Pasicrates or Policrates
Acta Sanctorum, May 25
Source text: Public Domain. English translation/apparatus/encoding: CC BY-NC 4.0, Wroot Press.
https://actasanctorum.org/may/day-25/pasicrates-or-policrates.html
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ON SS. PASICRATES OR POLICRATES, VALENTIO AND OTHER II OR III.
MARTYRS AT DUROSTORUM IN MOESIA, OR BULGARIA.
From the Latin Martyrologies and Greek Menaea.

[Commentary]

Passicrates or Policrates, Martyr at Durostorum in Moesia or Bulgaria (S.)

Valentio, Martyr at Durostorum in Moesia or Bulgaria (S.)

II or III, Martyrs at Durostorum in Moesia or Bulgaria (SS.)

BY THE AUTHOR G. H.

Dorostorum, in others Durostolon, and in a later
age also called Rhodostolon (as in Curopalates
Ortelius notes it is always read, in the Geographical
Thesaurus) a city once Episcopal
of lower Moesia in modern Bulgaria, sent up
several Martyrs to heaven, of whom on this day some are related
in Usuard, [The memory in the Latin calendars,] Ado, Notker and others with the present
Roman Martyrology, in nearly these words: In Moesia
in the city Dorostorum of the holy Martyrs Passicrates,
Valentio and two others crowned together.
In the ancient transcripts of the Hieronymian Martyrology is celebrated
the memory of Policrates, or Polecrates or Polegratus, and
of four others crowned: and that nearly after the Blera
Martyrs soon to be related: and the name Dorostorum or
Dorostolum after St. Urban the Pope is placed, as a Martyr,
which seems transposed, and to Policrates or Passicrates
to be prefixed: but the rest which about the cemetery
of Praetextatus are prefixed, pertain to St. Urban, as
to his Life we said. In the title we have written Pasicrates, not Passicrates:
that the Greek name according to the rules of Greek
orthography might be expressed, and it signifies All-ruling.

[2] The cobbler-together of the Pseudo-Chronicle of Dexter, because he found
Moesia, by others written Mysia (I add in the Mss. also Messia),
[wrongly Passicrates transferred into Spain:] judged here was given to him liberty of feigning
something. For when in Pliny and Festus Avienus
he had found in Further Spain a city Masia and
to feign for himself, and above it a place Doratensis;
and at the year CLXVIII he says, that there flourished
St. Pasycrates, a wonderful man in conversation and
in all his works. Which things soon defended in their
Commentaries on Dexter Rudericus Carus and Franciscus
Bivarius, and in the Spanish Martyrology Tamayus Salazar,
who the place Doratensis retained, preferred to omit Dorostorum,
by too evident fiction transferred into Spain,
and to leave to it his Passicrates, from whom different was
the Doratensian Pasycrates. Since they have proved from ancient
monuments of sincere faith, that another Pasycrates lived in the Spains,
and had legitimate veneration in the Spanish Churches,
we will leave him to them: meanwhile he being dismissed we give surer
foundations for this true Pasicrates and his fellows.

[3] The Greeks in the Menology of the Emperor Basil, and another of Cardinal
Sirletus, [The cult among the Greeks on the 24th of April.] likewise in an ancient Synaxary, which at Paris in
the Clermont college of the Society of Jesus is preserved, and the other
Menaea both written by hand and printed in type, certain illustrious
things, about Pasicrates and Valentio, have at the day
XXIV of April, as then among the Passed-over we said, and the reader
to this XXV of May we remitted: here we only give,
what in the printed Menaea in Greek is had, these two
distichs being premised:

Ὁ Πασικράτης ᾔρατο τμηθεὶς κράτος,
Οὐαλεντίνῳ ἐκβαλὼν φόβον ξίφους.

Removing the dread of the sword from Valentio,
His head cut off Pasicrates expired.

Their contest is then thus narrated.

[4] [The eulogy from the printed Menaea:] Οὗτοι ὑπῆρχον ἐν Ῥοδοστόλῳ τῆς Μυσίας ἐν λεγεῶνί τινι στρατευόμενοι Αυλοζά̈νου Ὑπάρχοντος. Τὴν δὲ περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα πλά̈νην τῶν ἀνθρώπων βλέποντες, καὶ πάντας ἐπιτηχότας καὶ ὑποκρύπτοντας τοῖς τῶν κρατούντων θεσπίσμασι, παῤῥησίᾳ Χριστιανοὺς ἑαυτοὺς ἀνεκήρυξαν. Οὓς περισχόντες ὁι τοῖς εἰδώλοις προςκείμενοι, ἄγουσι πρὸς τὸν Ἡγεμόνα· παρ᾽ οὗ θῦσαι τοῖς εἰδώλοις καταναγκαζόμενοι, τοῦτο μεν οὐ κατεδέξαντο· ὁ δὲ ἅγιος μᾶλλον Πασικράτης, ἀποδειχθέντος ἀυτῷ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος προσεγγίσας, τοῦτον κατέπτυσε, προσειπὼν, ταυτην μᾶλλον προσήκειν ἀυτῷ τὴν τημην. Προσδεθέντες οὖν ἁλύσεσι, τίθενται ἐι φρουρᾷ. Δῆλος δὲ ἦν ὁ ἄγιος Πασικράτης ἐπαγαλλόμενος τῷ δεσμῷ, καὶ ὂιον ὁρμίσκον χρυσοῦν περιφέρων ταῖς ἅλυσιν ὡς ὄργανον οὔσαις τῶν ὑπὲρ χριστοῦ παθημάτων, δἰ ᾧ σωθήσεσθαι ὄιετο. Αὔθις παραστάντων αὐτῶν τῷ Ἡγεμόνι, προσῆλθε τῷ ἁγίῳ Πασικράτει ο Παππιανὸς ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἀυτοῦ, κλαίων ἅμα καὶ συμβουλεύων ἐπιβαλεῖν λιβανοτόν τῷ βωμῷ, καὶ τῆς ἐπικειμενης ἀνάγκης ῥυσθῆναι· καὶ γὰρ ἔτυχεν αυτὸς, ὑπεροψίᾳ τῶν κρειττόνων καὶ πόθῳ τῷν παρόντων, δέει δὲ τῶν ἀλγεινῶν, τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ πίστεως ἀποστάς. Ὁ δὲ ἅγιος Πασικράτης ἀπώσατο αυτὸν, ἀνά̈ξιον τῆς συγγενείας εἰπὼν, καὶ μὴ δὲ ἱκανὸν κρὶναι πρὸς συμβολὴν, τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ πίστεως ἀποστάντα. Εγγίσας δὲ τῷ βομῷ προὔτεινε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χεῖρα καίεσθαι, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ἄρχοντα ἔλεγεν, ὡς ἡ μεν σά̈ρξ, ἡ δημουργηθεῖσα θνητὴ, εἴκει τῷ πυρὶ καὶ ὡς ὁρᾷς καταδαπανᾶται· ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ ὡς ἂϋλος καὶ ἀθά̈νατός τις οὐσα καὶ μὴ πεφυκῦια τοῖς ὁρωμένοις κά̈μπτεσθαι πάθεσιν ακλινὴς καὶ ἀνένδοτος ἕστηκεν, εἰς ζωὴν ἀώνιον συντηρουμενη. Ἐρωτηθέντος δὲ τοῦ Οὐαλεντίονος καὶ συμφρονεῖν τῷ ἁγίῳ Πασικράτει εἰπὸντος τὴν διὰ ξίψους ἀπόφασιν δέχοντο ἀμφότεροι. Ἔνθα συμπροπέμψασθαι φασὶ τὴν μητέρα τὸν ἅγιον Πασικράτην, καταῤῥύνουσαν καὶ ὑποσχεῖν τὸν αῦχενα τῷ ξίφες κελεύουσαν. Ὑπῆρχον δὲ, ὅτι τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτμήθησαν ὁ μὲν ἁγιος Πασικράτης ἐτῶν δύο καὶ εἴκοσι, ὁ δὲ ἅγιος Οὐαλεντίων τριάκοντα.

[5] Thus far the Greek, which in Latin is thus rendered: These
were sprung from Rhodostolus of Mysia, legionary soldiers
under the Prefect of the province Ausolanus:[*] who, beholding the impiety
of mortals rushing to the idols, while the rest
for the most part for fear withdrew themselves from the forum and concealed themselves,
freely openly professed themselves Christians:
whom seized by the worshippers of the idols, and to
the Magistrate brought, the Praetor compelled to burn incense to the gods.
Which both refused: [whereupon Pasicrates is said to have spat on the idol,] and Pasicrates indeed
approaching the idol of Apollo shown to him spat on it:
and, This worship, he said, befits it more.
Therefore him loaded with chains into a cage they thrust: with which
chains Pasicrates likewise triumphed, just as
if he wore golden collars, since they were the instruments
of the evils, which for Christ he sustained, and through which
he hoped he would attain certain salvation. But again
they standing before the tribunal of the President, there approached
to Pasicrates Pappianus, his own brother; and
weeping persuaded his brother, [reproved his apostate brother,] that he should burn incense to the idol,
and yield for the time to necessity, just as
he himself had done. For the brother from the contempt of better
and future things, and the desire of present goods,
and the fear of punishments, from the faith of Christ
an apostate had fallen away. Whom S. Pasicrates execrating,
of his blood and lineage unworthy proclaimed, nor
fit, whose counsel, since from the faith of Christ he had nefariously
revolted, should be heard. Therefore approaching the altar,
his hand into the fire he cast, and the President thus addresses:
The flesh indeed (as you see) mortal, [placed his hand on the fire,] and of mortal
condition created, yields to the fire and is consumed:
but the soul, of concretion devoid and immortal, cannot be bent
by those passions which are subjected to the eyes,
and stands unmoved, and to no torments yields, to immortal
life betrothed and destined. But when Valentio,
whether with Pasicrates he agreed, was asked, and he
constantly affirmed, against both the sentence
of capital is pronounced. They say moreover that Pasicrates was by
his mother, to go before admonished, [and both are said to have been beheaded.] and the iron constantly to receive. Pasicrates was, when by the axe he was struck,
of twenty-two years; Valentio, thirty.

[6] These the Menaea: which same things, but somewhat more contractedly,
are read in the Menology of the Emperor Basil, where the Fellow Valentinus
is called, and both are said with the greatest
gladness to have been beheaded, before the mother of Pasicrates,
who with equal and cheerful mind received the martyrdom of her son:
which in Greek is thus read Ἀμφότεροι τὰς ἁγίας ἀυτῶν κεφαλὰς χαίροντες ἀπετμήθησαν, τῆς μητρὸς Πασικράτους παρούσης καὶ προθυμοποιούσης αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸ μαρτύριον. Finally they are said to be sprung ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Δοροστόλου τῆς Μακεδονίας, from the city Dorostolum in
Macedonia, because to the President of this province was subject Moesia,
and so also the city Dorostolum, or Rhodostolum.

[Annotation]

* Sirletus Auloximus.
