PATRISTICS/ Acts of the Martyrs
Acts of the Martyrs are accounts of the suffering and death of a Christian martyr or group of martyrs. These accounts were collected and used in church liturgies from early times, as attested by Saint Augustine.These accounts vary in authenticity. The most reliable follow accounts from trials, but very few of these have survived. Perhaps the most perfect of these is the account of Saint Cyprian. The account of Scillitan Martyrs is also based on trial records, though it has been embellished with miraculous and apocryphal material. A second category, the "Passiones," are based on eyewitness accounts. These include the martyrdoms of Saint Ignatius, Saint Polycarp, the Martyrs of Lyons, the famous Acts of Perpetua and Felicitias, 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 purely legendary, probably without even a kernel of historical information. The Acts of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and those of Saint George fall into this category. Eusebius of Caesarea was likely the first Christian author to produce a collection of acts of the martyrs. Image: "The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer" (Oil on canva c. 1883)
|
