Elias and companions
Encyclopedia
Elias and four companions, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah (also known as Jeremy and Jeremias), and Samuel were Egyptian
martyr
s who visited Christian
s condemned for life
to slave work in the mines
of Roman Cilicia, during Maximinus
' persecution
, to comfort them. In 309, on their return to Egypt
, they were stopped at the gates of Caesarea, Palestine
, and questioned. Upon confessing the reason for their journey, they were arrest
ed and brought before the provincial
governor
Firmilian
, who interrogated them further. Accused
of being Christians, they were all torture
d and then beheaded
. St. Pamphilus
was also caught up in the martyrdom, sharing Elias’ fate
. When Porphyry, a servant of Pamphilus, demanded that the bodies be buried, he was tortured and then burned to death
when it was found that he was a Christian. St. Seleucus witnessed his death and applauded his constancy in the face of this terrible death; whereupon he was arrested by the soldier
s involved in the execution, brought before the governor, and was beheaded at Firmilian's order. The historian
Eusebius
was in Caesarea, and gave a vivid account of their martyrdom by torture and beheading.
St. Elias and companions' feast day
is on February 16.
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
s who visited Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s condemned for life
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
to slave work in the mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
of Roman Cilicia, during Maximinus
Maximinus
Maximinus II , also known as Maximinus Daia or Maximinus Daza, was Roman Emperor from 308 to 313. He was born of Dacian peasant stock to the half sister of the emperor Galerius near their family lands around Felix Romuliana; a rural area then in the Danubian region of Moesia, now Eastern Serbia.He...
' persecution
Diocletian Persecution
The Diocletianic Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman empire. In 303, Emperor Diocletian and Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding the legal rights of Christians and demanding that they comply with traditional Roman...
, to comfort them. In 309, on their return to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, they were stopped at the gates of Caesarea, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, and questioned. Upon confessing the reason for their journey, they were arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed and brought before the provincial
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
governor
Roman governor
A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many provinces constituting the Roman Empire...
Firmilian
Firmilian (Roman governor)
Firmilian was the Roman governor of the Iudaea Province, during the third Late Roman Period of the roman rule over the region. He was the third of a succession of governors who enforced the Diocletian Persecution at Caesarea, the province's capital, which lasted for twelve years...
, who interrogated them further. Accused
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
of being Christians, they were all torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d and then beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
. St. Pamphilus
Pamphilus of Caesarea
Saint Pamphilus , was a presbyter of Caesarea and chief among Catholic Biblical scholars of his generation...
was also caught up in the martyrdom, sharing Elias’ fate
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
. When Porphyry, a servant of Pamphilus, demanded that the bodies be buried, he was tortured and then burned to death
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
when it was found that he was a Christian. St. Seleucus witnessed his death and applauded his constancy in the face of this terrible death; whereupon he was arrested by the soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s involved in the execution, brought before the governor, and was beheaded at Firmilian's order. The historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
was in Caesarea, and gave a vivid account of their martyrdom by torture and beheading.
St. Elias and companions' feast day
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...
is on February 16.