Saint Eulampius and Saint Eulampia

All these persecutions were far from diminishing his zeal for the glory of Jesus Christ; he felt animated by such a holy ardor to fight idolatry even more strongly that he asked to go to the temple with the intention of casting down the false gods there. His request extremely delighted the tyrant, and he had him led there with much pomp, imagining that he was finally won over and that he was going to sacrifice to the idols; bu t no so Eulampe 4th-century martyr, brother of Eulampia. oner had Eulampe entered than, after having raised his spirit to the true God through a fervent prayer, he approached a famous statue that was to his right, and by his word alone he cast it to the ground and reduced it to powder. This prodigy opened the eyes of a great number of idolaters; they recognized thereby the weakness and impotence of the divinities they worshipped and converted to the Christian religion. The judge was even more irritated by this than before; but his anger reached its final excess when he saw a young person of ravishing beauty break through the crowd and come to throw herself on the Martyr's neck to embrace him and protest to him that she would not leave him, but that she would have the glory of dying like him for the defense of the faith of the true God. It Eulampie Sister of Saint Eulampius, martyred with him. was his sister, named Eulampie, who, having learned of her brother's victories, had come to find him in haste to make herself the companion of his martyrdom. The tyrant made terrible threats to her if she did not renounce her religion that very hour; but she gave him this generous answer: "Know that I am the servant of Jesus Christ, who is my whole life and all the joy of my soul, and that my greatest desire is to be immolated for his love. Have fires lit, then, bring in the ferocious beasts, prepare wheels, sharpen knives, and invent the cruelest torture that ever was, I am ready to endure everything; I hope that I will have no less constancy than my brother, who has already triumphed so gloriously over your idols: do not flatter yourself with the weakness of my sex nor the delicacy of my body, for I will receive strength from the true God, which will make me victorious over all your torments." The president, unable to suffer this speech, had her immediately slapped with such rage that her voice was extinguished and her face all disfigured by the great number of blows she received; but, being fortified by the exhortations of her brother, she endured this torture with admirable patience. He then commanded that both be thrown into a boiling cauldron. Eulampe did not wait for the executioners to carry out this decree, but he entered it generously first, and from there, as if from a place of refreshment, he invited his sister to follow him, assuring her that she would receive no harm from it, and that on the contrary she would find there those incredible sweetnesses of which he already had the experience. Eulampie did not need a longer exhortation: at these words, she entered the cauldron joyfully, where she sang canticles of praise to the divine Majesty with her brother. The sight of this spectacle converted several idolaters, and the judge himself began to doubt the religion of his gods; but, closing his heart immediately to these first movements of grace, he persisted in his obstinacy, and, resuming barbaric sentiments, he had Eulampe's eyes torn out and Eulampie suspended by her hair; then he condemned them to be burned alive in an ardent furnace. Eulampe was thrown inside, because having lost his eyes, he could not enter it by himself; but Eulampie ran to it as if to a place of delights. In fact, they received no harm there; for the flames, dividing into two parts, formed a kind of arch, in the middle of which they remained peacefully, as if they had been in a field walking on the greenery. At this new wonder, the tyrant despaired of being able to bend their courage; that is why he had recourse to the final torture and condemned them both to be beheaded. This last sentence was executed on Eulampe, but not on Eulampie, whom God called to Himself before the executioners could lay hands on her; for it was not appropriate that sacrilegious and unclean hands should touch her body, which had never been defiled by the pleasures of the world nor by the commerce of men. However, the Roman Martyrology says that she also had her head cut off, along with two hundred other people who had converted at the sight o f the miracles of which we deux cents autres personnes Faithful converted by the miracles of the two saints and beheaded with them. have spoken. Their martyrdom occurred around the year 303 of Our Lord.

They are depicted immersed in a cauldron of boiling oil, then beheaded.

Taken fr om Metaphra Métaphraste Byzantine hagiographer, author of the Acts of the Saints. stes, who records their Acts. See Suriu Surius Hagiographer and compiler of saints' lives. s, in volume V.

All these persecutions were far from diminishing his zeal for the glory of Jesus Christ; he felt animated by such a holy ardor to fight even more strongly against idolatry that he asked to go to the temple with the intention of casting down the false gods. His request greatly delighted the tyrant, and he had him led there with much pomp, imagining that he had finally been won over and was going to sacrifice to the idols; but no sooner had Eulampe entered than, after raising his spirit to the true God in fervent prayer, he approached a famous statue that was to his right, and by his word alone he cast it to the ground and reduced it to powder. This miracle opened the eyes of a great number of idolaters; they recognized thereby the weakness and impotence of the deities they worshipped and converted to the Christian religion. The judge was even more irritated than before; but his anger reached its peak when he saw a young person of ravishing beauty break through the crowd and come to throw herself on the Martyr's neck to embrace him and protest that she would not leave him, but that she would have the glory of dying like him for the defense of the faith of the true God. It was his sister, named Eulampie, who, having learned of her brother's victories, had come to find him in haste to become the companion of his martyrdom. The tyrant made terrible threats to her if she did not renounce her religion at that very hour; but she gave him this generous reply: "Know that I am the servant of Jesus Christ, who is my whole life and all the joy of my soul, and that my greatest desire is to be immolated for his love. Have fires lit, bring in the ferocious beasts, prepare wheels, sharpen knives, and invent the cruelest torture that ever was, I am ready to endure everything; I hope that I shall have no less constancy than my brother, who has already triumphed so gloriously over your idols: do not flatter yourself with the weakness of my sex nor the delicacy of my body, for I shall receive strength from the true God, which will make me victorious over all your torments." The president, unable to bear this speech, immediately had her slapped with such rage that her voice was extinguished and her face completely disfigured by the great number of blows she received; but, being fortified by the exhortations of her brother, she endured this torture with admirable patience. He then ordered that both be thrown into a boiling cauldron. Eulampe did not wait for the executioners to carry out this sentence, but he generously entered it first, and from there, as if from a place of refreshment, he invited his sister to follow him, assuring her that she would receive no harm from it, and that on the contrary she would find there those incredible sweetnesses of which he already had experience. Eulampie did not need a longer exhortation: at these words, she joyfully entered the cauldron, where she sang canticles of praise to the divine Majesty with her brother. The sight of this spectacle converted several idolaters, and the judge himself began to doubt the religion of his gods; but, immediately closing his heart to these first movements of grace, he persisted in his obstinacy, and, resuming barbaric sentiments, he had Eulampe's eyes torn out and Eulampie suspended by her hair; then he condemned them to be burned alive in a fiery furnace. Eulampe was thrown inside, because having lost his eyes, he could not enter by himself; but Eulampie ran into it as if to a place of delights. Indeed, they received no harm there; for the flames, dividing into two parts, formed a kind of arch, in the middle of which they remained peacefully, as if they had been in a field walking on the grass. At this new wonder, the tyrant despaired of being able to bend their courage; that is why he had recourse to the final torture and condemned them both to be beheaded. This last sentence was executed on Eulampe, but not on Eulampie, whom God called to Himself before the executioners could lay hands on her; for it was not fitting that sacrilegious and unclean hands should touch her body, which had never been defiled by the pleasures of the world nor by the commerce of men. However, the Roman Martyrology says that she also had her head cut off, along with two hundred other people who had converted at the sight of the miracles of which we have spoken. Their martyrdom occurred around the year 303 of Our Lord.

They are depicted immersed in a cauldron of boiling oil, then beheaded.

Drawn from Metaphrastes, who reports their Acts. See Surius, in volume V.