E06124: The Greek Martyrdom of *Loukianos/Lucian of Antioch (theologian and martyr of Nicomedia and Helenopolis, S00151) survives in a 10th century metaphrastic redaction of an earlier text that was possibly written in the 4th century or later, possibly in Bithynia. It recounts the childhood and scholarly career of Loukianos, as well as his arrest and journey to Nicomedia, his imprisonment and eventual death there, together with the miraculous recovery of his relics. The text also mentions a number of other martyrs of the tetrarchic persecution.

Martyrdom of Loukianos (BHG 997)

Summary:

§§ 1-4: Loukianos is born to a noble Christian family in Samosata in Syria. After his parents die, he distributes his wealth to the poor. He studies under a biblical exegete, Makarios, in Edessa, receives baptism and adopts an ascetic way of life, and is later consecrated priest in Antioch and opens a school there. He also retranslates or re-edits (ἐπανενεώσατο, 'renews') the Holy Scriptures from Hebrew, since their text has become corrupt over time, and due to intentional tampering by pagans.

§§ 5-9: The emperor Maximinos [to be preferred, as a lectio difficilior, to the reading Maximianos, since according to Eusebius (E00318) the saint was martyred in 312 under Maximinus Daia], who is persecuting Christians, learns of Loukianos and orders him brought to Nicomedia. Loukianos tries to hide, but he is betrayed by Pankratios, a Sabellian presbyter. *Anthimos [bishop and martyr of Nicomedia, S00124], *Petros [bishop and martyr of Alexandria, S00247] and two unnamed children are martyred by the emperor. While travelling through Cappadocia, Loukianos manages to win over many Christian soldiers who had yielded and betrayed their faith, and most of them suffer martyrdom, numbering at least forty [possibly the *Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, S00103].

§§ 9-10: Others too are similarly encouraged by him, and Loukianos has many followers, some of whom accompany him during his trials in Nicomedia. Among these is his disciple Antoninos, whom he uses as a secretary for his correspondence. *Pelagia [martyr of Antioch, S01093], who lived near mount Amanus at Antioch in Syria, is also said to have been one of his disciples; she is said to have committed suicide to avoid her pursuers.

§§ 11-15: After arriving in Nicomedia, the saint is at first promised various honours by the emperor, if he would but renounce his faith. When he refuses, he is imprisoned and tortured, being also deprived of all food except sacrificial meats, of which he will not partake. Weakened by the torture and starvation, Loukianos finally dies in prison, but not before secretly celebrating the Eucharist with his disciples one last time at Theophany.

§§ 16-18: The emperor has his body thrown into the sea with a great rock tied to his right hand in order to prevent him being buried (according to some, however, he is still alive when this is done). However, after a fortnight in the deep, on the fifteenth day a dolphin carries it back to the shore. The martyr appears in a dream to his disciple Glykerios, who is staying on the other side of the gulf of Nicomedia, telling him to go in the morning to a certain place on the shore. When Glykerios and his fellow disciples come to the place, the dolphin appears and transports the martyr to the shore, where he/it expires at once [Gr. ὁ; presumably the dolphin is meant]. The martyr's right hand, however, remains in the deep attached to the rock, although according to some it also emerged from the sea later and was reattached to the body by those who found it.

§ 19: The special honour given to the right hand is a tribute to Loukianos' scholarly activity in correcting the Scriptures. As proof that the martyr's body was indeed brought back from the sea by a dolphin, the hagiographer cites the testimony of 'many contemporaries' and states that he himself, from an early age, remembers a hymn or poem in honour of the martyr, ending with the phrase δελφὶς δ' ἐπὶ νῶτα κομίζων ἐξέπνευσε φέρων ἐπὶ γαίην ('a/the dolphin carried [him] on its back and expired bringing him to land'). In order to prove that this was due to divine providence and was not a random accident, he also recounts that, having emerged from the sea, the martyr's body had remained completely uncorrupted (save the loss of the right hand).

§ 20: The martyr's body is initially buried by his disciples, who construct his grave or tomb (σῆμα) in such a fashion as they are able. Later the empress Helena builds on the spot, in the martyr’s honour, the city of Helenopolis, including a large church which is now an eminent landmark visible to both travellers and sailors passing the city.

Text: Bidez - Winkelmann 1981, 184-201.
Summary: N. Kälviäinen.