Marshall's painting depicts the instruments of these children's possible martyrdoms — guns and cars — adult machines that have hurried too many young black boys to their untimely falls from both innocence and life itself.
|
|
Although shorter than the other version, there are accounts of martyrdoms in Caesarea that are not contained in the long recension, such as the voluntary martyrdoms of Timolaus and Companions.
|
|
There are claims that the numbers of Christians killed for their faith annually are greatly exaggerated, but the fact of ongoing Christian martyrdoms remains undisputed.
|
|
These statues represent those who died in the name of Christ in the century marked by the greatest number of martyrdoms in the history of the church.
|
|
Cave, William. A complete history of the lives, acts, and martyrdoms of the holy apostles, and the two evangelists, St. Mark and Luke, Vol. II. Wiatt (Philadelphia), 1810. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
|
|
Imperially authorized persecutions were limited and sporadic, with martyrdoms occurring most often under the authority of local officials.Bowman, p. 616Frend, W.H.C. (2006) "Persecutions: Genesis and Legacy," Cambridge History of Christianity: Origins to Constantine.
|
|
Gurdwara Katalgarh now marks the spot where he fell, followed by Sahibzada Jujhar Singh who led the next sally. An annual fair known as Jor Mela is held to remark their martyrdoms in December - January.
|
|
Eventually, he was not buried there, as it was deemed improper for Emperors to be buried outside Byzantium. The cathedral was devoted to the martyrdoms of Eleazar and of the seven children in 2 Maccabees.
|
|
Much of this is due to their great success in their creating a myth for science as a religion. Their myth of science as a religion is replete with battles, and martyrdoms, and saints, and creeds.
|
|
He collaborated with Christoph Schwartz on martyrdoms of Saint Andrew and Saint Ursula for the Michelkirche in Munich. Scalzi also collaborated with Pieter de Witte on The Penitent Magdalene destroyed in 1945 during the Second World War.
|
|
The inner faces of the doors show Saint Cecilia and Saint Hermenegild above small scenes of their martyrdoms., whilst their exterior show Michael the Archangel and a guardian angel below a lunette of Christ and God the Father.
|
|
When great Babylon likewise is > represented as drunk with the blood of the saints, [Revelation 17:6] > doubtless the supplies needful for her drunkenness are furnished by the cups > of martyrdoms; and what suffering the fear of martyrdoms will entail, is in > like manner shown. For among all the castaways, nay, taking precedence of > them all, are the fearful. "But the fearful," says John—and then come the > others—"will have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone." [Revelation > 21:8] Thus fear, which, as stated in his epistle, love drives out, has > punishment.
|
|
Many of the artworks are derived from other churches. In the choir are two altarpieces from the church of Santa Rosalia, depicting the martyrdoms of St Bartholomew and St Agatha, both attributed to Gaetano Guadagnino.Comune of Canicattì, Artistic and Architectural Patrimony, entry on church.
|
|
A common theme throughout is the constant battle between good and evil. The Devil is a frequent presence in many of Hrosvitha's works, and she characterizes him according to the conventions of her time. In "Dionysius" and "St. Agnes" she recounts the martyrdoms of early Christians.
|
|
After prison, Wilde would condemn the Criminal Law Amendment Act, predicting that the battle against it would be a "road… long and red with monstrous martyrdoms." He asserted that so-called "Uranian" love was "noble—more noble than other forms".Holland, Merlin. (2004). The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde.
|
|
The film traced the history of Germany from the Franco-Prussian War, the founding of the Second Reich, the First World War, the occupation of the Ruhr, the martyrdoms of Albert Leo Schlageter, Horst Wessel and others, the rise of Hitler, the foundation of the Harzburg Front and their eventual victory.
|
|
Martyrdom is a fundamental institution of Sikhism. Sikh festivals are largely focused on the lives of the Sikh gurus and Sikh martyrs. Their martyrdoms are regarded as instructional ideals for Sikhs, and have greatly influenced Sikh culture and practices. The Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, is generally regarded as the first Sikh martyr.
|
|
35-46 Pole would later be responsible for many Protestant martyrdoms. Brooke's magnificent chest tomb and alabaster effigy, with that of his wife Ann Braye (died 1558), one of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Edmund Braye, 1st Baron Braye, by whom he had 10 sons and 4 daughters, survives in Cobham Church before the high altar.
|
|
He occasionally painted the staffage in the landscapes of Abraham Govaerts. Many of his works that have survived depict martyrdoms, a theme popular in Counter-Reformation Flanders. One of his important commissions was the painting of the triptych for the Guild of Barbers and Surgeons in 1590.Lynn F. Jacobs, Opening Doors: The Early Netherlandish Triptych Reinterpreted, Penn State Press, 2012, p.
|
|
When Saladin learns of it, he launches a raid into Galilee. The Libellus gives a description of the crusaders' defeat in the battle of Cresson (1 May 1187). The author laments the martyrdoms of Roger des Moulins, a certain Templar named Jakelin de Mailly and a Hospitaller named Henry of the Hospital. This defeat convinces Raymond to recognize Guy as king.
|
|
Husayn's grave became the most visited place of ziyarat for Shi'as. A pilgrimage to Husayn's shrine in Karbala is said to have the merit of a thousand pilgrimages to Mecca, of a thousand martyrdoms, and of a thousand days fasting.Braswell, Islam: Its Prophet, Peoples, Politics and Power, 1996, p.28. Shi'a have an important book about Husayn which is called Ziyarat Ashura.
|
|
This takes the shape of a tomb. The altar was built in 1711 and is surmounted by a five-lancet window, and on one side of the altar there is a statue of Saint Thomas of Canterbury and on the other Saint Blaise. Under each statue there is a bas-relief depicting their martyrdoms. Above the steps of the altar are two reliefs.
|
|
The first Bishop of Melanesia was John Patteson, consecrated in 1861. Three years later his church suffered its first two martyrdoms, and the Bishop was himself martyred in September 1871. He is now remembered in the calendar (list of saints) of many Anglican provinces. In 1922, the synod of the then-missionary diocese was constituted by the New Zealand General Synod (at the Bishop's and people's request).
|
|
Both accounts lamented that the speech was not written down but one said it traced the proofs of Manifestation, noting the martyrdoms of Persia, the need of divine authority to solve human problems, and the lives of the Central Figures of the Faith. Vail was officially recognized to have joined the religion years later, after the majority of his congregation insisted he stop promoting the religion.
|
|
Some suicide bombers are motivated by a desire to obtain martyrdoms or are religiously motivated. Kamikaze missions were carried out as a duty to a higher cause or moral obligation. Murder–suicide is an act of homicide followed within a week by suicide of the person who carried out the act. Mass suicides are often performed under social pressure where members give up autonomy to a leader.
|
|
James Cooke (c. 1783), The History of the Lives, Acts, and Martyrdoms of … Blessed Christians, with cuts (1785), and a pamphlet on The Construction and Use of the Barometer or Weather Glass. His best work was considered to have been The School of Arts, or an Introduction to Useful Knowledge, 1785. A portion of this was separately issued as A Treatise on the 'Mechanical Powers' London, 1787.
|
|
They are the peripherally discussed or rarely mentioned people who have nonetheless distinguished themselves for their heroic deeds and martyrdoms. They have often worked behind “prominent” heroes but have done dangerous and complicated tasks which made many battles and revolts possible if not successful. He was called the "most militant and aggressive" of the Filipino advocates of complete and immediate independence in the first decades of the 20th century.
|
|
These include the martyrdoms of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Saint Polycarp, the Martyrs of Lyons, the famous Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas, and the Passion of Saint Irenaeus. In these accounts, miraculous elements are restricted, a feature that proved unpopular. These accounts were often later embellished with legendary material. A third category is accounts that are largely or purely legendary, probably with or without a kernel of historical information.
|
|
The actions could only be seen an anti-Catholic or at least anti-papal. Whilst moderate supporters did not wish to offend the Catholic community, a memorial in Heathfield read "burnt to death at Lewes by the Roman Catholics". These monuments did not commemorate the martyrdoms of Catholics or the Protestant opponents of state-imposed orthodoxy, except where they were erected by nonconformists. Anger was directed against the Anglo-Catholic community more than Catholics.
|
|
His execution was one of the many martyrdoms of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome. According to Origen, Peter was crucified head downwards, by his own request because he considered himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. The crucifixion took place near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero. The obelisk now stands in St. Peter's Square and is revered as a "witness" to Peter's death.
|
|
Thus martyrdoms also rage > furiously, but for salvation. God also will be at liberty to heal for > everlasting life by means of fires and swords, and all that is painful. > (Scorpiace 5) Tertullian has a long discussion on the certainty of persecutions and the reality of death for followers of Christ. Quoting extensively from the teachings of Jesus, Tertullian urges Christians towards faithful endurance in order to obtain final salvation with God.
|
|
The executioner's grasp and the angel's reach are two parallel paths. Only Matthew is privy to the angelic visitation. Viewed as such, this is a painting not about a moment of general terror, but the death of a saint as the personal handshake of the divine. Italian Baroque painting and sculpture of the time commonly depicted martyrdoms not as moments of fear, but as moments of joy or ecstasy, as in for example, Bernini's Santa Bibiana.
|
|
The practice of bullfighting in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France are connected with the legends of Saturnin of Toulouse and his protégé in Pamplona, Fermin. These are inseparably linked to bull-sacrifices by the vivid manner of their martyrdoms set by Christian hagiography in the third century. In some Christian traditions, Nativity scenes are carved or assembled at Christmas time. Many show a bull or an ox near the baby Jesus, lying in a manger.
|
|
The four-storey manor house has Tudor origins, including a fireplace dated 1656. It incorporates a tower which remains from an earlier building on the site which dates from the late 15th or early 16th century. It was built for Sir Richard Vickris who was the High Sheriff of Bristol. Among the brought-in pieces in the house are two South German reliefs, "The Martyrdoms of St Catherine and St Sebastian", from an altar of the early 16th century.
|
|
Hywel Wyn Jones, The Place-Names of Wales, University of Wales Press, 2005, p.19, An aerial view of Caerleon's Roman amphitheatre site in 2005 Substantial excavated Roman remains can be seen, including the military amphitheatre, thermae (baths) and barracks occupied by the Roman Legion. In August 2011 the remains of a Roman harbour were discovered in Caerleon. According to Gildas, followed by Bede, Roman Caerleon was the site of two early Christian martyrdoms, those of Julius and Aaron.
|
|
The details of the martyrdoms survive in both Latin and Greek texts (see below). Perpetua's account of events leading to their deaths, apparently historical, is written in the first person. A brief introduction by the editor (chapters i–ii) is followed by the narrative and visions of Perpetua (iii–ix), and the vision of Saturus (xi–xiii). The account of their deaths, written by the editor who claims to be an eyewitness, is included at the end (xiv–xxi).
|
|
David Freedberg, The Representation of Martyrdoms During The Early Counter-Reformation in Antwerp, Burlington Magazine, 1976, p. 132-138 Ambrosius, who is believed to have converted to Calvinism himself, was elected dean of the Guild in 1582. After the Fall of Antwerp, the city became Catholic again and Ambrosius made it known he was Catholic again. He clearly established a name for himself as a prolific maker of the many altarpieces that replaced the ones destroyed during the iconoclastic troubles.
|
|
Enigme joyeuse pour les bons esprits Jan van Haelbeck worked on many publication projects. Some of these were original creations. Others were re-engravings of popular works published earlier. An example of the latter is the publication Ecclesiae Militantis Triumphi published by Jean Leclerc IV in Paris in the early 1600s. This publication was a reworking in laterally reversed format of a 1585 Jesuit publication, which comprised 32 prints engraved by Giovanni Battista de'Cavalieri depicting in graphic detail the martyrdoms of various saints.
|
|
The earliest events of the Christian history of Venosa are the martyrdoms of the Twelve Brothers (286) and of Feliz, Bishop of Tabara in Africa, and his companions (303). Stephanus (498) is the first Bishop of Venosa whose date is known accurately. The names of other bishops up to the Norman conquest have not been preserved. Buono (1223) was assassinated by a cleric; Lamberto Arbaudo (1509) embellished the cathedral, which was demolished a little later to permit the erection of fortifications.
|
|
Denig is remembered for a 200-page illuminated manuscript he produced in 1784. The book, filled with spiritual texts and sermons and illustrated in watercolor, contains mainly scenes from the New Testament, including images from the passion of Jesus and the martyrdoms of the apostles. Also incorporated into its pages are pictures of symbolic flowers and other items, as well as twenty hymns. The pages measure six-and-one-half by eight-and-one-half inches, and the whole is bound in leather.
|
|
Epiphanius' Treatise on Weights and Measures - The Syriac Version (ed. James Elmer Dean), University of Chicago Press 1935, pp. 33-34, 36 The so-called "fifth" and "sixth editions" were two other Greek translations supposedly discovered by students outside the towns of Jericho and Nicopolis: these were later added by Origen to his Hexapla to make the Octapla.Cave, Wm. A complete history of the lives, acts, and martyrdoms of the holy apostles, and the two evangelists, St. Mark and Luke, Vol.
|
|
In the East, the persecution was officially discontinued on April 30, 311,Clarke, 656; Corcoran, Empire, 186. although martyrdoms in Gaza continued until May 4. The Edict of Serdica, also called Edict of Toleration by Galerius, was issued in 311 in Serdica (today Sofia, Bulgaria) by the Roman emperor Galerius, officially ending the Diocletianic persecution of Christianity in the East. Galerius, now on his deathbed, issued this proclamation to end hostilities, and give Christians the rights to exist freely under the law, and to peaceable assembly.
|
|
Andrew Louth has argued that the Church History was first published in . In its present form, the work was brought to a conclusion before the death of Crispus (July 326), and, since book x is dedicated to Paulinus, Archbishop of Tyre, who died before 325, at the end of 323 or in 324. This work required the most comprehensive preparatory studies, and it must have occupied him for years. His collection of martyrdoms of the older period may have been one of these preparatory studies.
|
|
In the cultural sphere, there were some Mongol elements in Western medieval art, especially in Italy, of which most surviving examples are from the 14th century, after the chance of a military alliance had faded. These included the depiction of textiles from the Mongol Empire and Mongol script in various contexts, the latter often anachronistic. Imports of textiles had a considerable influence on Italian textile design. Mongol military costume is sometimes worn by soldiers, typically those acting against Christian figures, as in martyrdoms or Crucifixion scenes.
|
|
It was built by craftsmen from Maramures district in Transylvania, it was assembled without nails or metal objects in the structure and it is adorned with religious neo-Byzantine paintings. The bell tower rises more than 30 meters. All the pieces of wood for ceilings and walls, were brought from Romania, according sacred traditions to avoid similarities with the hardware and martyrdoms of the crucifixion. It was inaugurated in 1999 and took part in the act Teoctist Arăpașu, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church at that time.
|
|
The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer, by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1883) C. W. Eckersberg (1815) The Colosseum is generally regarded by Christians as a site of the martyrdom of large numbers of believers during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, as evidenced by Church history and tradition. On the other hand, other scholars believe that the majority of martyrdoms may have occurred at other venues within the city of Rome, rather than at the Colosseum, citing a lack of still-intact physical evidence or historical records.
|
|
Paoletti & Radke, 66; Kessler, 93. Front detail: Cardinal Giacomo Stefaneschi Giotto represents the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul as taking place in recognizable locales, frequently visited by pilgrims to Rome. Peter's crucifixion is placed between the Meta Romuli (a pyramid near the Vatican, destroyed in the 15th century) and the obelisk that came from Nero's Circus, while Paul's beheading is outside the city, near a round building that symbolizes the saint's prison. These scenes could also be found in the medieval frescoes on the walls of the nave of Old St. Peter's.
|
|
Later elaborations of her legend state that her body was laid in a boat and blown by the breath of angels to the bay presently denominated the "Baie des Anges" in Nice. A similar tale is associated with the legends of Saint Restituta; Saint Devota, patroness of Monaco and Corsica; and Saint Torpes. Evidence of her cult does not exist before the ninth century, when her name appeared in the martyrology of St. Bede. Eusebius of Caesarea, who recorded the martyrdoms that occurred in the Holy Land during the 3rd century, did not reference her.
|
|
The History of Karka is a sixth-century text which describes the persecution and killings of Christians in Kirkuk (formerly known as Karka de Beth Selok) in the year 446. This outbreak of violence occurred in the Sasanian Empire under Yazdegerd II. Prior to discussing the martyrdoms of 446 it gives a short account of the history of the region. The History extends back as far as such mythological and semi-mythological characters as Sargon of Akkad, Nimrod, Ninus, and Belos. It presents a confused account of the history's origins, mixing history and mythology.
|
|
Soon after joining Pamphilus' school, Eusebius started helping his master expand the library's collections and broaden access to its resources. At about this time Eusebius compiled a Collection of Ancient Martyrdoms, presumably for use as a general reference tool. Amba Geshan In the 290s, Eusebius began work on his most important work, the Ecclesiastical History, a narrative history of the Church and Christian community from the Apostolic Age to Eusebius' own time. At about the same time, he worked on his Chronicle, a universal calendar of events from the Creation to, again, Eusebius' own time.
|
|
However, the focus of the league started to recede once most "respectable" working men had received the householder or lodger vote. Years of demonstrations began to tire the workers and the thought of many more years of the same no longer held the same appeal. In addition, the Sheffield Outrages and the Fenian "martyrdoms" took over as the main working class issues of the day. Notable events of this time include the "funeral processions" of 24 Nov 1867 and the "Fenian Outrage" at Clerkenwell Prison on 13 Dec 1867.
|
|
The mosque of Abu Darwish (Adyghe descendant), one of the oldest mosques in Amman and considered as a major landmark. Ancestors of modern Adyghe people gradually went through following various religions: Ancient Polytheists Beliefs, Christianity, and then Islam. It is the tradition of the early church that Christianity made its first appearance in Circassia in the first century AD via the travels and preaching of the Apostle Andrew.Antiquitates christianæ, or, The history of the life and death of the holy Jesus as also the lives acts and martyrdoms of his Apostles: in two parts, by Taylor, Jeremy, 1613–1667. p. 101.
|
|
Anglicans consider Foxe's book a witness to the sufferings of faithful Protestants at the hands of anti-Protestant Catholic authorities and their endurance unto death, seen as a component of English identity. Foxe emphasizes hearing or reading the Holy Scripture in the native language without mediation through a priesthood. Catholics consider Foxe a significant source of English anti-Catholicism, charging among other objections to the work, that the treatment of martyrdoms under Mary ignores the contemporary mingling of political and religious motives — for instance, ignoring the possibility that some victims may have intrigued to remove Mary from the throne.
|
|
An account of the martyrdoms in ShansiPDF, DJVU and OCR-ed version of "Last letters and further records of martyred missionaries of the china inland mission; with portraits and illustrations", edited by Marshall Broomhall B.A., published in London by Morgan & Scott. Note that there are many errors in the OCR version of this document. which includes reports on the reoccupation of the missionary stations includes this section (p. 15) with a letter written in May 1896 by Rev T W Pigott B.A., one of the martyrs: > The members of the Sheo-yang Mission, with the exception of Dr. and Mrs.
|
|
The circus was the site of the first organized, state-sponsored martyrdoms of Christians in 65. Tradition holds that two years later, Saint Peter and many other Christians shared their fate. The circumstances were described in detail by Tacitus in a well-known passage of the Annals, (xv.44). The site for crucifixions in the Circus would have been along the spina ("spine"), as suggested by the 2nd century Acts of Peter describing the spot of his martyrdom as inter duas metas ("between the two metae or turning- posts", which would have been equidistant between the two ends of the circus).
|
|
In the Cappella della Madonna della Purità, are canvases by Palma il Giovane and Alessandro Maganza. In the Cappella del Santo Sepolcro or del Crocifisso, is a depiction of the Flagellation of Christ by Vernansal and a 17th-century wooden crucifix by Agostino Tannini. In the sacristy on the west side of the church are paintings depicting the martyrdoms of St Simone (by blinding) and St Judas Thaddeus (by beating) by Pietro Damini. The bas-relief marble Pietà in the sacristy is by Bartolomeo Bellano and the wooden altarpiece depicting the Prayer in the Garden is by Michele Fabris.
|
|
Adjoining this chapel, on the southwest pier is a monument of Cardinal Gerdil, a Barnabite theologian buried in the church. The third chapel was designed by Paolo Maruscelli with frescoes of the Persian Martyrdoms (1641) by Giovan Francesco Romanelli and lunettes by Giacinto Gimignani. The passage behind the High Altar has canvases depicting St. Charles in Prayer (1620) by Guido Reni and St. Charles by Andrea Commodi, as well as a Miracle of St. Blaise (1669) by Cerrini. The bronze crucifix in the sacristy is attributed to Alessandro Algardi and Christ Derided (1598) by Cavalier D'Arpino.
|
|
It is believed that the martyrdoms are genuine but that the three martyrs were not necessarily related to one another, but were executed together at Marsica. The earliest source on their life actually dates from a Passio of 1406. The Passio states that Simplicius and his entire family, natives of Bourgogne, were baptized by Saint Januarius (not, according to Antonio Borrelli, the famous saint of Naples) during the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161). Gaudentia, the wife of Simplicius, became a nun and withdrew to a monastery, while Simplicius and his two sons Constantius and Victorinus preached on behalf of their new religion.
|
|
This room is completely covered in medieval wall paintings which date from the period of the rebuild. Their preservation is due to their Catholic nature: at the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII they were painted over and protected from the damaging sun, obviously seen as popish idolatry. Most of the paintings depict scenes from the lives of saints, for example the martyrdoms of St. Erasmus and St. Thomas Beckett, and St Anne teaching the Virgin Mary to read. Other paintings include the Holy Trinity, the crucifixion of Christ and the weighing of the souls.
|
|
St Sebastian (Sebianus) in the Nuremberg Chronicle The first surviving account of Sebastian's life and death is the Passio Sancti Sebastiani, long thought to have been written by Ambrose of Milan in the 4th century, but now regarded as a 5th-century account by an unknown author. This includes the "two martyrdoms", and the care by Irene in between, and other details that remained part of the story.Hedquist, Valerie, "Ter Brugghen’s Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art §8-9, 9:2 (Summer 2017) DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2017.9.2.3, fully online; The Vatican: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide, eds.
|
|
The marriage union was the origin of the Crown of Aragón, and union with Castile would not happen for another 333 years, when King Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife, Queen Isabella I of Castile, each took their respective thrones. 13th century Zaragoza was the scene of two controversial martyrdoms related with the Spanish Inquisition: those of Saint Dominguito del Val, a choirboy in the basilica, and Pedro de Arbués, head official of the inquisition. While the reality of the existence of Dominguito del Val is questioned, his "murder" at the hands of "jealous Jews" was used as an excuse to murder or convert the Jewish population of Zaragoza.
|
|
The Martyrdom of Habib along with the Acts of Shmona and of Gurya are claimed to be authored by a Theophilus who also claims to have witnessed the martyrdoms. Scholars compare both texts with the spurious 5th century AD texts Acts of Sharbel and the Martyrdom of Barsamya in order to determine the reliability of the texts. In the Doctrine of Addai, a list unique to the text concerning the names of Addai's first Christian converts who are of nobility are also mentioned in the Acts of Sharbel and the Martyrdom of Barsamya. According to Sebastian Brock, all three texts were authored by the same group.
|
|
The scenes prior to the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul, both common in Early Christian art, show the same avoidance of the climactic moments which were usually chosen in later Christian art. But they demonstrate to the viewer how the heavenly crown could be achieved by ordinary Christians, although the Imperial persecutions were now over. Both scenes also took place in Rome, and this local interest is part of the balance of Christian and traditional Roman gestures that the sarcophagus shows.Elsner's main theme The reeds behind Paul probably represent the boggy area of the city where Paul's execution was traditionally believed to have happened.
|
|
St Paul Miki is said to have preached to the crowd from his cross. The main theme inherent in both the museum and monument is "The Way to Nagasaki" – symbolising not only the physical trek to Nagasaki but also the Christian spirit of the martyrs. The museum's collection includes important historical articles from both Japan and Europe (such as original letters from the Jesuit priest St Francis Xavier) as well as modern artistic works on the early Christian period in Japan. The displays are arranged chronologically into three periods: the early Christian propagation, the martyrdoms, and the persistence of Christianity underground during the persecution.
|
|
In niches on the façade of the church of the Gesuiti are St. John the Evangelist and St. James with St. Andrew atop the balustrade. His bas-relief of the martyrdoms of the patron saints fills the tympanum of Santi Simeone e Giuda. On the staircase of the Seminario Patriarcale are bas-relief panels illustrating Jacob's Dream and the Vision of the Orphan. The Martyrdom of the Saints in the Church San Simeone Piccolo Several of his life-size marble figures are in the Summer Garden, St. Petersburg: a Saturn,A terracotta bozzetto for the Saturn was sold at auction Sothebys London, 9 July 2008 (catalog description, catalog description).
|
|
There is no glory in these martyrdoms, as Rodrigues had always imagined – only brutality and cruelty. Prior to the arrival of Rodrigues, the authorities had been attempting to force priests to renounce their faith by torturing them. Beginning with Ferreira, they torture other Christians as the priests look on, telling the priests that all they must do is renounce their faith in order to end the suffering of their flock. Rodrigues' journal depicts his struggles: he understands suffering for the sake of one's own faith; but he struggles over whether it is self-centered and unmerciful to refuse to recant when doing so will end another's suffering.
|
|
The ABCFM Mission compound was razed, as was the Emily Ament Memorial School (named in honour of Ament's daughter) on Sixth Street, Peking.Luella Miner, China's Book of Martyrs: A Record of Heroic Martyrdoms and Marvelous Deliverances of Chinese Christians During the Summer of 1900, (Jennings and Pye, 1903): 240.Robert Hart; John King Fairbank; Katherine Frost Bruner; Elizabeth MacLeod Matheson; and James Duncan Campbell, The I. G. in Peking: Letters of Robert Hart, Chinese Maritime Customs, 1868–1907 (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1975): 879. Ament estimated that by the end of July 1900 that losses for the ABCFM Peking station was about $71,000 gold.
|
|
The main ghanta ghar deori north entrance has a Sikh history museum on the first floor, according to the Sikh tradition. The display shows various paintings, of gurus and martyrs, many narrating the persecution of Sikhs over their history, as well as historical items such as swords, kartar, comb, chakkars. A new underground museum near the clock tower, but outside the temple courtyard also shows Sikh history. According to Louis E. Fenech, the display does not present the parallel traditions of Sikhism and is partly ahistorical such as a headless body continuing to fight, but a significant artwork and reflects the general trend in Sikhism of presenting their history to be one of persecution, martyrdoms and bravery in wars.
|
|
Harthan, 128 Night-scenes include a famous Annunciation to the Shepherds and the Nativity.Harthan, 132; Walther & Wolf, 408–409 Despite the general "sweetness of Bourdichon's style",Harthan, 128 the work contains gruesome images of the mass martyrdoms of Saint Ursula's eleven thousand virgin companions and the Theban Legion, though rather characteristically both show moments after the action and contain relatively little movement. Scenes from the Life of Christ and that of the Virgin are depicted as well as a number of portraits and scenes of saints. F. 197v has the rare scene of the Virgin Mary being taught how to read by Saint Anne, who is seated on a dais like a medieval professor.
|
|
1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees recount numerous martyrdoms suffered by Jews resisting the Hellenizing of their Seleucid overlords, being executed for such crimes as observing the Sabbath, circumcising their children or refusing to eat pork or meat sacrificed to foreign gods. With few exceptions, this assumption has lasted from the early Christian period to this day, accepted both by Jews and Christians. According to Daniel Boyarin, there are "two major theses with regard to the origins of Christian martyrology, which [can be referred to] as the Frend thesis and the Bowersock thesis". Boyarin characterizes W.H.C. Frend's view of martyrdom as having originated in "Judaism" and Christian martyrdom as a continuation of that practice.
|
|
Persecutions of followers of doctrines which were seen as heretical or causing schism were persecuted during the reign of Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, and they would be persecuted again later in the 4th century. The last emperor of the Constantinian dynasty, Constantine's half-brother's son Julian () opposed Christianity and sought to restore traditional religion, though he did not arrange a general or official persecution, since martyrdoms strengthened other Christians' resistance. By the later part of the century, the bishop Basil of Caesarea wrote of the era of persecution with retrospect, describing it as "the good old times when God’s churches flourished, rooted in faith, united in love" in his 164th epistle.
|
|
At some point during the Middle Ages, Ethernan got conflated with another figure from the Isle of May called Adrian. Adrian was said to have been killed by Viking raiders in 875, and his shrine attracted pilgrims for the next several centuries. While it is possible that a monk called Adrian was killed by Vikings on the island, this cult is most likely a misremembering of Ethernan from a time when the Picts had ceased to function as an ethnic group within Scotland and ancient martyrdoms in Britain and Ireland were commonly attributed to Vikings. In later medieval legends, such as those recorded in the Aberdeen Breviary, Ethernan and Adrian were treated as two entirely separate saints.
|
|
Giovanni Battista Barca, or Giovanni Battista Barchi, (1594-1650) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born in Mantua, but became a citizen of Verona. He appears to have been a pupil of Domenico Fetti. He painted a Pietà for San Fermo Maggiore; a Virgin for the altar of the Carli in San Nicolò; a Saints John the Baptists, Andrew, Mary Magdalen, and Jerome and a two Martyrdoms of Saints Crispino and Crispiniano for the church of Santa Maria della Scala; a Visitation of the Virgin for the main chapel of the church of the Vittoria; and a St John Evangelist for the church of San Giovanni della Beverara; and a Madonna with Saints Francis and John the Baptist for San Bernardino.
|
|
In addition to attempting to edify its audience, the MartPol advances an argument for a particular understanding of martyrdom, with Polycarp's death as its prized example. The letter begins with an opposition of two martyr examples in which one is marked as good, and the other as bad. These examples can be found in sections 2-4 of the letter, where the noble Germanicus of Smyrna is praised for his steadfast example, as well the example of Quintus who expressed an urge for martyrdom and sought it out. Polycarp thus serves as a testimony of proper discipleship and imitation of the Lord in his martyrdom. “Blessed and noble, therefore, are all the martyrdoms that have occurred according to the will of God.
|
|
For one of these image-covered mannequins, titled Devoción, he used many different Christian images, including Jesus' miracles, martyrdoms of saints, and the birth of Christ, with a central figure was the Virgin Mary. The goal for these mannequins was to "dress" the nude body with these Christian images, while also juxtapose the virginity of Mary with the sexuality and nudity of the female body. Another mannequin figure titled Dueteronomio was a similarly sexualized, limbless mannequin, this time covered with sections from the Book of Deuteronomy, written in Ferrari's calligraphic style. The idea Ferrari is playing with here is that of the "clothing of grace" that covered Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, withholding the shame that their nudity would later bring.
|
|
The Cosmatesque pulpit, the balustrades, the altar frontal and episcopal chair behind the altar (in pale blue, unusual in Cosmatesque work) may have been brought here at this time from San Giovanni in Laterano, when work was undertaken at this period in the transepts there, although possibly they came from other churches. The paintings between the windows are also 17th century, by Cavalier D'Arpino and Cesare Rosetti, and depict the martyrdoms of St Caesarius and of several saints named Hippolytus, a compliment to Pope Clement VIII, whose baptismal name was Ippolito. It was Cavalier D'Arpino who also produced the design for the rare motif in the mosaic, God the Father.A Handbook of Rome; by John Murray, 11th edition (1872), page 137.
|
|
In the West it is often called the Nestorian Church, due to its historical associations with Nestorianism, though the church itself considers the term pejorative and argues that this association is incorrect. The church declares that no other church has suffered as many martyrdoms as the Assyrian Church of the East. The founders of Assyrian theology were Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, who taught at Antioch. The normative Christology of the Assyrian church was written by Babai the Great (551–628) and is clearly distinct from the accusations directed toward Nestorius: his main christological work is called the 'Book of the Union', and in it Babai teaches that the two (essences, or hypostases) are unmingled but everlastingly united in the one (personality) of Christ.
|
|
His mythologic subjects are often as violent as his martyrdoms: for example, Apollo and Marsyas, with versions in Brussels and Naples, or the Tityos in the Prado. The Prado owns fifty six paintings and other six attributed to Ribera, algonside with eleven drawings, like Jacob’s Dream (1639); Louvre contain four of his painting and seven drawings; the National Gallery, London, three; The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando owns a nice ensamble of five paintings including The Assumption of Mary Magdalene from El Escorial, an early Ecce Homo or The head of St. John the Baptist. He executed several fine male portraits and a self-portrait. Saint Jerome Writing in the Prado now has been credited to him by Gianni Papi, a Caravaggio expert.
|
|
Saints Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus (), martyrs in the Byzantine traditions of southern Italy, were three brothers from Vaste, in the diocese of Otranto, who died with their mother, Benedicta, during the persecution of Decius, ca 251 AD. The details concerning these martyrdoms are traditional, drawn up at a later date in the Benedictine Acta of Saint Alphius. According to the Acta, Alphius, Philadelphus, Cyrinus, ranging in age from nineteen to twenty-two, and their mother Benedicta were arrested with other Christians during the persecutions under Decius. They were taken to Pozzuoli, near Naples, where one of the Christians, Onesimus, was executed. The brothers were taken on to Sicily, where they were martyred at Lentini; there they are among the patron saints.
|
|
Martyrdom of the seven Hebrew brothers, Attavante degli Attavanti, Vatican Library Martyrdom in Judaism is one of the main examples of Kiddush Hashem, meaning "sanctification of God's name" through public dedication to Jewish practice. Religious martyrdom is considered one of the more significant contributions of Hellenistic Judaism to Western Civilization. 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees recount numerous martyrdoms suffered by Jews resisting Hellenizing (adoption of Greek ideas or customs of a Hellenistic civilization) by their Seleucid overlords, being executed for such crimes as observing the Sabbath, circumcising their boys or refusing to eat pork or meat sacrificed to foreign gods. According to W. H. C. Frend, "Judaism was itself a religion of martyrdom" and it was this "Jewish psychology of martyrdom" that inspired Christian martyrdom.
|
|
One of Galo Ocampo's stained class windows Curved windows of the church frame masterful stained-glass designs by Galo Ocampo whose bases show different ecclesiastical seals. The windows depict the original 15 Stations of the Holy Rosary as well as the Battle of Lepanto and La Naval de Manila; and the martyrdoms of San Vicente Liem de la Paz and San Francisco Capillas, Dominican protomartyrs of Vietnam and China, respectively. Right behind Sto. Domingo Church’s facade is an intricately carved panels and stained glass windows lie a treasure trove of the Philippines’ rich cultural heritage and the object of centuries-old devotion, the image of Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval, the oldest Marian icon in the country.
|
|
According to the Gildas (followed by Bede), Roman Caerleon was the site of two early Christian martyrdoms in Britain, at the same time as that of Saint Alban the first British martyr, who was killed in the Roman city of Verulamium (beside modern- day St Albans). He writes: This city of the legions is identified with Caerleon, rather than Chester, because there were two medieval chapels there dedicated to each of these martyrs. They were probably executed in 304, during the religious persecutions of Diocletian's reign. However, these chapels may have been founded as a result of Bede's writings and cannot be dated archaeologically any earlier than the church of St John's in Chester which is also situated next to an amphitheatre.
|
|
1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees recount numerous martyrdoms suffered by Jews resisting Hellenization, being executed for such crimes as observing the Sabbath, circumcising their children or refusing to eat pork or meat sacrificed to foreign gods. During the Maccabean Revolt from 167 to 160 BCE, during at least seven wars between the Jews and the Seleucid Greeks, tens of thousands of Jews died in battle or were killed as martyrs, including some of the original Maccabees. Some of the best known Jewish martyrs of this period is the story of the woman with seven sons and Eleazar (2 Maccabees). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah commemorates and celebrates the miracle of the triumph of the Jews against the ancient Greeks and of Judaism and Torah over classical Greek culture.
|
|
Brooke's daughter, Elizabeth Brooke, is thought to have been the instigator of the plot to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne instead of Mary I. During his Rebellion, Wyatt besieged Lord Cobham in Cooling Castle and although Cobham claimed to have resisted, following the failure of the rebellion he was accused of complicity in it and was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a brief period. The next year, at the start of the Roman Catholic Queen's formal reconciliation with the Holy See, he was assigned to welcome to England the papal legate Cardinal Pole, who went on to be responsible for many Protestant martyrdoms in England. The entertainment is recorded as having taken place at Cooling Castle in 1555. Thereafter Cobham limited himself to local affairs in Kent.
|
|
Wall painting on the south wall depicting the martyrdom of Thomas Becket In the 1870s, Charles Eddy, vicar of the church, uncovered a large number of wall paintings and painted scriptural texts dating to the 13th through 16th centuries which had been whitewashed over in 1550–1551 during the Reformation. The earliest paintings are on the south wall, and depict a series of martyrdoms, the best preserved being a depiction of the murder of Thomas Becket by four knights in 1170. On the north wall is 16th-century depiction of St Christopher which bears a remarkable likeness to contemporary portraits of King Henry VIII. The north wall also has paintings of scriptural texts (John 3:5, Psalm 26 verse 6, and Psalm 95), as well as two consecration crosses.
|
|
2013 Johan Mösch, after comparing information from the various chronicles on the events and geography of the martyrdoms of the legionaries, concluded that only a single cohort was martyred at Agaunum. The remainder of the cohorts (battalion sized units of which there were ten to a legion) were either on the march or already stationed along the Roman road that ran from Liguria through Turin and Milan, then across Alps and down the Rhine to Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne). L. Dupraz and Paul Müller, by examining the military titles and ranks of the legionnaires and thereby determining the total number of soldiers involved, estimated that the Thebans martyred at Agaunum consisted of but one cohort whose number did not exceed 520 men. Thus the execution of an entire cohors is equivalent to decimation of a legion.
|
|
Stele of the Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls The amphitheatre was expanded at the start of the 2nd century, according to J. Guey by C. Julius Celse, procurator of Gallia Lugdunensis from 130 to 136. Two galleries were added around the old amphitheatre, raising its width from 25 metres to 105 metres and its capacity to about 20,000 seats (though this was still modest compared to the amphitheatres at Nîmes and Arles). In so doing it made it a building open to the whole population of Lugdunum and its environs. Historians identify the building as the site of Saints Blandina and Pothinus's martyrdoms as part of the persecution in 177 and a post in the middle of the arena commemorates this event and Pope John-Paul II's visit to Lyon in 1986.
|
|
" Referring to some who had been raised from the dead, he wrote: "Many of them have remained constant, enduring tortures inflicted by sword, rope, fire and water and suffering terrible, tyrannical, unheard-of deaths and martyrdoms, all of which they could easily have avoided by recantation. Moreover one also marvels when he sees how the faithful God (Who, after all, overflows with goodness) raises from the dead several such brothers and sisters of Christ after they were hanged, drowned, or killed in other ways. Even today, they are found alive and we can hear their own testimony ... Cannot everyone who sees, even the blind, say with a good conscience that such things are a powerful, unusual, and miraculous act of God? Those who would deny it must be hardened men.
|
|
He is supposed to have spent his youth at Rome, and returned to Spain a painter, and settled at Burgos. In 1628 he was commissioned by the Chapter of Burgos to paint the portraits of certain dignitaries for the chapel of St. Catalina in the cathedral, and for the chapel of the Virgin he painted a picture of the Presentation. In 1633 he retired to the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores, where in 1634 he took the final vows, and devoted himself to the performance of his duties, and the production of religious pictures, among which were fifteen large canvases on the life of Bruno of Cologne, eleven martyrdoms, ten pictures of saints of the Carthusian Order, a Crucifixion, and some pictures of the Virgin Mary. He died at Miradores.
|
|
Drawing upon, though redefining, an older term used in early Christianity and among Protestants when referring to those books found in the Christian Old Testament although not in the Jewish Bible, modern scholars began to refer to these works of early Christian literature not included in the New Testament as "apocryphal", by which was meant non-canonical. Collected editions of these works were then referred to as the "New Testament apocrypha". Typically excluded from such published collections are the following groups of works: The Apostolic Fathers, the 2nd-century Christian apologists, the Alexandrians, Tertullian, Methodius of Olympus, Novatian, Cyprian, martyrdoms, and the Desert Fathers. Almost all other Christian literature from the period, and sometimes including works composed well into Late Antiquity, are relegated to the so-called New Testament apocrypha.
|
|
The church of Nikozi In the 1720s, the brief medieval narrative of Juansher was transformed into hagiography by the Georgian catholicos Besarion Orbelishvili, who refurbished the story with further details. According to Besarion, the captive Razhden was pressured by the king of the Persians himself into denouncing his Christian faith. Briefly freed, through the mediation of Georgian nobles, to bid a farewell to his family, Razhden voluntarily returned to captivity and was handed over to a Persian commander in Tsromi, in Iberia, where he was eventually crucified, along with five criminals, and shot with arrows. Besarion also authored a canon to St. Razhden, while another Georgian catholicos of the 18th century, Anton I, included a rewritten passion of Razhden in his collection of Georgian martyrdoms in the 1760s.
|
|
The manuscripts give the title of the work as Vita Cypriani ("The Life of Cyprian"), while Jerome (see above) referred to it as Vita et passio Cypriani ("Life and martyrdom of Cyprian"). Jerome's reference may not be intended as a title; but it is certainly the case that the book is clearly divided into two parts, one concerned with Cyprian's life, one with the events leading up to his martyrdom.Mohrmann ( 1975) xiii. In the preface to the work, Pontius expresses regret there were detailed accounts of the martyrdoms of lay Christians, but none of a bishop like Cyprian who had so much worth narrating even without the martyrdom (1, 2). Chapters 3 to 10 relate Cyprian's activities from the time of his conversion, while chapters 11-19 describe proceedings before two different proconsuls, their judgements and Cyprian's final martyrdom.
|
|
The Acts of Shmona and Gurya and the Martyrdom of Habib are claimed to be authored by a Theophilus who also claims to have witness their martyrdoms. Scholars agree that the Acts of Shmona and of Gurya are fairly historically reliable and record a martyrdom which took place around 297 AD. One scholar suggests that it was written in 309 or 310 AD. This makes the Acts one of the first Syriac hagiographies. It became a model for later, less historically reliable martyr stories such as the Acts of Sharbel and the Acts of Barsamya, which are widely regarded to be entirely fictitious. There is a list unique to the Doctrine of Addai, which names Addai's first Christian converts who are of nobility; The list reoccurs in the Acts of Sharbel and the Martyrdom of Barsamya.
|
|
Statues on the west front of Salisbury Cathedral Among his works are 60 statues on the west front of Salisbury Cathedral; the statues of the Apostles at Ely; groups of figures on the reredos and statues of saints in the south porch at Gloucester Cathedral;Gloucester Cathedral precincts accessed 20 February 2008 Our Lord in majesty in the chapter-house at Westminster; an elaborate reredos, representing the crucifixion, with the martyrdoms of St. Peter and St. Andrew, in St. Andrew's Church, Wells Street; the entombment in the Digby mortuary chapel, Sherborne; and Expulsion from Eden at St Leonard's Church, Bridgnorth in Shropshire.Shropshire by John Newman, Nikolaus Pevsner, p. 162, , accessed 19 February 2008 He also carved the four Christian and four moral virtues including Fortitude on the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens. He was the youngest sculptor employed and he was personally chosen by Scott.
|
|
Stefano Rotondo, in Thayer's Guide to Roman Churches > damp, mildewed vault of an old church in the outskirts of Rome, ... by > reason of the hideous paintings with which its walls are covered. These > represent the martyrdoms of saints and early Christians; and such a panorama > of horror and butchery no man could imagine in his sleep, though he were to > eat a whole pig raw, for supper. Grey-bearded men being boiled, fried, > grilled, crimped, singed, eaten by wild beasts, worried by dogs, buried > alive, torn asunder by horses, chopped up small with hatchets: women having > their breasts torn with iron pinchers, their tongues cut out, their ears > screwed off, their jaws broken, their bodies stretched upon the rack, or > skinned upon the stake, or crackled up and melted in the fire: these are > among the mildest subjects. Circignani's last documented painting, in Cascia, is from 1596.
|
|
The count of 22 engravings does not include a set of 13 engraved book- illustrations to the Ars Moriendi; these loosely follow the standard compositions for the subjects, seen in the engraved set by Master E.S. and various woodcut versions.11 of these are online at the British Museum Otherwise, his subjects are divided equally between religious and secular ones, the former being mostly saints and including no images of the adult Christ. The nine saints include four martyrdoms, four standing figures, and Saint George defeating the dragon. The most popular prints are all secular: The Embrace and the two large images of court life, The Tournament and The Grand Ball. All of these are dated, and The Embrace, the only print he dated 1503, shows a growing mastery of the medium, suggesting it was his last print.Shestack, # 149 The Embrace, signed MZ and dated 1503 (15.8 x 11.7 cm).
|
|
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to have foretold the execution of two of his devout followers based on an Arabic revelation he claimed to have received, twenty years before Latif's death, "Two goats will be slaughtered and there is no one on the earth that can avoid death." He interpreted this to mean that two of his followers would be killed and that as a result general destruction would overtake the country in which they were to be killed. Condemning the killing, Ahmad writes in his book The Narrative of Two Martyrdoms: In 1906, Ahmad is believed to have prophesied the martyrdom of another three of his followers, when he claimed to have received the Arabic revelation, "Three goats will be slaughtered". According to Ahmadi commentators this revelation referred to the 1924-1925 killings of Moulvi Naimatullah Khan, Moulvi Abdul Haleem, and Qari Noor Ali, all leading religious figures among the Ahmadiyya members in Afghanistan.
|
|
Under Yazdegerd II () an instance of persecution in 446 is recorded in the Syriac martyrology Acts of Ādur-hormizd and of Anāhīd. Some individual martyrdoms are recorded from the reign of Khosrow I (), but there were likely no mass persecutions. While according to a peace treaty of 562 between Khosrow and his Roman counterpart Justinian I (), Persia's Christians were granted the freedom of religion; proselytism was, however, a capital crime. By this time the Church of the East and its head, the Catholicus of the East, were integrated into the administration of the empire and mass persecution was rare. The Sassanian policy shifted from tolerance of other religions under Shapur I to intolerance under Bahram I and apparently a return to the policy of Shapur until the reign of Shapur II. The persecution at that time was initiated by Constantine's conversion to Christianity which followed that of Armenian king Tiridates in about 301.
|
|
Writing for Catholic Herald, Robert Royal, president of the Faith and Reason Institute, Washington, D.C. reported about the results of his research which appeared in his book The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century: A Comprehensive Global History. Royal states that in some countries, such as Spain, the Church has documented almost 8,000 people killed for the Catholic faith during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Royal says, from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, to Nazi Germany, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, thousands of Catholics have disappeared into gulags, been gunned down by dictators, had their heads cut off by anti-Catholic fanatics, and, in some cases, been crucified. In Sudan, which Royal says is engaged in the most insidious anti-Catholic campaign in the world, there have been reports not only of martyrdoms and crucifixions, but of Christians in the Nuba mountains in southern Sudan being sold into slavery.
|
|
This is the gain which is laid up for > me. . . . Permit me to be an imitator of the passion of my God. (Epistle to > the Romans 4-6) Tertullian believes that martyrdom is necessary at times in order for soldiers in God's army to obey the command to not worship idols. > If, therefore, it is evident that from the beginning this kind of worship > [of idols] has both been forbidden—witness the commands so numerous and > weighty—and that it has never been engaged in without punishment following, > as examples so numerous and impressive show, and that no offense is counted > by God so presumptuous as a trespass of this sort, we ought further to > perceive the purport of both the divine threatenings and their fulfillments, > which was even then commended not only by the not calling in question, but > also by the enduring of martyrdoms, for which certainly He had given > occasion by forbidding idolatry. . . .
|
|
Protestants have asserted that peculiar rites and practices such as veneration of relics and icons, veneration of saints, honoring the Virgin Mary (known as the Theotokos – the one who gave birth to God – to the Orthodox and as Mother of God to Catholics), and observing special holy days associated with paganism, were introduced after the time of Constantine (or even introduced by Constantine as a way to lead the Church into paganism). The catacomb church was surrounded by bones of the dead which are now claimed as relics of necessity, but accounts of early martyrdoms show that Christians regularly sought the remains of the dead martyrs for proper burial and veneration (see the Martyrdom of Polycarp). Many of these early accounts associate miracles with the relics: mentioned in Acts are Paul's handkerchiefs which healed the sick (). Non-Canon such as the Infancy Gospel of James which is attributed to James the Just but was certainly written no later than the 2nd century lays out additional details of Mary's life.
|
|
Firmer ground is only reached with the 4th-century narratives of the martyrdoms of bishops during the persecution of Shapur II, which name several bishops and dioceses in Mesopotamia and elsewhere. The ecclesiastical organisation of the Church of the East in the Sassanian period, at least in the interior provinces and from the 5th century onwards, is known in some detail from the records of synods convened by the patriarchs Isaac in 410, Yahballaha I in 420, Dadishoʿ in 424, Acacius in 486, Babaï in 497, Aba I in 540 and 544, Joseph in 554, Ezekiel in 576, Ishoʿyahb I in 585 and Gregory in 605.Chabot, 274–5, 283–4, 285, 306–7 and 318–51 These documents record the names of the bishops who were either present at these gatherings, or who adhered to their acts by proxy or later signature. These synods also dealt with diocesan discipline, and throw interesting light on the problems which the leaders of the church faced in trying to maintain high standards of conduct among their widely dispersed episcopate.
|
|