E07128: The first Greek 'epic' Martyrdom of *Prokopios from Scythopolis (martyr of Palestine, S00118) expands the brief mention of Prokopios' martyrdom by Eusebius of Caesarea into a longer account of his trial and execution in Caesarea (Palestine). Written possibly in Caesarea, possibly in the late 4th to 5th century.

Martyrdom of Prokopios (BHG 1576)

Summary:

§ 1: Prologue, in which the hagiographer expresses his conviction that the acts of the martyrs are a necessary aid for Christians and that they show how Christ assists the faithful.

§ 2: In the reign of Diokletianos there is a persecution of Christians, as the emperor sends orders by letter to the provincial governors.

§ 3: The letter is quoted. In it Diokletianos expresses his displeasure that there are certain people in the empire who renounce the gods and worship a dead mortal man. For this reason he commands all the inhabitants of the empire to placate the gods and receive the additional reward of 50,000 silver pieces, or else suffer capital punishment.

§ 4: Having received the letter, the governors begin persecuting Christians. In Caesarea there arrives as governor Flavianos, an inhumanly cruel and evil man.

§ 5: Blessed Prokopios hails from the city of Aelia [Capitolina, i.e. Jerusalem]. Due to his angelic life he holds the office both of reader (ἀναγνώστης) and exorcist (ἐπορκιστῆς) and is also a honey-tongued preacher. His holiness is such that he is able to banish demons by a word and the sign of the Cross alone. Because he brings numerous people into the faith, he attracts the attention of Flavianos who orders him captured. Prokopios is brought to Caesarea, where Flavianos is supervising the construction of a temple.

§ 6: The pagan crowd reacts angrily at the sight of Prokopios. Flavianos asks for his name and attempts to persuade him to reject Christianity and sacrifice to the gods.

§ 7: Prokopios expresses his wish that the governor too could reject the idols and embrace Christ. He refers to the testimony of assorted pagan wise men (Hermes Trismegistos, Homeros, Platon, Aristoteles, Sokrates, Galenos and Skamandros) who proclaimed a single god, whereas the shameful nature of the manifold gods venerated by men was exposed, especially by Homeros in his poetry. In contrast, Christ is truly a God, as the genuine consubstantial (ὁμοούσιος) Son of the Father, and by invoking his name Prokopios [as an exorcist] drives away the demons whom the pagans worship.

§ 8: Flavianos attempts once more to win Prokopios over to paganism, urging him to enjoy the virtues of the hellenic life, threatening him with torture and death if he should fail to comply.

§§ 9-10: Prokopios declares that a servant of God is undaunted by torture and mocks the governor as a worshipper of mere stone and wood and other matter: since iron prevails over stone, why not worship iron; since iron is melted by fire, why not fire; since fire is quenched by water, why not water? Why worship materials which destroy and reduce each other?

§ 11: Prokopios anticipates his interlocutor's probable reply that he does not worship stone but the gods depicted by means of stone. Since God is ineffable and incorporeal, how can they strive to attribute to him a bodily appearance, instead of worshipping him in action and prayer alone? Prokopios himself prefers the God who saved humanity from death, and will not exchange him for a small and passing pleasure.

§ 12: Prokopios is tortured by scraping his body with rough cloth made of hair (τριχῶν ὑφάσμασιν) and iron scrapers, and his bones are crushed with lead instruments.

§ 13: The governor orders the spekoulator Archelaos to kill the saint with a sword. When Archelaos draws his weapon, his hand is at once paralysed and he falls to the ground and expires. Flavianos orders the saint thrown in prison in irons and kept in isolation, so that the pain from his wounds and the loneliness will force him to comply.

§ 14: In prison, the martyr gives an extended prayer of thanks to God for the salvation of humanity, and for his help in times of need. He prays for God to fulfil his contest, safeguarding him from the wiles of the devil. After his prayer, the Lord appears in the form of an angel and heals Prokopios.

§ 15: On the third day, Flavianos has Prokopios brought before him and expresses his hope that the time spent in prison has changed his mind.

§ 16: Prokopios suggests that if the governor can see how he has been miraculously healed of his wounds, he should stop trying to convert him to paganism. Flavianos, however, attributes the sudden death of the executioner and the apparent disappearance of the martyr's wounds to sorcery. He orders Prokopios to be tortured with whips and burning charcoal.

§ 17: While being tortured, Prokopios declares he is content to bear witness to Christ and continuously mocks the governor, who gives orders for him to be tortured additionally with heated irons.

§ 18: When Prokopios continues to speak against the pagan gods, Flavianos devises a new cruel device: an altar is set up and the martyr's hand [held over the altar] is filled with burning coal, topped with incense. The governor declares that if he turns his hand around, he will have sacrificed to the gods. Prokopios, however, with the strength of his faith holds fast and keeps his hand still, to the amazement of the onlookers.

§ 19: Flavianos, frustrated, asks why Prokopios weeps and groans if he indeed pays no heed to the torture; the martyr, however, affirms that his body is of clay, and clay, in contact with fire, expels the liquid within it; at the same time, he says, he weeps for the governor's soul. Flavianos and his torturers have by now been worn out, and he finally decrees that Prokopios must suffer the death penalty. The martyr is taken outside the city.

§ 20: Prokopios requests that he be given a single hour in order to pray. In an extended prayer, he praises God for His benefactions and asks Him to rescue people from a variety of afflictions and tribulations.

§ 21: Prokopios makes the sign of the cross and is beheaded. Christians take his body and deposit it in a solemn place. The martyrdom took place in Caesarea, eight days before the Ides of July (i.e. on 8 July).

Text: Delehaye 1909, 214-227.
Summary: N. Kälviäinen.