no longer speak intelligibly. Meanwhile, they praised the Lord as best they could, encouraging one another to be faithful and persevering. They were dragged to the Tetradion, which was some distance from the city. This was the place where those sentenced to death were executed.
The Emperor had the condemned brought before him once more. However, since they remained steadfast, he ordered seven crosses to be set up opposite the city gate and the Christians to be crucified. Hipparchus was the first to die. James, Roman and Lollianus lived until the following day, when they were stabbed with spears. Philotheus, Habidus and Paragrus were taken off the crosses while still alive. The Emperor ordered nails hammered into their heads. This cruel command was carried out in such a way that their brains ran down their faces. Their bodies were about to be thrown into the Euphrates, but a rich Christian named Bassus secretly won the guards over to leave them to him. He buried them on a country estate. Thus runs their story according to Butler* (XIX. 148-157).
However, the Bollandists* discovered that on January 29 (II. 950), in the Greek Menaea, seven martyrs are mentioned who were crucified at Samosata and who are probably the same saints as those named above. At their head is Saint Philotheus; and Saints James and Roman are among them. The remaining four have very similar names; namely Hyperechius instead of Hipparchus, Paregorius instead of Paragrus, Abibas instead of Habidus and Julianus instead of Lollianus, so that one may conclude that the two groups of martyrs are identical.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, pp. 747-49)
*A hagiography source used by the authors
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
PRAYER:
Grant to your Church, we beseech you, O Lord, through the intercession of Hipparchus and Companions, your martyrs, not to think high-mindedly, but to grow in humility pleasing to you; that, despising what is base, she may with unbounded love diligently do whatever is right. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org
Comments
Post a Comment