Hieromartyr 2nd century

Hieromartyr Eleutherius of Illyria and those with him

2nd century

Also known as Eleutherius · Evanthia · Caribus the Eparch

Eleutherius was raised by his Christian mother and became Bishop of Illyria at a young age; he, his mother Evanthia, and the eparch Caribus suffered martyrdom under Hadrian.

Feast Day

December 15

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Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Eleutherius, Bishop of Illyria, with His Mother Evanthia and Those Martyred with Them

Life

Eleutherius was an early bishop and martyr commemorated on December 15 together with his mother and several companions who suffered with him. By tradition he was a Roman of distinguished family, the son of an imperial official, who was raised in the Christian faith by his widowed mother and rose through the ranks of the clergy at an unusually young age before being consecrated bishop of Illyria. His commemoration is shared among a group of saints associated with his martyrdom, and in the Cloud of Witnesses database the entry is kept as a single named group.

The synaxarion places his life and death in the reign of the emperor Hadrian (117-138), and the martyrdom is sometimes dated to around the year 120. After being subjected to a series of tortures from which the tradition holds he was repeatedly delivered, Eleutherius was beheaded at Rome. His mother, named Evanthia in the Slavic recension and Anthia in the Greek tradition, was put to death alongside him, and the Roman eparch who had presided over his torture is recorded as having confessed Christ and been executed in turn.

Because the account binds together a bishop, his mother, a converted Roman official, and others who suffered at the same time, the commemoration functions as a collective witness drawn from different ranks of Roman society. Most surviving detail comes from later synaxaria and the Prologue of Ohrid rather than contemporary records, and the sources hedge accordingly.

Timeline 2 moments Read Hide

117-138 Reign of Hadrian The synaxarion places the martyrdom of Eleutherius and his companions in the reign of the emperor Hadrian.
Dec 15 Commemoration The Church commemorates Eleutherius together with his mother and those martyred with him.

Contributions & Legacy

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Family and Early Life

According to the tradition reflected in the Prologue of Ohrid, Eleutherius was born in Rome, where his father served as an imperial proconsul. His mother, called Anthia in the Greek tradition and Evanthia in the Slavic, is said to have heard the Gospel from the Apostle Paul and to have been baptized by him. Left a widow early, she entrusted her only son to the bishop of Rome for his education and service to the Church.

The synaxarion relates that he advanced through the orders of clergy at a young age, being ordained deacon at fifteen, priest at eighteen, and consecrated bishop at twenty. The Slavic recension names the bishop of Rome who ordained him as Anicetus. He was appointed bishop of Illyria, with his episcopal seat traditionally placed at Valona (Avlona) in present-day Albania.

Martyrdom

Under Hadrian, Eleutherius was arrested and pressed to renounce Christ. The tradition relates that he was subjected to severe tortures, including flogging, roasting on a heated iron bed, boiling in pitch, and a fiery furnace, and that he survived each of them. The Greek account adds that a commander named Felix, sent to seize him, was converted by what he witnessed and was baptized.

The Roman eparch who oversaw the proceedings, named variously Caribus, Coremonus, or Corybus in the sources, is said to have professed faith in Christ and to have been tortured and beheaded, as was Felix. Eleutherius himself was then beheaded at Rome. His mother, the tradition relates, came and stood over the body of her son and was beheaded in turn. The Wikipedia liturgical entry additionally records two executioners who suffered with them. The Greek tradition holds that his relics were afterward translated to Valona.

Notes

Named group kept as one row.

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