Saint Telemachus
Eastern Roman Empire | |
|---|---|
| Died | 1 January 404 (or 391[1]) Rome, Western Roman Empire (Italy) |
| Cause of death | Capital punishment (via Stoning) |
| Venerated in | Anglicanism; Orthodox Church; Catholic Church |
| Feast | 1 January |
Saint Telemachus (also Almachus
Background
He is described as being an
Although the site of Telemachus' martyrdom is often given as being the Colosseum in Rome, Theodoret does not actually specify where it happened, saying merely that it happened in "the stadium".
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".[4]
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.[5]
Notes
- ^ a b Jones, Terry. "Telemachus". Patron Saints Index. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
- ^ Theodoret (1843). Honorius the Emperor, and the Monk Telemachus. Ecclesiastical History. Vol. 26. London, UK: Samuel Bagster and Sons. pp. 326–327. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
- ^ Holweck, F. G., A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints (St Louis: B. Herder Book Co., 1924) p. 51
- ^ Fox, John. William Byron Forbush (ed.). "The Last Roman "Triumph"". Fox's Book of Martyrs. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
- ISBN 0-8146-2377-8.