Aphian (Apphian, Apian, Appian, Amphianus, Amphian; ''Amfiano'' in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
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**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Italian
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* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
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) is venerated as a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and by the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
. He is said to have died during the persecutions of the
Emperor Galerius on April 2 in or around the year 305.
In the
Eastern Orthodox calendar, his feast thus falls on April 2, along with
Edesius (Aedisius), who is sometimes called his brother.
Origins
He was from
Lycia
Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...
, and his wealthy and distinguished parents gave him the best education possible in rhetoric, law, and philosophy in the famous
school of Berytus in
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
. While he was away at school, he became a Christian. Aphian withdrew to
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
because his parents resisted his efforts to convert them to Christianity.
Martyrdom
Pamphilus was at
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea Maritima (; Greek: ''Parálios Kaisáreia''), formerly Strato's Tower, also known as Caesarea Palestinae, was an ancient city in the Sharon plain on the coast of the Mediterranean, now in ruins and included in an Israeli national park ...
at the time of Aphian's martyrdom, expounding
Holy Scripture
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
, and the young Aphian was one of his disciples. He lived at the house of
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
, but gave no intimation of his purpose to make the public protest which ended in his martyrdom.
According to his legend, he was only eighteen when he entered the temple at Caesarea Maritima, where the prefect Urbanus was offering sacrifice. Seizing the outstretched hand that was presenting the incense, he reproached the magistrate for his idolatrous act. The guards fell upon him furiously and, after cruelly torturing him, flung him into a dungeon. The next day he was brought before the prefect, torn with iron claws, beaten with clubs, and burned over a slow fire, and then sent back to confinement. After three days he was again taken from prison and thrown into the sea with stones tied to his feet. Eusebius, an eyewitness, declares that an earthquake simultaneously shook the city, and that the sea flung up his corpse on the shore.
Feast
In the old
martyrologies
A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...
his feast was on April 5, but the
Bollandists
The Bollandist Society ( la, Societas Bollandistarum french: Société des Bollandistes) are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century ...
give April 2 as the correct date.
See also
*
4th century in Lebanon
This article lists historical events that occurred between 301–400 in modern-day Lebanon or regarding Lebanese people, its people. Administration
Diocletian (r. 284–305) separated the district of Batanaea and gave it to Arabia Petraea, Arabia ...
References
*
External links
Saints of April 2: Amphianus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aphian
287 births
305 deaths
4th-century Christian martyrs
4th-century Romans
People executed by drowning
Lycians
Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian
People of Caesarea Maritima