Saints Alphaeus and Zaccheus were two Christians who were put to death in
Caesarea
Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
,
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, in 303 or 304, according to church historian
Eusebius in his ''
Martyrs of Palestine''. They are commemorated on November 18.
Background
There are two extant versions of Eusebius' ''Martyrs of Palestine'' and in both the shorter and the longer versions the stories of Alphaeus and Zaccheus are recounted, though with variations.
Eusebius was present in Caesarea during the persecutions, part of the empire-wide campaign to suppress
Christianity.
Persecution of Christians in Caesarea
The Emperor
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
had ordered that all in the Empire should perform worship and sacrifices to the
Roman gods. The authorities in Caesarea were so keen that all should obey this order that, according to the shorter recension of Eusebius' ''Martyrs of Palestine'', they seized one Christian leader by the hands, led him to the altar and thrust the offering into his right hand. He was then dismissed as if he had performed the sacrifice. It was agreed by those in charge that they would attest that two others had made the offerings, even though they had not. Another Christian opened his mouth to say that he refused to worship the Roman gods when the guards struck him across the face, prevented him from speaking, and dismissed him, so that, says Eusebius, of the many brought in from the area to perform acts of worship to the Roman gods or die, only two, Alphaeus and Zaccheus, "were honored with the crown of the holy martyrs."
Zaccheus
The authorities in Caesarea had brought in Christians from the surrounding area to
apostasize
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is ...
or face death. Among them was a
deacon from
Gadara, Zaccheus, so-called after the
person in the New Testament, according to Eusebius in the long recension of ''Martyrs of Palestine'', owing to his short stature and sweet nature. He spoke boldly of his faith before the judges, was tortured and put into a prison cell.
Alphaeus
Cousin of Zaccheus, Alphaeus was the
lector of the church in Caesarea.
Many Christians in the city and its surroundings, faced with the choice of their religious principles or death, were crowding into the city to perform sacrifices to the gods, when Alphaeus loudly and publicly denounced their apostasy.
Whereupon he was brought before the judges, ordered to sacrifice, but refused, making defiant statements of his faith.
Martyrdoms
Alphaeus and Zaccheus were tortured together over a period of days, and repeatedly offered the opportunity to sacrifice to the gods and be freed, but they refused despite their sufferings. They were finally both decapitated on the same day.
References
{{Reflist
4th-century Christian martyrs
Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era
Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian