Andronicus, Probus and Tarachus (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Άνδρόνικος, Πρόβος καί Ταράχος) were

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...

s of the

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

persecution (about 304 AD). According to tradition, Tarachus was beaten with stones. Probus was thrashed with

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

s, his back and sides were pierced with heated spits; finally he also was cut up with

knives A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

. Andronicus was also cut to pieces with knives.

Narrative

According to the ''Acts'', Tarachus (- 304), a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

who was a native of Claudiopolis in

Isauria Isauria ( or ; ), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya P ...

and a former soldier,"Martyrs Probus, Tarachus, and Andronicus, at Tarsus in Cilicia", Orthodox Church in America
/ref> the plebeian Probus of

Side Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side, Turkey, a city in Turkey * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, ...

Pamphylia Pamphylia (; , ''Pamphylía'' ) was a region in the south of Anatolia, Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the ...

, and the patrician Andronicus, who belonged to a prominent family of

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

, were tried by the governor Numerian Maximus and horribly tortured three times in various cities, including Tarsus,

Mopsuestia Mopsuestia ( and Μόψου ''Mopsou'' and Μόψου πόλις and Μόψος; Byzantine Greek: ''Mamista'', ''Manistra'', ''Mampsista''; Arabic: ''al-Maṣṣīṣah''; Armenian: ''Msis'', ''Mises'', ''Mam(u)estia''; modern Yakapınar) is an a ...

, and

Anazarbus Anazarbus, also known as Justinopolis (, medieval Ain Zarba; modern Anavarza; ), was an ancient Cilician city. Under the later Roman Empire, late Roman Empire, it was the capital of Cilicia Secunda. Roman emperor Justinian I rebuilt the city ...

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

.Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Sts. Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 16 April 2020 According to tradition, Tarachus was beaten with stones. Probus was thrashed with

s, his feet were burned with red hot irons, his back and sides were pierced with heated spits; finally he also was cut up with

. Andronicus was also cut to pieces with knives. They were then condemned to death by wild beasts, and when the animals would not touch them in the

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

they were put to death with the sword. Three men, named Marcian, Felix, and Verus, witnessed their martyrdom and added an

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...

to the saints' ''Acts''. They retrieved the bodies of the three saints, buried them, and watched over them the rest of their lives, requesting that they be buried in the same vault as the martyrs at the end of theirs.Butler, Alban. "SS. Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus, Martyrs", ''The Lives of the Saints''. 1866
/ref> There are two accounts of their martyrdom, the first account being held by

Thierry Ruinart Dom (title), Dom Thierry Ruinart (also Theodore, Theodoricus) (1657–1709) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar. He was a Maurist, and a disciple of Jean Mabillon. Of his many works, the one now cited is his ''Acta sincera'', a martyrology, ...

to be entirely authentic. Harnack, however, expressed doubts as to the genuineness of the account, and

Hippolyte Delehaye Hippolyte Delehaye, S.J., (19 August 1859 – 1 April 1941) was a Belgian Jesuit who was a hagiographical scholar and an outstanding member of the Society of Bollandists. Biography Born in 1859 in Antwerp, Delehaye joined the Society of Jesu ...

puts the martyrdom in the class of legends of martyrs that he calls "historical romances". Their feast is celebrated in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

on October 11, and in the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

on October 12.

References

External links

Provos, Andronicus, and Tarachos

Lives of the Saints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andronicus, Probus, And Tarachus 239 births 304 deaths Saints from Roman Anatolia Saints trios Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era 4th-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Romans 4th-century Romans

Narrative

See also

References

External links