Theodoritus, Keeper of the Sacred Vessels at Antioch, and the Death of Julian’s Uncle

It is said that when Julian, the emperor’s uncle, set about removing the dedicated gifts of the church of Antioch, which were many and costly, and placing them in the imperial treasury, and closing the houses of prayer as well, all the clergy fled. Only one presbyter, named Theodoritus, did not leave the city. Julian seized him as the keeper of the treasures, someone who could give information about them, and mistreated him terribly. After Theodoritus had answered bravely under every torture and had proved himself steadfast in confessing the faith, Julian finally ordered him to be put to the sword. When Julian had seized the sacred vessels as plunder, he threw them on the ground and began to mock. After blaspheming Christ as much as he pleased, he sat on the vessels and added to his insults. At once his genitals and rectum began to decay; their flesh rotted and turned into worms. The disease was beyond the physicians’ skill. Still, out of reverence and fear for the emperor, they tried every kind of drug, and the most costly and the fattest birds were killed and their fat was applied to the decaying parts, in the hope of drawing the worms to the surface. But it did no good. The worms were buried deep, and they crept into the living flesh and did not stop gnawing until they had put an end to his life. This calamity seemed to be a stroke of divine wrath, because the keeper of the imperial treasures and others of the chief officers of the court who had made sport of the church also died in strange and dreadful ways, as if condemned by the wrath of God. [a]