Martyrdom of Agape, Irene, Chione and Companions

Martyrdom of the holy Agape, Irene, and Chione.

At the coming and appearing of our Master and Savior Jesus Christ, as much greater as grace is than the things of old, so much greater is the victory of the saints. For instead of visible enemies, invisible foes are conquered, and the unseen powers of demons are given over to fire by women pure and chaste, filled with the Holy Spirit. For three holy women came from the city of Thessalonica—the city honored by the all-wise Paul for its faith and love, when he says, “In every place your faith toward God has gone forth,” and again about brotherly love, “You have no need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.” When the persecution under Maximian overtook them, these women too, adorning themselves with virtues and obeying the laws of the Gospel, left their homeland, family, property, and possessions for love of God and expectation of the heavenly goods, doing deeds worthy of their father Abraham; and they fled from their persecutors, as the commandment says, and took refuge on a high mountain. There they gave themselves to prayer; and while their bodies clung to the height of the mountain, their souls lived as citizens in heaven.

Arrested in this place, they were brought before the persecuting magistrate, so that, fulfilling what remained of the commandments and loving their Master even to death, they might bind on the crown of incorruption. Of these, the one who kept the purity and brightness of baptism, in keeping with the holy prophet who says, “You will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow,” was named Chione; the one who had in herself the gift of our Savior and God and showed it to all, in keeping with the holy saying, “My peace I give to you,” was called Irene by everyone; and the one who possessed the perfection of the commandment, having love for God with her whole heart and for her neighbor as herself, in keeping with the holy apostle who says, “The goal of the commandment is love,” was fittingly named Agape. When these three were brought before him and refused to sacrifice, the magistrate condemned them to the fire, so that through a passing fire, having conquered the devil and all his army of demons under heaven, together with those who obey him, they might bind on the unfading crown of glory and with the angels forever glorify God who gave them this grace. The records of what was done concerning them are those set out below.

When Dulcitius the governor had taken his seat on the tribunal, Artemisius the commentariensis said, “If you so order, I will read the report which the stationarius here has sent to Your Fortune concerning these persons present.” Dulcitius the governor said, “Read it.” And it was read out by the office: “To you, my lord, from Cassander, beneficiarius. Know, lord, that Agathon, Irene, Agape, Chione, Cassia, Philippa, and Eutychia refuse to eat sacrificial meat; I am bringing them before Your Fortune.” Dulcitius the governor said to them, “What is this great madness, that you do not obey the command of our most god-beloved emperors and Caesars?” And to Agathon he said, “Why, when you came to the sacred rites, as the devout do, did you not partake of the offerings?” Agathon said, “Because I am a Christian.” Dulcitius the governor said, “Do you still persist in the same today?” Agathon said, “Yes.” Dulcitius said, “What do you say, Agape?” Agape said, “I have believed in the living God, and I do not wish to destroy my conscience.” Dulcitius the governor said, “What do you say, Irene? Why did you not obey the command of our lords the emperors and Caesars?” Irene said, “For fear of God.” The governor said, “What do you say, Chione?” Chione said, “I have believed in the living God, and I do not do this.” The governor said, “What do you say, Cassia?” Cassia said, “I want to save my soul.” The governor said, “Do you want to partake of the offerings?” Cassia said, “I do not.” The governor said, “What do you say, Philippa?” Philippa said, “I say the same.” The governor said, “What is ‘the same’?” Philippa said, “I would rather die than eat.” The governor said, “What do you say, Eutychia?” Eutychia said, “I say the same: I would rather die.” The governor said, “Do you have a husband?” Eutychia said, “He has died.” The governor said, “When did he die?” Eutychia said, “About seven months ago.” The governor said, “How then are you with child?” Eutychia said, “By the husband whom God gave me.” The governor said, “How then are you with child, when you say that your husband has died?” Eutychia said, “No one can know the will of God almighty. So God willed.” The governor said, “I urge Eutychia to cease from her madness and return to human reason. What do you say? Will you obey the imperial command?” Eutychia said, “I will not obey; I am a Christian, a servant of God almighty.” The governor said, “Eutychia, because she is with child, shall meanwhile be taken back to prison.”

And he added, “What do you say, Agape? Will you do all these things that we who are devoted do for our lords the emperors and Caesars?” Agape said, “It does not go well for Satan; he does not lead my reasoning; our reasoning is unconquerable.” The governor said, “What do you say, Chione?” Chione said, “No one can change our reasoning.” The governor said, “Do you have any writings of the impious Christians—records, parchments, or books?” Chione said, “There are none, lord; the present emperors have carried them all off.” The governor said, “Who gave you this resolve?” Chione said, “God almighty.” The governor said, “Who are those who advised you to come to this folly?” Chione said, “God almighty and his only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.” Dulcitius the governor said, “It is plain to all that everyone is bound to the devotion owed to our lords the emperors and Caesars. But since, out of some folly, after so long a time, so much warning, and so many edicts posted, with so great a threat hanging over you, you have despised the command of our lords the emperors and Caesars, persisting in the impious name of the Christians, and even today, when urged by the stationarii and the leading men to deny and to carry out in writing what was ordered, you refuse—for this reason receive the punishment due to you.” And he read the sentence written on a sheet: “Agape and Chione, since with undevoted mind they have held views contrary to the divine decree of our lords the Augusti and Caesars, and still observe the rash, stale religion of the Christians, hateful to all the devout, I have ordered to be handed over to the fire.” And he added, “Agathon, Irene, Cassia, and Philippa, because of their youth, shall meanwhile be thrown into prison.”

After the most holy women had been perfected through fire, on the next day holy Irene was brought in again, and Dulcitius the governor said to her, “The purpose of your madness is plain also from what has been done: you chose to keep until this very day so many parchments, books, tablets, codices, and pages of writings of the Christians of former times, the impious ones; and when they were produced you acknowledged them, though you had said each time that they were not yours. You were not satisfied with the punishment of your own sisters, nor did you keep that fear of death before your eyes. Therefore punishment must be laid upon you. Yet it is not out of place to grant you some measure of humanity: if even now you will acknowledge the gods, you will be free of all danger and punishment. What then do you say? Will you do the command of our emperors and Caesars, and are you ready today to eat sacrificial meat and to sacrifice to the gods?” Irene said, “No, I am not ready to do it, because of God almighty, who created heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them; for great is the judgment of eternal torment for those who transgress the word of God.” Dulcitius the governor said, “Who advised you to keep these parchments and writings until this day?” Irene said, “God almighty, who told us to love him unto death. For this reason we did not dare to betray them, but chose to be burned alive or to suffer whatever might befall us rather than betray them.” The governor said, “Who knew that they were in the house where you lived?” Irene said, “No one else—God sees it—except God almighty, who knows all things; besides him, no one. We counted our own people worse than enemies, lest they accuse us, and we disclosed it to no one.” The governor said, “Last year, when this great command of our lords the emperors and Caesars was first published, where did you hide?” Irene said, “Wherever God willed: in the mountains—God sees it—in the open air.” The governor said, “With whom were you staying?” Irene said, “In the open air, on one mountain and another.” The governor said, “Who were those who supplied you with bread?” Irene said, “God, who supplies all.” The governor said, “Was your father aware of it?” Irene said, “By God almighty, he was not aware of it, nor did he know at all.” The governor said, “Which of your neighbors knew?” Irene said, “Ask the neighbors in those places whether anyone knew where we were.” The governor said, “After you came back from the mountain, as you say, did you read these writings with others present?” Irene said, “They were in our house, and we did not dare to bring them out. So we remained in great distress, because we could not give ourselves to them night and day, as we had done from the beginning until that day last year when we hid them.” Dulcitius the governor said, “Your sisters, as was ordered for them, were burned by sentence. But you, since you were responsible earlier both for the flight and for hiding these writings and parchments, I order to be put out of life not in the same way and not at once; rather, through the … of the aediles of this city and of Zosimus the public slave, I order you to be placed naked in a brothel, receiving one loaf only from the palace, the aediles not permitting you to leave.”

When the aediles and Zosimus the public slave had been brought in, the governor said, “You are surely not unaware that if it is reported to me by the office that she has left the place where she has been ordered to stand, even for the briefest hour, you will then be subjected to the severest penalty? And the writings produced from Irene's cabinets and chests are to be burned in public.” And according to this order of the governor, those appointed for the task led her off to the public place of the brothel; but by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which guarded her and kept her pure for God, the Master of all, no one dared to approach her or even to attempt an insulting word. Dulcitius the governor called the most holy woman back, set her before the tribunal, and said to her, “Do you still persist in the same folly?” Irene said to him, “Not folly, but godliness.” Dulcitius the governor said, “Already from your earlier answer it was plainly shown that you have not obeyed the command of the emperors with devotion, and now I see that you still persist in the same folly. Therefore you will receive the punishment due.” And asking for a sheet, he wrote the sentence against her thus: “Irene, since she has refused to obey the command of the emperors and to sacrifice, and moreover still practices a certain Christian rite—for this reason, as with her two sisters before, so I have ordered her too to be burned alive.”

When this sentence had been issued by the governor, the soldiers took her and led her off to a high place, where her sisters had been martyred before her. They kindled a great pyre and ordered her to climb onto it by herself. And holy Irene, singing psalms and glorifying God, threw herself onto the pyre and so was perfected, in the ninth consulship of Diocletian Augustus and the eighth of Maximian Augustus, on the Kalends of April, while our Lord Jesus Christ reigns forever; with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. Amen.