Pothinus

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Pothinus (also: Photinus ) (* around 87; † 177 in Lyon ) was Bishop of Lyon , martyr and saint .

Saint Pothin church in Lyon

Like Irenaeus of Lyons , Pothinus probably came from Asia Minor, where he may have seen the apostle John . Just like the Christian communities in Vienne and Marseilles , the community in Lyon, whose first traditional ruler Pothinus was around the middle of the 2nd century, consisted of Christians of Greek and Asian Minor origin. Under Marcus Aurelius , Christians in the Roman Empire were largely spared persecution, as the maxim was that Christians could not be tracked down or anonymously denounced; only if the imperial cult was refused there was a threat of punishment. While there was no nationwide persecution, there were repeated attacks against Christians locally. In Lugdunum (today's Lyon) the measures against the Christians were gradually increased. At first they were denied access to their churches, the forum and the thermal baths. Then they were no longer allowed to show themselves publicly at all. When the population of the city finally began to riot against the Christians, the governor in Lyon decided to try the Christians and sentenced them to death. Details of this persecution and the martyrdom of the condemned Christians are given in a letter written by the parishes in Lyon and Vienne to the sister parishes in Asia, possibly authored by Irenaeus of Lyon. The report was included in his work by Eusebius of Caesarea . According to this, Pothinus was already 90 years old in 177 when he, like some of his fellow sufferers, died in prison from the inflicted abuse. The rest of the Christians suffered martyrdom in the Lyon amphitheater . The exact number of martyrs is not known; Tradition speaks of 48 martyrs, but there were probably more. Most famous is the Saint Blandina . The following names are also mentioned: Vettius Egapethus, Zacharias, Macarius, Asclibiades, Silvius, Primus, Alpius, Vitalis, Comminus, October, Philomenus, Geminus, Julia, Albina, Rogata, Aemilia, Potamia, Pompeja, Rodone, Biblides, Quarta, Materna , as well as Helpis and Amnas (the last two may be the same person). In addition to Blandina, Alexander and Ponticus were also thrown into the wild animals to eat. The following died in prison: Aristäus, Fotinus, Cornelius, Zosimus, Titus, Zoticus, Julius, Apollonius, Geminianus, Julia and Ausona. Then there are: Maturus, Sanctus, the Deacon and Attalus. Gregory of Tours also mentions: Aemilia, Gamnite, Alumna and Mamilia; Ado and Notker also list Jameica, Pompeja and Domna.

Commemoration

Pothinus and the Martyrs of Lyon commemorate June 2nd . St. Pothin's Church in Lyon is named after the saint.

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Pothinus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Photinus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Lyon, martyr, saint
DATE OF BIRTH at 87
DATE OF DEATH 177
Place of death Lyon