An Extract from the Letters which the Aforementioned Martyr Phileas Wrote…

Note. The first part of the letter of Bishop Phileas is translated in this way by Eusebius in his “Church History, 8th book, 10th chapter.”

Phileas writes: “The holy martyrs who fought with us have left us good examples. Taught out of the divine Scriptures, they fixed the eyes of their hearts on God, and willingly, without the least fear, accepted death for the sake of the truth. For they constantly kept in mind that our Lord Jesus Christ became man for our sakes, and that He has taught us to fight against sin even to death. For, being equal with God, He did not think it robbery, but made Himself of no reputation, and took on Himself the form of a servant. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself to death, even the death of the cross. The holy martyrs followed His example, enduring all pain and torment so that they might not stain the conscience of their faith; for the perfect love that was in them cast out all fear. It is impossible for me to describe the power, the patience, and the steadfastness of the martyrs; indeed, it is scarcely believable except to those who have seen it with their own eyes. They were exposed, and everyone was free to inflict on them whatever insult or torment he pleased, and if anyone invented a new mode of torture, he was permitted to torment them with it himself.”

Thus far Eusebius’ translation; what now follows is related in this way by Mellinus, from the above letter of Phileas.

“Since every heathen had been given full power over the Christians, to inflict on them every kind of vexation, mockery, and disgrace, and indeed to put them to death in every way, they beat some with sticks, others with rods, scourges, whips, thongs, ropes, or whatever they could most readily lay hold of; and this spectacle was changed now and then by new kinds of torture and beating that the Christians had to undergo. Some of them had their hands tied behind their backs and were hung from a gibbet, and then all their limbs were stretched apart with the executioner’s instruments. Then, by the command of the magistrate, they were scourged with iron rods over the whole body, not only on their sides, as was customary with murderers, but even on the belly, the shins, the buttocks, and some on all the most sensitive parts of the body. Others were hung by one hand from the ceiling of a gallery, and so stretched limb from limb, which surpasses every other torture. Others were tied back to back to pillars or columns, but so that their feet did not touch the ground; and the more the executioners or their assistants tightened the ropes, the more the martyrs were tormented by the weight of their own bodies. And this cruel torment lasted not only while the President was engaged in examining them, but he often let them hang a whole day in this torment. While the President, or criminal judge, went from one to another to examine them on the rack, he had his servants watch the first ones closely, to see whether any of them, overcome by the intensity of the torments, were ready to give in. He also ordered his executioners to tighten the ropes on them more and more, the longer it lasted. But if they saw that the martyrs were almost ready to die, they were to take them down and drag them over the ground, over stones, shells, potsherds, and caltrops. For they had no other thought about the Christians than how they might subject them, if it were possible, to a thousand deaths, just as though they were not human beings.

“Over and above all the tortures mentioned, the enemies of Christ invented still another mode of torment for His anointed, or holy martyrs. After they had tormented them, they placed some with their feet in the block, and violently stretched their legs apart, as far as they possibly could, even to the fourth hole, and fastened them there, so that the bodies of the martyrs had to lie backwards over the block, and so that they, because of their many wounds, could neither move nor stir. Others, who had been taken down from the racks or torture stakes, were thrown half dead upon the bare ground, which was far more horrible to see than when they were still being tormented. Of these, some died under the executioner’s hands while they were being tormented; others, in whom life was not yet extinct, were thrown half dead back into prison, and in a few days perished of pain; others again, who triumphed over their long imprisonment, were healed and restored. These became much stronger in the faith than they had been before; and when it was left to the free choice of each of them, either to touch the shameful heathen sacrifices, and so be delivered from all trouble, and indeed from death itself, and be restored to their former freedom, or to refuse to sacrifice and receive sentence of death, they chose the latter without the least deliberation, and boldly went to their death, knowing full well that it is written in the Word of God: ‘Whoever sacrifices to strange gods shall be cut off from the people.’ Again, ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’”

Thus far the words of the martyr Phileas, which he wrote in a letter to the brothers and sisters of the church of Thumis, of which he was pastor, while he was still in prison and before he had received his sentence of death. By this letter he wished to inform his church of his condition in prison, and also to admonish them in the true godliness in Christ, and that they should steadfastly continue in it after his death, which was soon to follow. Compare Eusebius, concerning the death of Phileas, with A. Mellinus, 1st book, folio 101, columns 2, 3.