Saint Timolaus and five companions, according to the historian of the early
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
church
Eusebius in his ''
Martyrs of Palestine'', were young men who, having heard that the Roman authorities in
Caesarea
Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
,
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, in 303 AD, had condemned a number of Christians to die by being thrown to wild beasts in the public arena, came before the governor of their own volition with their hands tied behind their backs and demanded to join their fellow Christians in that
martyrdom. They were not however thrown to wild beasts but decapitated along with two other men who were already in prison.
Background
There are two extant versions of Eusebius' ''Martyrs of Palestine'' but in only the shorter recension is the story of Timolaus and his companions recounted; in the longer recension Timolaus is not mentioned. Eusebius was present in Caesarea during the persecutions, part of the empire-wide campaign to suppress
Christianity.
Persecution of Christians in Caesarea
The Emperor
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
had ordered that all in the Empire should perform worship and sacrifices to the
Roman gods. Those who refused to do so in Caesarea, according to Eusebius, were interrogated and tortured if necessary to try to force them to
apostasize
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is ...
, and if nothing would convince them to perform the sacrifices, they were executed.
Timolaus
The governor of Caesarea, Urban, had already had two Christians thrown to wild beasts in the public arena for refusing to perform the sacrifices to the Roman gods.
As part of an upcoming festival, among the spectacles planned were more executions of this kind.
Hearing of this, a young man, Timolaus from
Pontus (on the Black Sea, in modern-day
Turkey), along with five others, "went in haste" to the governor, having tied their own hands behind their backs, declared themselves Christians, and demanded also to be thrown to the beasts.
The "astonished" governor, however, had them imprisoned for two days and then decapitated along with two others.
Companions
According to Eusebius, Timolaus' companions in seeking
martyrdom in this way were "Dionysius from Tripolis in Phoenicia, Romulus, a sub-
deacon of the parish of Diospolis, Paesis and Alexander, both Egyptians, and another Alexander from Gaza." They were joined by another man who was already in prison, having previously been tortured,
Agapius, and another Dionysius, who had supplied him with food while he was in prison. All eight were beheaded on the same day.
References
{{Reflist
4th-century Christian martyrs
303 deaths
Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era
Year of birth unknown
Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian