E04056: Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical History mentions that the Novatian bishop of Constantinople Sisinnios (c. 390-410) dedicated a church to *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030). He had a vision (probably of Stephen) revealing to him the martyrdom of the young reader *Eutropios (S01176), a supporter of John Chrysostom, who died after severe torture in 405. Written in Greek at Constantinople, 439/450.

Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, 8.24. 1-4

(1) Ἐν δὲ τῷ τότε καὶ Εὐτρόπιός τις ἀναγνώστης παραχθεὶς ἐπὶ καταμηνύσει τῶν ἐμβαλόντων τὸ πῦρ οὔτε βοείαις οὔτε ξύλοις οὔτε ὄνυξι ξαινόμενος πλευράς τε καὶ παρειάς, ἐπὶ τούτοις τε καὶ τὸν ὑφαπτόμενον τῷ σώματι πυρσὸν ὑπομείνας, καὶ ταῦτα νέος ὢν καὶ ἁπαλόχρως, οὐδὲν ὡμολόγησεν εἰδέναι. μετὰ δὲ τὰς βασάνους ἐγκλείεται εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον, ἔνθα δὴ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἐτελεύτησεν. (2) ἄξιον δὲ τῇ γραφῇ παραδοῦναι καὶ τὸ συμβὰν ἐπ’ αὐτῷ ὄναρ. Σισιννίῳ γὰρ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ τῆς τῶν Ναυατιανῶν αἱρέσεως ἤδη καθεύδοντι ἀνήρ τις κάλλει καὶ μεγέθει περιφανέστατος, παρεστὼς τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ τῆς αὐτῶν ἐκκλησίας, ἣν εἰς τιμὴν Στεφάνου τοῦ πρωτομάρτυρος ᾠκοδόμησεν, ἔδοξεν ἀδημονεῖν ἐπὶ σπάνει ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν, ὡς τούτου χάριν τὴν πᾶσαν πόλιν περιεληλυθὼς καὶ μηδένα εὑρὼν ἢ μόνον Εὐτρόπιον. (3) πρὸς δὲ τὴν ὄψιν καταπλαγεὶς ὁ Σισίννιος πρός τινα τῶν ὑπ’ αὐτὸν πιστοτάτων πρεσβυτέρων ὁμολογήσας τὸ ὄναρ ἐκέλευσεν ἀναζητεῖν τὸν ἄνδρα ὅστις εἴη. ὁ δὲ εὐστόχως συμβαλὼν ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἔναγχος ἐπὶ τοῦ ὑπάρχου βασανισθεῖσιν εἰκὸς εἶναι τοιοῦτον, περιιὼν τὰ δεσμωτήρια ἐπυνθάνετο εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς Εὐτρόπιος. καὶ εὑρὼν εἰς λόγους αὐτῷ ἦλθε καὶ διηγήσατο τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τὸ ὄναρ, καὶ δακρύων εὔχεσθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ἐλιπάρει. (4) καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ Εὐτρόπιον ὧδε ἔσχεν·

'In that period, a reader called Eutropios was arrested in order to reveal who had set the fire, but despite being scourged on the sides and cheeks by whips, clubs and nails and, besides these torments, having also endured the kindling of a torch under his body, he did not confess to knowing anything―and that, although he was very young and delicate. After these tortures he was kept in prison where not long afterwards he died. It is worth including in our account also a dream vision related to him. Sisinnios, bishop of the Novatian sect, while asleep, saw an extremely handsome and tall man standing by the altar of their church which he had erected in honour of Stephen, the First Martyr. The man was deeply dismayed by the lack of valiant men, for he had searched the entire city for them, but had found none but Eutropios. Astonished at the vision, Sisinnios confided the dream to the most trusted of his presbyters, ordering him to seek out this man whoever he might be. The presbyter correctly conjectured that such a person was to be sought among those who had been recently tortured by the urban prefect, and he visited all the prisons asking if there was in them a certain Eutropios. When he found him, he spoke with him and told him about the dream of the bishop, beseeching him with tears to pray for him. This was the story of Eutropios.'

Text: Bidez and Hansen 1995. Translation: E. Rizos.