Saint Telemachus (also Almachus or Almachius) was a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

who, according to the Church historian

Theodoret Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus (; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pivotal role in several 5th-century Byzantine ...

, tried to stop a

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

ial fight in a Roman

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

, and was stoned to death by the crowd. The Christian Emperor

Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...

, however, was impressed by the monk's

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

and it spurred him to issue a historic ban on gladiatorial fights.

Frederick George Holweck Frederick George Holweck (born Friedrich Georg Holweck; December 29, 1856 – February 15, 1927) was a German-Americans, German-American Catholic Church, Catholic parish priest and scholar, hagiographer and church historian. Monsignor Holweck co ...

gives the year of his death as 391. Kath

Sources

He is described as being an

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

who came to Rome from the East. The story is found in the writings of

, Bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria. Although the site of Telemachus' martyrdom is often given as being the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

in Rome, Theodoret does not actually specify where it happened, saying merely that it happened in "the stadium". Theodoret's account was abridged into the '' Historiae Ecclesiasticae Tripartitae Epitome'' of

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Christian Roman statesman, a renowned scholar and writer who served in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senato ...

. Later retellings of the story have differed from Theodoret's in a number of details. Foxe's Book of Martyrs claims that Telemachus was first stabbed to death by a gladiator, but that the sight of his death "turned the hearts of the people". There is also an alternative form of the story, in which Telemachus stood up in the amphitheatre and told the assembly to stop worshipping idols and offering sacrifices to the gods. Upon hearing this statement, the prefect of the city is said by this source to have ordered the gladiators to kill Telemachus, and they promptly did so.Burns, Paul. ''Butler's Lives of the Saints:New Full Edition.'' Collegeville, MN:The Liturgical Press, 1995. .

Notes

External links

Telemachus: The Monk Who Ended the Coliseum Games

January 1, 404: Telemachus Martyred Attempting to Stop a Gladiator Fight , Church History Timelines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telemachus 4th-century births 4th-century Romans 5th-century Romans Christian hagiography 5th-century Christian martyrs 5th-century Christian saints Year of death uncertain People executed by stoning Colosseum