Martyr 3rd century

Martyrs Africanus Publius, and Terence of Carthage

died c. 250

Also known as Africanus · Publius · Terentius · Terence

A group of Christians at Carthage who, refusing to sacrifice to idols, were tortured and put to death for confessing Christ.

Feast Day

March 13

Also Apr 10, Oct 28

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyrs Africanus, Publius, and Terence of Carthage

Life

Africanus, Publius, and Terence are commemorated among a company of Christians who were put to death at Carthage in North Africa for refusing to sacrifice to idols. The Orthodox Church in America's brief synaxarion notice places their suffering in the third century and assigns them feast days on March 13 and April 10; the Carthaginian commemoration of the martyrs is also kept on October 28.

The fuller account associated with the April 10 commemoration sets their martyrdom during the persecution under the emperor Decius (249-251), when the governor of Africa ordered the population to offer sacrifice to the idols. By this account a band of forty Christians refused. Thirty-six of them were scourged and beheaded, while a smaller group led by a martyr named Terence was isolated and held apart in prison.

The names of the martyrs and the details of their suffering vary between recensions. In the wider tradition Terence's closest companions are given as Africanus, Maximus, and Pompeius; the in-repo record names the group as Africanus, Publius, and Terence (Publius and Pompeius being variant forms of the same companion). The synaxarion relates that these prisoners were chained and left to starve, but were preserved unharmed, and were finally beheaded; the year is given as 250.

Timeline 3 moments Read Hide

249-251 Persecution under Decius The emperor Decius requires sacrifice to the idols; the governor of Africa enforces the decree at Carthage.
c. 250 Martyrdom at Carthage The martyrs, refusing to sacrifice, are imprisoned and put to death by beheading.
379-395 Translation of relics By the wider tradition the relics are translated during the reign of Theodosius I.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Persecution at Carthage

According to the account read on April 10, the persecution unfolded under Decius, when subjects throughout the empire were required to sacrifice to the gods. The narrative of John Sanidopoulos names the governor of Carthage as Fortunianus, who is said to have assembled the people and displayed instruments of torture to compel them. Forty Christians, led by Terence, refused to comply.

The thirty-six who were martyred apart from the leaders were, in this telling, flogged and beheaded; the tradition includes among them the names Zenon, Alexander, and Theodore. The account credits the steadfastness of the martyrs with the miraculous toppling of idols and the destruction of a pagan temple.

Imprisonment and Martyrdom

The synaxarion relates that Terence and his companions were bound, returned to prison, and left to die of hunger. By one tradition an angel of the Lord loosed their chains by night and fed them, so that their guards found them cheerful and strong in the morning. Another recension records that snakes and scorpions were let down through the prison roof but did not harm the prisoners, and instead struck the executioners who opened the door.

The leaders were finally beheaded by the governor's order. The wider tradition records that their relics were later translated during the reign of the emperor Theodosius I (379-395). The variations in the names, the number of companions, and the circumstances of death reflect differences among the synaxaria rather than a single fixed narrative.

Notes

Also commemorated on April 10. Oct 28 = the Carthage commemoration of the martyrs.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints