In the context of this persecution, one must place the martyrdom of the Bishop of Tarraco, Fructuoso , along with his deacons Augurio and Eulogio. The three clerics were sentenced to damnatio ad vivicomburium[1] in the Tarragona amphitheater on January 21, 259. The entire process is narrated in the Passio Fructuosi . This document constitutes the oldest martyr testimony of the Iberian Peninsula and it is anonymous. In it, a primitive narration seems to be distinguished, surely the result of the eyewitness testimony of some member or members of the Christian community, the consultation of the acta proconsularis that was kept in the archive of the province and the same acta martyrum. It is suggested that, at a later time, this protonarration was fed and finally composed –as it has come to us– by a cultured person, perhaps a clergyman, who would cover the meaning of martyrdom with theological content and supernatural facts. The document concluded in this way could be dated to the second half of the fourth century, although the original core of the narrative in which the arrest, trial and execution are exposed must be contemporary to the events.
The famous Italian hagiographer Franchi De’Cavalieri He believes that the original text was written by a soldier who could have witnessed the events (Cf. Franchi De'Cavalieri 1935). This thesis is based on the use of a specific military language and an extremely detailed narration of certain moments of the process. Thus, the Passio he begins by narrating the arrest of the bishop and the deacons. This detention is carried out by the body of beneficiaries.[2] The document not only gives this information, but also provides the name of the troops:“Repository Fruitful in cubicle, direxerunt will benefit in domo eiusdem, id est Aurelius, Festucius, Aelius, Pollentius, Donatus et Maximus”[3] (Passio Fructuosi, 1). The date of the arrest is also provided:“Aemiliano et Basso consolibus, XVII kalendas Februarias, die dominica”[4] (Passio Fructuosi, 1).[5] The knowledge that the editor has of each of the names of the beneficiaries is significant. In addition, he does not limit himself to noting that the arrest is carried out by the military (as occurs in other acts of martyrdom) but rather specifies the unit in question.
The naturalness and daily nature of the conversation that takes place after the arrival of the beneficiaries is also striking. “Cui milites dicerunt:-Veni, praeses te arcessit cum diaconibus tuis-. Quibus Fructuosus dixit:-Eamus; aut, si vultis, calcium me-. Cui milites dixerunt:-Calcia te ad animum tuum-“ [6] (Passio Fructuosi, 1). This observation is pointed out by Franchi De'Cavalieri who thinks that it can only be explained if the redactor was an eyewitness account. This author also points out, although as a hypothesis, that he could be one of the beneficiaries (Cf. Franchi De'Cavalieri 1935, 134). For Professor Genaro Luongo , Franchi De'Cavalieri's observation is not sufficient to determine that the author was present at the arrest. However, he does accept the hypothesis that he obtained the testimony of one or more of the beneficiaries. According to Luongo, these soldiers could have converted to Christianity (Luongo 2008, 280).
After spending six days in jail, the bishop with his deacons was called to trial. This process was carried out by Emiliano, identified as “praeses ” (Passio Fructuosi , 2).[7] The trial was carried out fundamentally with the same scheme that occurs in other documents of the same period:the accused are questioned, they are explicitly or implicitly given the possibility of abjuring and based on this answer, one sentence or another is dictated. In this case, Fructuoso, Augurio and Eulogio did not apostatize and were sentenced to be burned alive.
The Martyrdom of Saint Frustuoso
The execution it took place on January 21 in the amphitheater of Tarraco, the same day that the trial was held.[8] The Passio Fructuosi narrates how before Fructuoso went to the scaffold a soldier approached the bishop to beg him to pray for him. The document narrates it in the following terms:“Qui cum se disclaciasset, accessit ad eum conmilito frater noster nomine Felix adpraehenditque dexteram eius, […]”[9] (Passio Fructuosi , 3).
Franchi De’Cavalieri sees in this excerpt a clear reference to the editor's military occupation, since conmilitarito means comrade in arms. He bothers to point out the relationship between the two as soldiers and Christians. Franchi De'Cavalieri also appreciates in the type of greeting of Félix a resource of the editor to underline the military camaraderie (Cf. Franchi De'Cavalieri 1935, 150). On the contrary, the extensive analysis that Luongo develops on this fragment leads him to conclude that the term “conmilito ” could have been used metaphorically as co-religionist (Luongo 2008, 263).
In the moments prior to martyrdom and already with the martyrs located at one of the entrances to the arena of the amphitheater, it is narrated:“Igitur in fore amphitheatri constitutus, prope iam cum ingrederetur ad coronam inmarcescibilem potius quam ad poenam, observantibus licet ex officio beneficius, quorum nomina supra memoravimus [ …]”[10] (Passio Fructuosi , 4). This fragment constitutes the last military reference of the text. Neither Franchi De'Cavalieri nor Luongo see in this last quote an argument in pursuit of their respective theses. However, it is pointed out that the description made of the beneficiary's trade has served military historiography to underline the police functions of this unit (Luongo 2008, 263). It should also be mentioned that the troops who carry out the arrest on January 16 are, according to the minutes, the same ones who accompany the martyrs to the pyre on the 21st of the same month.
We must emphasize the unexceptional presence of Christians in the army in the historical context of the Passio Fructuosi according to what the sources tell us. To cite an example, Tertullian himself (c. 160-c. 220), a Christian apologist, gives a positive account of the presence of Christians in the military, although in other writings he declares that the Christian must maintain a rebellious posture in front of the army . Therefore, the presence of Christians in the military is not an extraordinary fact and he draws attention to the fact that the double appellation conmilito and frater combined, suggest a difference in treatment:in the first case, the narrator's professional relationship with Félix and, in the second, the bond of common faith between the two in the context of the fraternitas Christian (Muñoz 2013, 63).
Notes
[1] Capital punishment that entails being burned alive.
[2] They were beneficiarii praefeti pretoriarum . They were officers who could well belong to the troops but who differed from the common soldier insofar as they enjoyed certain exemptions and were assigned specific functions (Menéndez 2011, 75). They had extensive administrative and management knowledge (Menéndez 2011, 76) and as the Passio Fructuosi shows us , they also carried out police work.
[3] “Fructuoso was resting in his chamber when the beneficiary soldiers Aurelio, Festutio, Elio, Polencio, Donatus and Máximo showed up at his house” ( Passio Fructuosi , 1).
[4] “January 16 during the consulate of Emiliano and Basso” (Passio Fructuosi , 1).
[5] The only year in this period in which January 16 falls on a Sunday is 259.
[6] “The soldiers said:-Come, the governor demands you with your deacons-. Fructuoso answered them:"Come on, but let me put on my shoes." The soldiers replied:-Put your shoes on if you like- “(Passio Fructuosi , 1)
[7] The term “praeses ” is how the legatus pro praetore began to be designated in the Lower Empire. . In this case and more specifically Aemilianus would be the name of the legatus Augustorum pro praetore Hispaniae Citeriore (Luongo 2008, 264).
[8] The exact place in the city where the trial and imprisonment took place is unknown. The trial could have been held in the legal offices of the Provincial Forum or in secretary , in the same governor's residence.
[9] “Already barefoot, a comrade-in-arms and brother of ours called Felix approached him, squeezing his right hand, [...]” (Passio Fructuosi , 3)
[10] “Thus, before the door of the amphitheater arena, about to head towards the unfading crown rather than the torture, in the presence of the beneficiary soldiers, whose names we have previously mentioned, that they watched, if only because of their position, [...]” (Passio Fructuosi, 4)
Bibliography
- Franchi De'Cavalieri, P., 1935 (reimp. 1981):"Gli Atti di S. Fruttuoso di Tarragona", in Franchi De'Cavalieri, P., Note Agiografiche , fac. 8 (Studi e Testi 65), Vatican City, Vatican Apostolic Library, 129-199.
- Luongo, G., 2008:«The Passio Fructuosi . Un aproccio storico-letterario”, in Gavaldà, J. M. et al . (eds.), 2010:Pau, Fructuós i el cristianisme primitiu a Tarragona (I-VIII centuries). Acts of the congress of Tarragona (June 19-21, 2008) . Tarragona, Liber – INSAF, 255-280.
- Menéndez Argüín, A. R., 2011:The Roman army on campaign. From Septimius Severus to Diocletian (193-305 AD) . Seville, University of Seville.
- Muñoz Melgar, A., Sant Fructuós de Tarragona. Historical and archaeological aspects of his worship, from antiquity to the present , Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona 2013 [http://www.tdx.cat/handle/10803/127105].
- Ruiz Bueno, D., 1987:Acts of the Martyrs . Madrid, Library of Christian Authors.
- Sotomayor, M. and Fernández, J. (eds.), 2003:History of Christianity. The ancient world, vol. I. , Madrid:Editorial Trotta – University of Granada.