Extract from the Account of P. J. Twisck

"When Habdarrhaghman, the king of the Arabians, had from bishop Ermoigus his nephew Pelagius as a pledge or hostage, the tyrant tore him with red-hot tongs; and, having been torn limb from limb, he was thrown into the nearest river, when he was scarcely thirteen years old." Chron., 10th book, folio 329, column 1, from Merulae, folio 621.

NOTE. We have not been able (as in the case of other martyrs before these) to ascertain the particulars of the confession of faith of either Eugenia or the youth Pelagius, though we have exerted ourselves not a little in this direction. It is almost as if the records, which no doubt treated it more fully, were buried in the earth, like the epitaph of Eugenia. Oh, if only this were certain, and the spot were known beyond contradiction; no pains would be spared to obtain them, if it were possible; for by that means, in our opinion, the bright light of evangelical truth would come out pure and clear in many points; whereas now others, especially those of the Roman church, have, whenever it has pleased them, dimmed and noticeably obscured the blessed confessors of Jesus Christ and their confessions with the smoke of their human inventions.

But what do our laments accomplish? We must content ourselves with what has remained. It may be that these particular confessions, together with the records of the suffering and death of many other martyrs (of which we spoke in the beginning), were lost through the violence of the persecution, or perished in some other way.

This persecution has not been so fortunate a one for the searchers of ancient memoirs as some of the earlier ones we know of; for those other persecutions already spoken of, however severe and fierce they may have been, besides giving clearer light on the confessions, have generally, through the carefulness of some writers, furnished and left for remembrance a respectable number of martyrs, either mentioned or unmentioned; while this persecution, although very many were killed in it, tells us of only two persons.

But though we, unable to obtain more, must content ourselves with the bare circumstances, we shall not esteem the aforementioned martyrs, Eugenia and Pelagius, any the less; not that we would regard them as without fault in all points, for who on earth is perfect? But we hold that they were free from such blemishes as separate a person from Christ, or deprive him of the name of a true martyr, though he might suffer for his faith's sake. The uprightness of these persons, in faith as well as in life, may readily be inferred from the circumstances mentioned in the account of the ancients, which, though brief and few, nevertheless indicate these things.

What the faith of Eugenia and Pelagius was appears from their confessions. Eugenia is for this reason called martyr, which in the Greek language means the witness; and by that name, even in and about the time of the apostles, those used to be called who had laid down their lives, or at least had suffered much, for the pure and genuine testimony of Jesus their Savior.

Of the youth Pelagius the authors write that he confessed his faith and declared that he was ready to die (upon that faith) for the name of Christ. Also, that in his suffering he called upon no one other than his Lord Jesus Christ, saying: "O Lord, deliver me out of the hands of my enemies."

Concerning the life of both of these martyrs, it appears to have been upright in every respect, in view of the great resolve which each of them separately had, not only to confess the Lord with the mouth and to follow Him with works in the regeneration, but also to honor and magnify His holy name by offering up their lives through a violent death; and also in that they had not only resolved and determined to do this, but actually carried out their resolve, which is the most important of all.

From the accounts given, we have learned that Pelagius said: "I am a Christian, and will remain a Christian, and obey only the commandments of Christ all the days of my life." He desired to obey only the commands of his Savior, and not human inventions, and this to the end of his life; which he also did, according to his ability. Moreover, we have found nothing in authentic writers, either about Eugenia or about Pelagius, that conflicts with the above good testimony concerning the faith and life of these two persons; nothing of priestcraft, nor of papal or episcopal inventions, nor of Roman contrived practices, although these things were much in vogue at that time. With this we think we have treated the matter sufficiently, and so we will leave it and go on with our account.