HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

There is a record of
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
persecution of Christians The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of ...
in the third century. According to
Basil of Caesarea Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Cae ...
, some prisoners taken captive in a Gothic raid on
Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
around 260 preached the gospel to their captors and were martyred. One of their names was Eutychus. Bishop Dionysius of Caesarea sent messengers to the Goths to ransom captives and there was still a written record of these attempts in Basil's time.


History

Two main outbreaks of persecution of Christians by the 4th-century Gothic authorities are recorded, in 347/8 under Aoric (according to
Auxentius of Durostorum Auxentius of Durostorum also probably known as Mercurinus was a deacon in Alexandria and later bishop of Durostorum. An Arian, he was prominent in conflict with St Ambrose. Identity Auxentius was the foster-son of Wulfila, the "apostle to the ...
) and between 367 and 378 under Aoric's son, the ''iudex'' ('' kindins'')
Athanaric Athanaric or Atanaric ( la, Athanaricus; died 381) was king of several branches of the Thervingian Goths () for at least two decades in the 4th century. Throughout his reign, Athanaric was faced with invasions by the Roman Empire, the Huns and a c ...
. The persecution of Christians under Athanaric shows that Christians were still a minority among the Tervingi in the 370s, but that they had become numerous enough to be considered a threat to Gothic culture. It is remarkable that Athanaric did not persecute Christians in general, but specifically converted ''Goths'', while Christian foreigners were left alone. Athanaric's motive was thus the protection of the Gothic nation and its gods and not the persecution of Christianity as such.Wolfram 1990, "Ulfilas and the Beginning of the Conversion of the Goths" (75–84), p. 83. The Terving ruler Athanaric opposed the spread of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
among the
Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...
, fearing that the new faith would destroy Gothic culture. According to the historiographer Sozomenos (''Eccl. Hist.'' 6.37), Athanaric appointed Winguric (''Wingureiks, Wingourichos'', also ''Jungeric'') to eradicate the Christian faith from the Gothic lands. In
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
, Winguric placed an idol in a chariot and paraded it before a tent used by Christians for their church service; those who worshipped the idol were spared, and the rest were burned alive in the tent. A total of 308 people died in the fire, of which only 21 are known by name. This happened in or close to the year 375. A few years later, during the reign of Valentinian and Theodosius (383–392), ''Gaatha'', the widow of a peer of Winguric's, and her daughter ''Dulcilla'' (or ''Duclida, Duklida'') gathered the remains of twenty-six martyrs and with The help of some priests and a layman named Thyellas transferred them to
Cyzicus Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peni ...
. The martyrs who died under Athanaric's persecution known by name are three clerics and 18 laypeople (11 men, 7 women). To this are added the four children of Wereka and Batwin (two sons and two daughters), plus an anonymous man who came to the tent and confessed Christ as Winguric was about to burn it and was martyred together with the others, to arrive at the number of "twenty-six martyrs" whose remains were transported by Gaatha. The 21 martyrs known by name are recorded with multiple variants in manuscript tradition: *Werekas (or Ouerkas, Vercus), a ''papa'' or priest, *Batwin (or Bathouses, Bathusius), a ''bilaifs'' (minister?) *Arpulas (Arpilus), a monk, *eleven laymen: Abippas (Abibus), Hagias (Agnus), Ruias (Reas), Egathrax (Igathrax), Eskoes (Iscous), Silas, Sigetzas (Signicus), Swerilas (Sonerilas), Swemblas (Suimbalus), Therthas (Thermus), and Philgas (Phillus), *seven laywomen Anna, Alas (Alla), Baren (Beride, also recorded as Larissa), Moiko (Monco), Kamika (Mamika), Oneko (Virko), and Anemais (Animais, Animaida), The list includes Syrian, Cappadocian and Phrygian names, even though the victims were all Goths. This may reflect the Christian practice of assuming a new "Christian name" at baptism, and in any case documents the close connection of the Gothic church with those of Asia Minor (where the invading Goths in the mid 3rd century first came into contact with Christianity). The "26 Gothic martyrs" are commemorated in Orthodox Christianity on 26 March, but in the Gothic calendar fragment on 29 October (''gaminþi marwtre þize bi Werekan papan jah Batwin bilaif. aikklesjons fullaizos ana Gutþiudai gabrannidai'' "remembrance of the martyrs who with Werekas the priest and Batwin the ''bilaif'' were burned in a crowded church among the Goths"). The same fragment for 23 October proscribes remembrance of "the many martyrs among the Gothic people, and of Fridaric" (''þize ana Gutþiudai managaize martwre jah Friþareikeis''), Fridaric being an otherwise unknown Gothic martyr. Eastern Orthodox martyrologies enumerate "Twenty-six Martyred Goths", listing the 21 names given above, but adding one ''Constans'' as a twelfth layman, plus queen Gaatha along with her daughter Dulcilla and her son Agathon.
Sabbas the Goth Sabbas the Goth ( ro, Sava Gotul, gr, Σάββας ο Γότθος; died 12 April 372) is a Christian martyr and saint. Life and persecution Sabbas (also Saba) was born in 334 in a village in the Buzău river valley and lived in what is now ...
was martyred in 372 in what is now the
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
region of
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. Nicetas the Goth was also martyred in 372.


See also

* Gothic paganism * Gothic Christianity *
Germanic Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global populati ...


References


Sources

*{{cite book , chapter=Between Paganism and Judaism: Early Christianity in Cappadocia , first=Margherita , last=Cassia , pages=13–48 , title=Early Christianity in Asia Minor and Cyprus: From the Margins to the Mainstream , series=Early Christianity in Asia Minor, Volume 109 , editor1=Stephen Mitchell , editor2=Philipp Pilhofer , location=Leiden , publisher=Brill , year=2019 *Peter Heather, John Matthews, "Martyrs and Martyrologies" in: ''Goths in the Fourth Century'' (1991), 96–123. *Herwig Wolfram, Thomas J. Dunlap (trans.), ''History of the Goths'' (1990), 81–83. * Holweck, F. G., ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.


External links


Lives of all saints commemorated on March 26
(Orthodox Church in America) Persecution of early Christians Goths