Saint Blandina (, c. 162–177 AD) was a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 ...

who died in

Lugdunum Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Colonia (Roman), Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon, France, Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but cont ...

(modern Lyon, France) during the reign of Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

Context

In the first two centuries of the Christian era, it was the local Roman officials who were largely responsible for the persecution of Christians. In the second century, the emperors treated Christianity as a local problem to be dealt with by their subordinates. The number and severity of persecutions of Christians in various locations of the empire seemingly increased during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. The extent to which Marcus Aurelius himself directed, encouraged, or was aware of these persecutions is unclear and much debated by historians.

Traditional history

The traditional account regarding Blandina is reported by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

in his '' Historia Ecclesiastica''. Blandina belonged to the band of martyrs of Lyon who, after some of their number had endured frightful

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

s, suffered martyrdom in 177 in the reign of

. Almost all we know of Blandina comes from a letter sent from the Church of Lyon to the Churches of Asia Minor.Butler, Alban. ''Lives of the Saints'', Vol. VI, 1866
/ref> Eusebius gives significant space for her life and death in his book as he quotes from the aforementioned epistle to

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The Roman populace in Lyon had been excited

against the Christians ''Against the Christians'' (; ''Adversus Christianos'') is a late 3rd-century book written by Roman-Phoenician Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry of Tyre, challenging the writings of Christian philosophers and theologians. Due to widespread censor ...

so that the latter, when they ventured to show themselves publicly, were harassed and ill-treated. While the imperial

legate Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...

was away, the

chiliarch Chiliarch is a military rank dating back to antiquity. Originally denoting the commander of a unit of about one thousand men (a chiliarchy) in the Macedonian army, it was subsequently used as a Greek translation of a Persian officer who function ...

, a military commander, and the

duumvir Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally spelled ''dyarchy'', as in the '' Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate. is a form of government chara ...

, a civil magistrate, threw a number of Christians, who confessed their faith, into prison. When the legate returned, the imprisoned believers were brought to trial. Among these Christians was Blandina, a

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, who had been taken into custody along with her master, also a Christian. Her companions greatly feared that on account of her bodily frailty she might not remain steadfast under torture. But although the legate caused her to be tortured in a horrible manner, so that even the executioners became exhausted "as they did not know what more they could do to her", still she remained faithful and repeated to every question "I am a Christian, and we commit no wrongdoing." Kirsch, Johann Peter. "St. Blandina." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 23 Apr. 2013
/ref> Due to fear of being tortured, slaves had testified against their masters that the Christians committed cannibalism and incest when assembled, which was a common rumor about Christians during this and later centuries. The legate desired to wring confession of this misconduct from the Christian prisoners. In his report to the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

the legate stated that those who held to their Christian belief were to be executed and those who denied their faith were to be released, and the legate received instructions from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius allowing the

Roman citizens Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...

who persisted in the faith to be executed by beheading, but those without citizenship were to be tortured. Blandina was therefore subjected to new tortures with a number of companions in the town's

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( 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 ('), meaning "place for vie ...

(now known as the

Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls () of Lugdunum (Lyon) was part of the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum. In 1961, it was classified as a '' ...

) at the time of the public games. One such companion was Ponticus, a 15-year-old boy and the youngest of the martyrs, who was encouraged by Blandina to have faith in Christ which gave Ponticus the strength to continue. She was bound to a stake, mirroring the image of a cross, and wild beasts were set on her. While being restrained on the stake, Blandina began to pray passionately for both her companions and her captors. According to legend, the beasts never touched her and she was removed from the stake and thrown back in jail. After enduring this for a number of days, in an effort to persuade her to recant, she was led into the arena to see the sufferings of her companions. Finally, as the last of the martyrs, she was

scourge A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather. Etymology The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French ''escorgie ...

d, placed on a red-hot grate, enclosed in a net and thrown before a wild

steer Steer(s) or steering may refer to: Animals * Steer or bullock, castrated male cattle * Ox, a bovine (usually a steer) used as a draft animal People * Steer (surname) * Steers (surname) Places * Steer Creek (West Virginia), a tributary ...

, which tossed her into the air with his horns. In the end, she was killed with a dagger.

Significance

Of all the martyrs of Lyon, Blandina is the only female to receive attention throughout the narrative and appears significant through her representations as a mother and an athlete. Blandina also holds significance through her allusions to Christ. Throughout the story of the martyrs of Lyon, Blandina is portrayed as mother who sends her children to become martyrs for God before becoming a martyr herself, "Blandina herself passed through all the ordeals of her children." Blandina's relationship to the youngest of the martyrs, Ponticus, is also compared to the mother in

4 Maccabees 4 Maccabees, also called the Fourth Book of Maccabees and possibly originally known as On the Sovereignty of Reason, is a book written in Koine Greek, likely in the 1st or early 2nd century. It is a homily or philosophic discourse praising the s ...

. Through these sections Blandina is given a maternal role and serves as one example of motherhood for other Christian women to look to. Blandina, as with many early Christian martyrs, is also represented as an athlete for Christ. Athletes in this sense were Christians who were willing to "compete" through martyrdom and die for Christ. Despite being referred to as frail, small, and weak, Blandina is able to endure a full day's worth of torture and outlasts her tortures. Blandina prevails once more against her persecutors within the town's amphitheater as she prays for herself and her companions, posed as though she were being crucified. Blandina's companions witness this, see Christ within her, and get inspired as she takes on the "crooked serpent." Blandina is able to defeat her adversaries time and time again because she clothed herself in Christ and, "won the crown of immortality."

Legacy

* Her feast is celebrated on June 2. * Two

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

are named after her. See Sainte-Blandine. * The amphitheater in Lyon has a plaque that details the story of the martyrs and Blandina is the only martyr mentioned by name. * The troubled teenage protagonist of

Tess Gunty Tess Gunty (born 1993) is an American novelist. Her debut novel, ''The Rabbit Hutch'', won the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction and the Indiana Authors Awards in 2024. Early life and education Gunty was born and raised in South Bend, India ...

's award-winning novel ''The Rabbit Hutch'' renames herself Blandine after reading about the saint, and gives a two-page account of her martyrdom.''The Rabbit Hutch'' (London: Oneworld, 2022), pp. 132-33.

References

External links

Santa Blandina
All-Merciful Savior Orthodox Mission website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blandina 177 deaths 2nd-century Roman women Christian slaves and freedmen People from Lugdunum 2nd-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown Ancient Christian female saints Christian martyrs Virgin martyrs