E04103: Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical History lists martyrs and confessors who suffered under Julian the Apostate (r. 361-363), probably using hagiographies about them. These are *Georgios (Arian bishop of Alexandria, S01145), *Eusebios, Nestavos, Zenon, and Nestor (martyrs of Gaza in Palestine, S01653), *Hilarion (anchorite in Palestine and Cyprus, ob. 371, S00099), *Markos (bishop and confessor of Arethousa in Syria, S01563), *Makedonios, Theodoulos, and Tatianos (martyrs of Meros in Phrygia, west central Asia Minor,S01566), *Bousiris the Encratite (confessor of Ancyra, central Asia Minor, S01567), the presbyter *Basileios of Ancyra (martyr, S01565), and *Eupsychios (martyr of Kaisareia in Cappadocia, central Asia Minor, S00470). Written in Greek at Constantinople, 439/450.

Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, 5.7-11

5.7. Murder/martyrdom of Georgios of Cappadocia, Arian bishop of Alexandria, by the pagan mob.

5.8. Martyrdom of Theodoros, presbyter and treasurer of the church of Antioch. He dies under torture, while refusing to reveal the vessels of the church to the Comes Orientis Julian (the emperor's uncle) who wished to confiscate them.

5.9. Martyrdom of Eusebios, Nestavos, Zenon and Nestor in Gaza (E04060)

5.10.
1-4. Under Julian, the ascetic Hilarion escapes martyrdom by fleeing from Gaza to Sicily and Cyprus, according to the ancient ruling that Christians should not expose themselves to martyrdom.
5-7. The Virgin Martyrs of Heliopolis-Baalbek. The angry mob of the pagan city strips a group of Christian virgin women of their clothes and exposes them naked. They torture and slaughter them, and feed their flesh to the swine.
8-14. Markos, bishop of Arethousa in Syria, is severely tortured for refusing to pay for a temple he had demolished under Constantine. The pagans respect him for his perseverance in the torments, and free him. He is praised even by the pagan provincial governor of the time.

5.11
1-3. The Phrygian men Makedonios, Theodoulos, and Tatianos from the town of Meros in Phrygia are arrested by the governor Amachios for destroying a recently reopened temple, and are martyred by being roasted alive on a grill.
4-6. Bousiris, a member of the Encratite sect in Ankyra, was tortured and kept in prison till it was announced that Julian had died. He lived until the times of Theodosius, later joining the Catholic Church.
7-11. The presbyter Basileios of Ankyra, and the noble layman Eupsychios of Caesarea/Kaisareia in Cappadocia also suffer martyrdom. The death of Eupsychios was related to the destruction of the temple of Tyche, which precipitated Julian’s wrath against the city.

5.11.12
(12) Καὶ τὰ μὲν ὧδε, εἰ καὶ παρὰ γνώμην τῷ βασιλεῖ ἀπέβη, οὐκ ἀγεννεῖς οὐδὲ ὀλίγους μάρτυρας καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἡγεμονίας ἀπέδειξε γεγενῆσθαι· σαφηνείας δὲ χάριν συναγαγὼν πάντας ὁμοῦ διεξῆλθον, εἰ καὶ διάφορος ἦν ὁ καιρὸς τῆς ἑκάστου μαρτυρίας.

‘These events took place like this. Even though they occurred without the emperor’s approval, they caused martyrs to be produced during his reign, who were neither unimportant nor few. For the sake of clarity, I have related all their stories together, although the time of each one of these martyrdoms was different.’

Text: Bidez and Hansen 1995. Summary and translation: E. Rizos.