Church History 7.12.1 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Dindorf 4:311–312

Κατὰ δὲ τὸν δηλούμενον Οὐαλεριανοῦ διωγμὸν τρεῖς ἐν Καισαρείᾳ τῆς Παλαιστίνης τῇ κατὰ Χριστὸν διαλάμψαντες ὁμολογίᾳ θείῳ κατεκοσμήθησαν μαρτυρίῳ, θηρίων γενόμενοι βορά. τούτων ὁ μὲν Πρίσκος ἐκαλεῖτο, ὁ δὲ Μάλχος, τῷ δὲ τρίτῳ Ἀλέξανδρος ὄνομα ἦν. τούτους φασὶ κατʼ ἀγρὸν οἰκοῦντας πρότερον μὲν ἑαυτοὺς ὡς ἀμελεῖς καὶ ῥᾳθύμους κακίσαι, ὅτι δὴ βραβείων, τοῦ καιροῦ τοῖς πόθου γλιχομένοις οὐρανίου διανέμοντος, ὀλιγωροῖεν αὐτοὶ μὴ οὐχὶ προαρπάζοντες τὸν τοῦ μαρτυρίου στέφανον· ταῦτα δὲ βουλευσαμένους ὁρμῆσαι ἐπὶ τὴν Καισάρειαν, ὁμόσε τε χωρῆσαι ἐπὶ τὸν δικαστὴν, καὶ τυχεῖν τοῦ προδεδηλωμένου τέλους. ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις γύναιόν τι κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν διωγμὸν ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ πόλει τὸν ὅμοιον ἱστοροῦσιν ἀγῶνα διηθληκέναι. τῆς δὲ Μαρκίωνος αὐτὴν αἱρέσεως γενέσθαι κατέχει λόγος.

English · Claude translation

In the persecution of Valerian mentioned, three men at Caesarea in Palestine, who shone in confession of Christ, were adorned with divine martyrdom, becoming food for wild beasts. One was called Priscus, another Malchus, and the third's name was Alexander. They say these lived in the country and at first reproached themselves as careless and slothful, because, while the time was distributing prizes to those longing with heavenly desire, they were neglecting it and not seizing the crown of martyrdom first. Having taken counsel, they set out for Caesarea, went together before the judge, and met the end already described. Besides these, they relate that a woman in the same persecution and the same city underwent a similar contest; but report has it that she belonged to the heresy of Marcion.

About this passage

Source

Dindorf 4:311–312 · Wilhelm Dindorf, ed., Eusebii Caesariensis Opera, vol. 4: Historiae ecclesiasticae libri I–X (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871) · Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 4. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1 (1890) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Topics

Martyrdom, Heresy

Notes

Translation notes

Voluntary martyrdom was controversial; Eusebius reports it without comment.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (misdivided word in the digital text): ὁμόσʼ ἑ τε → ὁμόσε τε.

Cite this passage

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 7.12.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/7/12/1/).

Plain text

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 7.12.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/7/12/1/).