Scilitan Martyrs
The Scilitan martyrs are Christians who suffered martyrdom in Carthage on July 17, 180 AD for the sake of their faith . The surviving martyr's report Passio sanctorum scilitanorum is one of the oldest testimonies of the Church in Roman Africa and the oldest Christian document in Latin .
Two of the martyrs , Nartzalus and Cittinus, wore native, i.e. H. Punic or Berber, the other Roman names. The group's spokesman was Speratus. The interrogation was conducted by the Roman proconsul Publius Vigellius Saturninus. The group also included several women. All Scilitian martyrs were lay people . The number (eleven, twelve or thirteen) and the names of the martyrs differ slightly in the various traditions.
The place "Scilium" (or "Scillium"), which can no longer be clearly identified today, was in the Roman province of Numidia or Africa proconsularis (probably in today's Tunisia ). The martyrdom of the Scilitan martyrs is mentioned by Tertullian (Ad Scapulam 3, 4), as well as several times by the church father Augustine , who testifies to their veneration in Carthage.
The Passio sanctorum scilitanorum is strongly based on the form of a court record and represents a valuable historical testimony. It is remarkable, for example, that no torture is mentioned, as is otherwise regularly part of the martyrs' reports. The mention of the writings of St. Paul provides an early testimony to the Latin translation of the Pauline letters.
Remembrance day
literature
- Ekkart Sauser: Scilitan Martyrs. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 9, Bautz, Herzberg 1995, ISBN 3-88309-058-1 , Sp. 1246-1247.