E01662: The Latin Martyrdom of *Irenaeus of Sirmium (martyr S00695), probably of the late 4th c., recounts the martyrdom of a young bishop on 6 April 304. Probably written in Sirmium (middle Danube).

Martyrdom of Irenaeus of Sirmium (Latin version: BHL 4466)

Summary

(1) Under Diocletian and Maximian, a persecution of Christians occurs and Irenaeus, bishop of Sirmium, is arrested. (2) He is presented to the provincial governor of Pannonia, Probus, who demands that he sacrifice according to the imperial decrees, but he refuses to. (3) Irenaeus’ relatives, children, and wife come and implore him to change his mind, but he remains steadfast. (4) At midnight, Irenaeus is presented again to Probus and his tribunal, who orders him to sacrifice, but Irenaeus again refuses. He is beaten with clubs, but the martyr still refuses to worship gods made by human hands. Probus advises him to spare himself from death, but Irenaeus regards it as passage to eternal life. The governor then asks him about his relatives, but the bishop replies that he has no relatives, and that, according to Christ’s commandment, those who love their relatives more than him are not worthy of him (Matthew 10:37). Probus admonishes him to sacrifice for the sake of his children, but Irenaeus says that God will take care of them. The governor condemns the martyr to be thrown into the river, but the martyr replies that he had expected multiple torments and death by the sword. (5) Probus orders Irenaeus’s execution by the sword, and the martyr gives thanks to God. He is taken to a bridge of the river Savus, called pons Basentis, where he takes off his clothes and says his last prayer, offering his spirit on behalf of the people and the Catholic Church, and requesting that the people be confirmed in the faith. He is decapitated and thrown into the river. (6) His martyrdom took place on 6 April, under Diocletian and Maximian.

Text: Musurillo 1972.
Summary: Efthymios Rizos.