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Ἐκκλησιαστικὴ ἱστορία
Δ Ὅπως οἱ μάρτυρες τὸν Εἰρηναῖον δι' ἐπιστολῆς παρετίθεντο.
[5.4.1] Οἱ δ' αὐτοὶ μάρτυρες καὶ τὸν Εἰρηναῖον, πρεσβύτερον ἤδη τότ' ὄντα τῆς ἐν Λουγδούνωι παροικίας, τῶι δηλωθέντι κατὰ Ῥώμην ἐπισκόπωι συνίστων, πλεῖστα τῶι ἀνδρὶ μαρτυροῦντες, ὡς αἱ τοῦτον ἔχουσαι τὸν τρόπον δηλοῦσι φωναί· [5.4.2] «Χαίρειν ἐν θεῶι σε πάλιν εὐχόμεθα καὶ ἀεί, πάτερ Ἐλεύθερε. ταῦτά σοι τὰ γράμματα προετρεψάμεθα τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν καὶ κοινωνὸν Εἰρηναῖον διακομίσαι, καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν ἔχειν σε αὐτὸν ἐν παραθέσει, ζηλωτὴν ὄντα τῆς διαθήκης Χριστοῦ. εἰ γὰρ ἤιδειμεν τόπον τινὶ δικαιοσύνην περιποιεῖσθαι, ὡς πρεσβύτερον ἐκκλησίας, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἐπ' αὐτῶι, ἐν πρώτοις ἂν παρεθέμεθα». [5.4.3] τί δεῖ καταλέγειν τὸν ἐν τῆι δηλωθείσηι γραφῆι τῶν μαρτύρων κατάλογον, ἰδίαι μὲν τῶν ἀποτμήσει κεφαλῆς τετελειωμένων, ἰδίαι δὲ τῶν θηρσὶν εἰς βορὰν παραβεβλημένων, καὶ αὖθις τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς εἱρκτῆς κεκοιμημένων, τόν τε ἀριθμὸν τῶν εἰς ἔτι τότε περιόντων ὁμολογητῶν; ὅτωι γὰρ φίλον, καὶ ταῦτα ῥάιδιον πληρέστατα διαγνῶναι μετὰ χεῖρας ἀναλαβόντι τὸ σύγγραμμα, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ τῆι τῶν μαρτύρων συναγωγῆι πρὸς ἡμῶν, ὡς γοῦν ἔφην, κατείλεκται. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἐπ' Ἀντωνίνου τοιαῦτα·
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The Church History of Eusebius
Chapter IV.--Irenaeus commended by the Witnesses in a Letter.
1. The same witnesses also recommended Irenaeus, 1 who was already at that time a presbyter of the parish of Lyons, to the above-mentioned bishop of Rome, saying many favorable things in regard to him, as the following extract shows:
2. "We pray, father Eleutherus, that you may rejoice in God in all things and always. We have requested our brother and comrade Irenaeus to carry this letter to you, and we ask you to hold him in esteem, as zealous for the covenant of Christ. For if we thought that office could confer righteousness upon any one, we should commend him among the first as a presbyter of the church, which is his position."
3. Why should we transcribe the catalogue of the witnesses given in the letter already mentioned, of whom some were beheaded, others cast to the wild beasts, and others fell asleep in prison, or give the number of confessors 2 still surviving at that time? For whoever desires can readily find the full account by consulting the letter itself, which, as I have said, is recorded in our Collection of Martyrdoms. 3 Such were the events which happened under Antoninus. 4
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On Irenaeus, see above, Bk. IV. chap. 21, note 9. ↩
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homologeton. Eusebius here uses the common technical term for confessors; i.e. for those who had been faithful and had suffered in persecution, but had not lost their lives. In the epistle of the churches of Lyons and Vienne, the word homologoi is used to denote the same persons (see above, chap. 2, note 6). ↩
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Cf. §2 of the Introduction to this book (Bk. V.). On Eusebius' Collection of Martyrdoms, see above, p. 30. ↩
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i.e. Antoninus Verus, whom Eusebius expressly distinguishes from Marcus Aurelius at the beginning of the next chapter. See below, p. 390, note. ↩