Martyrs of the Early Centuries
Biblically, the first martyrs were the Holy Innocents - whose feast is memorialized every December 28. But liturgically, the first martyr memorialized in the celebration after Christmas is St. Stephen. His feast comes right after Christmas on December 26. Here is a list of martyrs who are memorialized in the liturgy within the octave of Chrustmas: St. Stephen (Dec 26), the Holy Innocents (Dec 28), and St. Thomas Becket (Dec 29)
Martyrdom in the early Church
Jesus is the inspiration for all the martyrs in the Church. After His martyrdom, many followed His example in witnessing to the Kingdom. All the apostles of the Lord were martyred save for John the Evangelist (Dec 27). Many in the line of popes after St. Peter also shed their blood for the faith. This was the situation before the drafting of the rescript of Milan in 313 A.D.: persecution not only for the leaders of the Church, but to many Christians of all walks of life. They all experienced persecution from the Roman Emperors. The reason was because the Christian religion was considered as religio illicita - a forbidden religion hostile to state and the citizens of the Empire. For several centuries, the Christian religion went through numerous waves of persecutions. These eras of persecution can be divided into three general historical periods:
first (until about 100 A.D.);
second (from 100 to 250 A.D.);
and third (from 250 to 311 A.D.).
During these waves of persecutions, the witness of the martyrs proved truly great in the eyes of all their companions. Without the sacrifice of their lives for the sake of Christ and His Church, the Church would not have been strengthened at that time by their noble and heroic example. We hear of the witness of such great martyrs as: Polycarp, Ptolemaeus, Lucius, Apollonius, Perpetua and Felicitas, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin, Leonides of Alexandria, Fabian, Cyprian of Carthage, Sixtus II and Laurentius.
Polycarp (c. 69 - c. 155 A.D.)
Polycarp was a disciple of St. John the apostle. He then became bishop of Smyrna and was reputedly consecrated by St. John himself. When he was already eighty years old, he was arrested because he refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods and acknowledge the Emperor's divinity. He was then pierced with a spear and burned to ashes at the stake. Many who witnessed his death saw a dove fly out from his side when the spear was lanced at his side. [feast day, February 23]
Ptolemaeus (d. c. 161 A.D.)
Ptolemaeus was denounced by a man whose wife Ptolemaeus converted and eventually, because of her new faith, left the man. Ptolemaeus was then imprisoned and then sentenced to death by the magistrate Urbicius. [feast day, October 19]
Lucius (d. 259 A.D.)
During the time of Emperor Valerian's persecution of the Christians, a revolt broke out in the year 259 A.D. in Carthage. Solon, the prosecutor of Carthage, blamed the revolt on the Christians. He arrested Lucius and seven others - all followers of St. Cyprian of Carthage. Lucius and the seven (which included the deacon Flavian and the priest Victorinus), were all tortured and beheaded. [feast day - February 24]
Apollonius (d. c. 305 A.D.)
A deacon at Antinoë, Apollonius was arrested together with the musician Philemon (whom Apollonius converted) during Diocletian's persecution. They were taken to Alexandria and were thrown into the sea and drowned. Legends tell us that both were first sewed into sacks [together with an official whom they also had converted at their trial] before they were drowned into the sea. [feast day - March 8]
Perpetua and Felicitas (d. 203 A.D.)
Perpetua was a 22-year-old matron of noble birth in Carthage and had an infant boy, while Felicitas was her young pregnant slave. When they were arrested during the persecution of Septimus Severus, they were baptized in prison by their catechist, Saturus (who also was imprisoned with them together with their fellow catechumens Saturninus, Secundulus, and Revocatus). Perpetua gave her infant boy to her pagan father, while Felicitas had her infant child adopted by a Christian after giving birth in prison. Perpetua and Felicitas and their companions were condemned to be thrown to the wild beasts. The men were then torn to pieces by leopards and bears, while Perpetua and Felicitas were exposed to a bull that tossed them repeatedly. Since Perpetua and Felicitas did not die instantly, they were eventually slaughtered with the sword. [feast day - March 7]
Ignatius of Antioch (d. c. 107 A.D.)
Legend tells us that Ignatius was appointed and consecrated bishop of Antioch by St. Peter, after Evodius, the previous bishop of Antioch, passed away. Ignatius governed as bishop for forty years after he was then arrested during the persecutions of the Christians under the Emperor Trajan. Sent on a ship to Rome, he was escorted to the ampitheater where the last day of the public games was being held. He was killed by lions in the arena. Before his death, he dictated to Agathopus and the deacon Philo (who were with him in the ship headed towards Rome) seven letters of instruction on the Church, marriage, the Trinity, the Incarnation, Redemption, and the Eucharist - all important early Christian writings.[feast day - October 17]
Justin Martyr (c. 100 - c. 165 A.D.)
Well-educated, Justin became a Christian at about the age thirty. He then devoted himself to spreading the faith and eventually came to Rome where he opened a school of philosophy. He however incurred the enmity of Crescens whom he defeated in a debate. At the instigation of Crescens, the authorities learned of Justin's faith as a Christian. So, together with six companions, who all refused to sacrifice to the gods, they were scourged and beheaded. Justin is the first Christian apologist and layman to have written much on Christianity - more particularly on aspects that seek to reconcile the claims of the faith with reason.
Leonides of Alexandria (d. 202 A.D.)
Leonides is the father of the theologian Origen. He was imprisoned at Alexandria, Egypt, during the persecutions under the Emperor Septimus Severus. Laetus, the governor of Egypt, had Leonides' property confiscated, and then beheaded him for being a Christian. At the time of his death, his son Origen was about 15 years of age and became the greatest pupil of the Athenian Clement (b. 140/150, d. before 216).
Fabian (d. 250 A.D.)
A Roman layman, Fabian was elected pope on January 10, 236 A.D. because a dove settled on his head during the election. During his reign as pope, he condemned Bishop Privatus of Lambaesa for heresy, then did restoration work on the catacombs, and finally suffered martyrdom under Decian's persecution of Christians. Except for this information, there is not much facts known of his pontificate. [feast day, January 20].
Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258 A.D.)
Starting as a pagan rhetorician and lawyer, Cyprian became a Christian about 246 A.D. Educated as a profound scholar of the Bible, he was elected bishop of Carthage. When the Christians were persecuted under the Emperor Decius, Cyprian fled from Carthage and ruled his see by letter. When he returned to Carthage a year after, he was again caught in the politics of his time and place, and eventually was exiled to Curubis, a small town 50 miles from Carthage. Since he also refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods, he was beheaded on September 14. Legend then tells us that before he was sentenced to die by the sword, Cyprian said, "Thanks be to God", and knelt at prayer before receiving the death stroke. [feast day, September 16].
Sixtus II (d. 258 A.D.)
Sixtus was elected to the papacy on August 30, 257 A.D. His pontificate is known by his correspondence with Dionysius of Alexandria and Firmilian of Antioch. Through the letters that transpired between them, Sixtus upheld the position that heretical baptisms were invalid - without breaking ties with African and Asian churches that upheld those baptisms. During Valerian's persecution of the Christians, he was seized while saying Mass at a cemetery outside Rome and executed on August 6. Seized and executed with him were the deacons Agapitus, Feliccisimus, Januarius, Magnus, Stephen, and Vincent. [feast day, August 7].
Laurentius (d. 251 A.D.)
Laurentius, together with his brother Pergentius, were arrested and charged with being Christians. This was because both were making converts while still in school during the persecutions under the Emperor Decius. Despite being fortunate in having been released by the magistrate Tiburtius, because of their family, Laurentius and his brother persisted in their work of proselytizing and converting others to Christianity. They again were arrested and when they refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, were beheaded. [feast day, June 3]
Other martyrs
There were countless other martyrs in the early centuries who could not all be mentioned in this article:
martyrs like Sts. Agnes (d. c. 304 A.D., feast day - January 21);
Stephen (d. c. 35 A.D., feast day - December 26); his story is found in the Acts of the Apostles 6-7);
Apollonia (d. 249, feast day - February 9);
Lawrence (d. 258, feast day - August 10);
Lucy (d. 304, feast day - December 13);
Cecilia (date of death unknown, feast day - November 22);
Agatha (date of death unknown, feast day - February 5)
and Sebastian (d. c. 288, feast day - January 20).
The virgin-martyrs Cecilia, Agatha, Agnes, and Lucy, died in similar ways. Before dying, they were tortured brutally and at length, and then gave their lives for faith and virginity. All of these four were sentenced to die for reasons often surrounding their rejection of pagan suitors or advances made by the same. This led to their being brought to court and eventually sentenced to torture and death because of their Christian faith.
Summary
It is often said that the Church was built on the foundation of the Apostles and the blood of the martyrs. All of the apostles, with the exception of John, also died by martyrdom. By the great sacrifice of Jesus, and of many who followed him literally in the way of martyrdom, the faith has spread from Jerusalem, to Asia Minor, and to the regions and countries of Europe. For those who did not believe in Christ at that time, the very witness of the Christian martyrs was enough to convert literally thousands - including even political leaders such as kings, nobles, and rulers of the states and nations in which the Christian faith spread. These early witnesses of the Christian faith helped establish the Christian religion well and finally influenced the Emperor Constantine to make Christianity a formal religion in the Roman Empire.
Edited from the following sources:
- "A History of the Church" by Franzen and Dolan
- Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
- "A Year with the Saints" by Don Bosco Press, Inc.
- "Passion of the Saints" by Discovery Channel
- "The Friendship of God" by Segundo Galilea
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