Saint Lucian of Antioch

Advancing more and more in age and virtue, he was ordained a priest in the city of An tioch; a Antioche Ancient city where Saint Publia and her community resided. nd to be more useful to the public, he undertook to instruct the youth, both in letters and in the practice of piety. To this end, he kept an open school, following the example of his master Saint Macarius, so that all those who wished to enjoy the fruit of his labors could do so without any difficulty. And, in order to have the means to give alms to the poor, he applied himself with such ease to fine writing that he earned enough for his own maintenance and that of others. Furthermore, he undertook a very difficult work; for, having observed that the heretics, in translating the sacred books in various ways, had slipped many errors into them, he resolved to review all the translations and to make a completely new one from Hebrew into Greek; this edition earned universal esteem and was very useful to Saint Jerome, who reports saint Jérôme Father of the Church and biographical source for Amand. that it was used in the Church of the East, particularly from Constantinople to Antioch.

As our Saint was working in this way for religion, the Emperor Maximin r l'empereur Maximin Roman emperor and persecutor of Lucian. enewed the edicts of his predecessors Diocletian and Maximian, and continued to persecute the faithful. Knowing that this most holy priest was one of the firmest supports and one of the strongest pillars of the Catholic Church of Antioch, and that the faithful had much deference for him, he resolved to have him arrested; but the holy man, having been warned, so as not to expose himself rashly to danger, left the city and withdrew secretly into the countryside, practicing in this the counsel of the Savior who said to his disciples: "When men persecute you in one city, flee to another!". However, having been denounced by a wicked apostate, a partisan of the heresiarch Sabellius, he was taken prisoner and led to Nicomedia. 303.

While pass ing throu Nicomédie City of origin of Saint Nicarete. gh Cappadocia, he met some soldiers of his acquaintance, who, out of fear or the violence of the torments, had renounced Christianity: the Saint, animated by fervor and zeal, gave them such a vivid and charitable remonstrance that, touched by repentance, they promised to perform henceforth only the acts of good Christians; and of the forty that they were, most died courageously for Jesus Christ; the others, triumphing over the cruelty of the torments, survived the rage of the tyrant. The holy martyr produced no less fruit when he arrived in Nicomedia; he found there still some Christians who had also made shipwreck of the faith, brought them back through his fervent exhortations, and made them return to the bosom of the Church. Thus this most holy priest rightly bore the name of Lucian (which comes from lux, light), shining by the brilliance of his faith and his virtues, not only in himself, but also for others.

One would think that Maximin feared being enlightened by this light if he were to question him himself; he covered himself, so to speak, with a veil, and spoke to Lucian only through an interpreter. He offered to associate him with the government of the empire, and to make him his colleague and advisor, if he would only sacrifice to the idols; but the Saint, mocking his vain promises, protested loudly that he would never do any such thing. Then Maximin, passing from promises to threats, had him taken to prison, where after several other outrages, the holy Confessor had to endure frightful treatment. A large piece of wood was prepared, pierced in four different places, and after having his legs inserted up to the knees in the two top holes, they were cruelly bent to be inserted into the bottom holes, which dislocated his bones and horribly strained his joints. Then his hands were tied above his head to another piece of wood, so that while lying down he could not move at all, and the place having been covered with shards of broken pottery, he was stretched out naked on this bed of pain to make him suffer, without respite, an unbearable torture. The executioners left him in this state for twelve or fourteen days, without giving him anything to eat but meats that had been presented to the idols; but he would rather have suffered a thousand deaths than touch a single piece, relying on this law: that one cannot eat what has been offered to idols if it is to result in scandal for the weak, and if the pagans demand it as an act of idolatry.

However, the feast of the Epiphany was approaching, and his disciples who came to visit him would have very much wished to see him free on that day, in order to participate with him in the holy mysteries of our redemption: which the holy martyr promised them. Indeed, when the day arrived, he told them that his chest would serve well as an altar, and they, as a church, by gathering around his person. They therefore brought the bread and wine onto the breast of this holy priest, who, after the customary prayers, blessed both, consecrated them, and received the holy Eucharist, which he then had distributed to all those present. And what is admirable in this is that God did not permit, during the entire time of this august ceremony, a single pagan to appear who could prevent them from completing it.

The next day, the emperor, irritated that the martyr had lived so long, sent to see if he was not dead; but, as soon as he caught sight of the ministers of iniquity, he cried out: "I am a Christian." The executioner, astonished by this constancy, asked him from what country he was: "I am a Christian," he replied. — What is your profession? retorted the minister of Satan. — "I am a Christian," replied the holy Martyr. — But who are your parents? added the pagan once more. — "I am a Christian," finally answered the generous Martyr. No sooner had he made this last profession of faith than he rendered his soul to God: this was on January 7, in the year three hundred and twelve. It is believed that he remained nine years in prison, since, according to Eusebius, he did not receive the crown of martyrdom until after the death of Saint Peter of Alexandria, which occurred in 311. Saint Chrysostom has written wonders about this saint Lucien Priest and martyr, famous for his revision of the Septuagint Bible. admirable response of Saint Lucien; because, he says, the disciple of Jesus Christ, by saying that he is a Christian, explains perfectly well, in a single word, what his homeland, his family, and his profession are. His homeland, because, having none on earth, he recognizes no other than the heavenly Jerusalem; his family, because he believes he has no other parents than the Saints; and, finally, his profession, since his whole life is in heaven.

The tyrant, listening to his rage even after the death of the holy Martyr, commanded that a large stone be tied to his right hand, and that his body be thrown into the sea, so as to remove his memory forever. But the Creator of the waters preserved him for fourteen days in that element, as long as he had suffered martyrdom; and, on the fifteenth, the Saint appeared to one of his relatives, who was also his disciple, called Glycerius, to tell him to go to such a place on the shore, which he indicated to him, and that there he would infallibly find his body. Glycerius went there, assisted by some other Christians, and no sooner had they arrived than they perceived a large dolphin which, carrying this precious treasure on its back, unloaded it in their sight on the seashore; one could easily be convinced that this dolphin was not a phantom, but a real fish, for it expired on the shore as soon as it had unloaded it, as it appears from the last couplet of a hymn that was once sung in honor of Saint Lucian; here is the meaning:

The dolphin, appearing, took charge of the Martyr, And wishing to pay pious homage to his body, Carried it on its back to the edge of the shore, Where before everyone it died of pleasure.

This holy body was received entirely and without any corruption or foul odor, except that the right hand had been separated from it by the weight of that stone. But God, wishing to ratify by a miracle the work of that same hand which had served for the correction of errors introduced into the versions of the Holy Scriptures, caused it to be that, shortly after, the sea having brought it back upon its waves, it was perfectly reunited with his body; it received with him the honor of burial, which his disciples rendered to him as much as time and opportunity allowed them. Saint He lena, mother Sainte Hélène Mother of Constantine, founder of Helenopolis. of Emperor Constantine, passing through Nicomedia later on her return from visiting the holy places of Jerusalem, was moved by devotion to honor the sepulcher of the holy martyr Lucian; in order to exalt it further, she had a beautiful city built on that same site which changed its ancient name of Drepanum to that of Helenopolis, that is to say, the city of Helena, and by the same means, she had a beautiful temple built there which bore the name of the Saint. But, in the course Charlemagne Emperor of the Franks and uncle of Saint Folquin. of time, Emperor Charlemagne had his precious relics brou ght t Arles Ecclesiastical metropolis of the province to which Constantine belonged. o the city of Arles, in Provence, after having had a church built in honor of the Saint; his rich remains were honorably deposited there Turpin Archbishop of Reims who deposited the relics. by Turpin, Archbishop of Reims, who died in the year 800, on September 2nd. These relics, extracted from their reliquaries in 93, were subsequently mingled with others. Mgr Bernet, Archbishop of Aix, recognized the whole in 1829 as being probably the remains of Saint Lucian and Saint Vincent.

Here is how Saint Lucian is represented: he is brought before Emperor Maximin who, unable to bear the radiance and majesty of the holy Martyr's face, has a veil stretched before him. In his prison, he celebrates Mass and—offering himself—offers to the eternal Father the host of propitiation, in the manner we have described in the Life; an executioner casts him into the sea; a dolphin brings his body back to the shores of the Bithynian sea.

Saint John Chrysostom, vol. II, p. 524; Saint Jerome, de script., c. 77; Eusebius, bk. VIII, c. 13; bk. IX, c. 6; Ruin Tillemont, vol. V, p. 474, and Fr. Pagi, ad an. 311. Metaphrastes wrote his life quite amply, as it is reported by Surius and Hollandus in their first volume; it is from them and the Advocates of the Church that we have made this collection for the day of his feast, which is celebrated by the Latins on January 7th, although the Greeks only commemorate it on October 15th.