Pusei

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Pusei , also called Phusikos , Fusicus , Pusicius , Pûsai or Pusai († April 14, 344 in the Sassanid Empire ), was a Persian Kuropalates , a senior employee in the royal palace. He was a weaver and entrusted with the management of the royal workshops. Pusei is considered a Christian martyr and is venerated by various Christian denominations as a saint or viewed as a memorable witness of faith. He belongs to the group of 31 Blessed Martyrs of Persia.

Life

Ascent

Pusei's ancestors were Greeks. His father had been deported to Persia from Antioch. Pusei himself was a Christian from birth and lived in Beh Schâpûr on the orders of King Shapur II . He had married a Persian woman, converted her to his faith and raised his children in a Christian way. Pusei was considered a very capable craftsman, weaver and gold embroiderer. When the city of Karkâ de Lêdân was built, Pusei and his entire family, as well as other descendants of prisoners of war and 30 families from all parts of the Sassanid Empire, were resettled here. The descendants of the prisoners of war should be tied to their new home through the resulting mixing of the population. Another consequence that the king did not want was the passing on of Christianity to previously non-Christian groups of the population. Pusei's workshop was near the royal palace, where Shapur established a cooperative of craftsmen from all parts of the empire. After he was recommended to him, Pusei also enjoyed a reputation with the king himself, who after a short time made him supervisor of all craftsmen, first in the capital and later throughout the empire.

Persecution of Christians

Only a few days after Pusei's last promotion in 344, the king issued a special tax for Christians. The refusal of some Christians to pay this tax resulted in persecution of Christians . Since they allegedly made a pact with the Greeks against the Persian Empire, the Catholicos and bishop of Seleukia-Ctesiphon , Simon bar Sabbae , and the priests Habdelai (Abdechalas, Abdchaikla) ​​and Ananias (Hannanja) were also indicted. Ananias was a priest of the main church of Seleukia in BêtArâmâjê. The bishop was asked to convert to Zoroastrianism and worship the sun . His refusal led to his imprisonment. He was taken prisoner in a platoon of 103 convicts, including the metropolitans with whom he preceded. This procession met Pusei, who was supposed to visit the craftsmen in the city of Schadbûr (Aramaic Râmâ). Pusei followed the train.

The head of the palace and head eunuch Gûhaschtâzâd (Usphazanes, Usthazanes), advisor to the king, had already distanced himself from Christianity before the king and converted to Zoroastrianism, but in view of the bishop's attitude and after his repeated admonitions, he now regretted his decision and again publicly and also before the king confessed to his earlier religion. This led to his beheading on Maundy Thursday , April 12, 344. He was the first of a long line of martyrs. (According to a different tradition, Gûhaschtâzâd's death took place on Good Friday and after Adiabene . Ardashir II , who was the local petty king at the time indicated there, is given as the judge .)

The captured Christians spent the night in prison in prayer. On Good Friday before 7 a.m. they were brought to justice in front of the gate of the Royal Palace. The trial was chaired by Grand Môpêd, the Chief Justice, who once again asked the accused to convert to Zoroastrianism. At 9 o'clock in the morning, Simon was brought before the king in person. Shapur promised Simon the release of all prisoners if only he would convert. Since Simon refused further, the king pronounced the death sentence against all prisoners at noon; Simon led the way to the place of execution, prayed and encouraged his fellow prisoners. The executions were carried out one after the other with the sword by ten executioners. Hundreds of people, most of them other captured Christians, were present, as well as Pusei and other high officials. Of those to be executed, only Habdelai, Ananias and Simon were left at 3 p.m.

arrest

When it was Ananias's turn, he was stripped and tied, he was trembling. The reason for this was his age, but Pusei thought it was a sign of fear and encouraged him with the words: “Be strong, Hannanja, do not be afraid; close your eyes a little and you will see the light of Christ! "

This made it clear that he too belonged to the persecuted religion. The judge and commissioners were amazed that this could be the case with such a deserving person. Now Pusei was arrested immediately. The Grand Moped asked Pusei if he was a Christian, whereupon the latter said that what he said to Ananias had already answered this question. Then the judge wanted to know whether he had been evangelized or had grown up in the Christian faith. Pusei affirmed the latter. Pusei was detained while his testimony was being delivered to the king.

Simon was the last to die. The total number of Christians executed in the Persian Empire on this Good Friday is given as 1000. The bodies of the condemned were stolen and buried during the night by Christian Romans, who were not allowed to leave the city as prisoners.

Since the king had previously been very positive towards Pusei, he discussed his case with Grand Môpêd when Pusei's statements were brought to him on the morning of Holy Saturday . The king, too, was amazed that Pusei was a Christian and regretted the responsibility and honors with which he had showered him. Schapur took the view that Pusei had to turn away from Christianity when his aversion to it became clear through the persecution and viewed Pusei's adherence to Christianity as a personal attack. Shapur intended to get Pusei to renounce his faith and make a sun sacrifice, otherwise Pusei would have to die on the same day.

negotiation

He asked for Pusei to be shown, who fell down before him. The king expressed his annoyance that Pusei would not heed his orders. Pusei, who described himself as a servant of God in his formulation, affirmed his respect for the king. Schapur argued that if Pusei respected him, he would have asserted his respect with the gods, not God. Pusei referred to his Christian faith. The king doubted again Pusei's respect for him, since he had openly confessed his forbidden belief to his face. Pusei now referred to his Christian upbringing and described his faith as the purpose of his life. Schapur now directly forbade Pusei the Christian creed, which Pusei rejected. The king accused Pusei of disrespect. Pusei protested his submission to the king. Schapur then asked how he could then confess the hated religion before him. Pusei now quoted the words of Jesus, "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, will also be ashamed of the Son of Man." And added that the king may hate Christianity, but God loves it. The king expressed his displeasure that Pusei dared to use quotations from the Bible. Pusei replied that he was constantly pondering the scriptures.

The king was very angry and asked the sub-kings and officials about their judgment, who wished Pusei a thousand deaths. Schapur repeated once more how angry he was about such a reaction from someone he had honored, who even quoted from the forbidden books before him and showed greater insolence than the Christian bishops when he encouraged one of them. Those present repeated their judgment.

Pusei asked the reason for the death sentence. Schapur justified it with the words Pusei had said to the death row inmate, who was apparently ready to repent. Pusei asked for the exact words to be repeated. The Grand Môpêd repeated his report, stressing that Pusei had prevented the convicts from repenting. The king asked Pusei whether the report was true. Pusei affirmed this, except for the statement that the priest was ready to apostate from Christianity. He now attributed his tremors to physical reasons as well. The king asked again whether Pusei would admit what he had said. He confirmed it and said that he would say the same words to every persecuted Christian if he lived long enough. Schapur replied that Pusei would be able to say a lot more if he stayed alive. He said that if he died his words would weigh even more heavily. The king pointed out to Pusei the honor he was bestowing on him with his promotion and the associated posting to the craftsmen. Pusei replied that a wonderful spectacle had kept him from this service. When asked what he meant, he told of the procession of the later martyrs, whose readiness to die he admired. Shapur called the martyrs fools. Pusei replied that whoever served God should not be called a fool. The king was angry that Pusei was now speaking for the other Christians and threatened him with death. Pusei replied that he was ready to die to tell the truth about his fellow believers. Schapur asked why Pusei had spurned his honor. He replied that this was not the case, but that he also expected glory from God. The king replied that every Christian rejects his honor. Pusei replied that this was not the case either, the Christians would only want to honor God as God and the king as king; a differentiation that Schapur would not allow. Therefore, the Christians would not honor him in the desired way and put the glory of God at the center. The king tightened his statement and said that all Christians would hate him. Pusei took the view that the opposite was the case. But Shapur saw it as a hostile act that his command to convert to Zoroastrianism was disregarded by the Christians. Pusei said that Christians were obedient to the king in everything that did not contradict the will of God.

execution

Since Pusei did not give in on the question of faith, he was executed on the same day at the time he had given Anania's consolation the day before. He was placed on his stomach on the floor and the hangman knelt on him. Then Pusei's neck was cut open completely and his tongue was torn out at the root, which resulted in death, and his skin was peeled off.

Subsequent events

Pusei's body was guarded so that it would not be stolen. According to the acts of the martyrs, a storm broke out that darkened the sky and caused large hailstones to fall, causing the guards to flee. One of those who had recovered the bodies of the martyrs the previous night put Pusei's body in a sack and loaded it onto a donkey. He brought Pusei's body to a recluse whose hermitage was in her family's home, where Pusei was buried.

In the days after Holy Saturday, another 100 to 150 Christians died, among them Azates, a eunuch and high court official, and Simon's sister Pherbutha (Tarbula). Pusei's daughter Askitrea (Marta), a consecrated virgin, was also betrayed and arrested. She was charged on Easter Sunday , and she was also interrogated by the Grand Mopêd. She was given a choice by the king of worshiping the sun or marrying in order to regain her freedom. The background to this was that the king was an opponent of celibate ways of life, such as those found in Manichaeans and Christian orders. Here, too, the conversations between the accused and Grossmôpêd are recorded in the martyrs' files. The king also pronounced her the death sentence. Her execution was to take place in the same place as her father's. Thousands of mostly Christian spectators are said to have been present. Askitrea had to lie down in a pit, which according to the martyrs she did willingly. Then she was beheaded. Her body was also guarded. Only on Easter Tuesday could a Christian bribe the guards and take the corpse away. Askitrea was buried next to her father.

The next bishops of Seleukia-Ctesiphon , Schalidoste (Schahdost, approx. 341 - approx. 345) and Bar Bashmin (approx. 345 - approx. 350), suffered the same fate; in the following 14 years (approx. 350 - approx. 363) the post should remain vacant. The total number of executions is 16,000, combined with a mass exodus of Christians from Persia.

Bishop Marutha of Martyropolis transferred the relics of those executed on Good Friday to his city on February 16, before the year 420. The grave of Puseis and Askitrea was cherished for many years. In 428, however, there was a dispute in the family who owned the property. The responsible bishop Saumai of Karka heard about it and had the relics transferred to a church, which already contained many relics.

Memorial days

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pusei
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Phusikos; Fusicus; Pusicius; Pûsai; Pusai
BRIEF DESCRIPTION persian christian martyr
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century or 4th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Sassanid Empire
DATE OF DEATH April 14, 344
Place of death Sassanid Empire