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1 2 . R E L I G I O U S G R O U P S<br />

Hierax said: 'They are dead. It is a considerable time since I was dragged off from<br />

Phrygia.' 3<br />

Rusticus the prefect said to Liberianos: 'You are not also a Christian, are you?'<br />

Liberianos said: 'I too am a devout Christian.'<br />

(5) The prefect spoke to Justin: 'If you are flogged and beheaded, do you believe that<br />

you will ascend to heaven?'<br />

Justin said: 'I have confidence in my powers of endurance, if I stand firm. I know that<br />

those who have lived well are assured the divine gift until the final conflagration.'<br />

Rusticus the prefect said: 'So you think that you will ascend?'<br />

Justin said: 'I don't just think, I am absolutely convinced of it.'<br />

Rusticus the prefect said: 'If you do not obey, you will be punished.' 4<br />

Justin said: 'We pray that if we are punished, we shall be saved.'<br />

Rusticus the prefect passed judgement: 'Those who have refused to sacrifice to the gods<br />

are to be scourged and executed in accordance with the laws.'<br />

(6) The holy witnesses went out to the usual place glorifying god, and fulfilled their<br />

witness in their profession of our saviour, to whom is glory and power with the father and<br />

the holy spirit now and for ever. Amen.<br />

1. Q. Junius Rusticus, prefect of the ciry from around A.D. 162 to 167. His opening ques­<br />

tion may be askingjustin ifhe was a Christian, but it would allow Justin to reply that he<br />

was simply a philosopher.<br />

2. The text is corrupt. Note that Justin, though an influential teacher, holds no ecclesiasti­<br />

cal office; for the importance of such teachers and their study-circles, see P. Brown<br />

(1988) 103-21.<br />

3. Hierax seems to have been sold into slavery.<br />

T 4. The longer versions include here a demand for Justin to sacrifice to the gods.<br />

12.7f(iii) Monument of the martyrs in <strong>Rome</strong>.<br />

The tombs of the martyrs became an increasingly important focus for<br />

Christians. In the fourth century, churches were built on their sites (e.g. St<br />

Peter's in <strong>Rome</strong>: 4.15c-d; Vol. 1, 376-7, Map 4 no.6l), and the anniversaries<br />

of martyrdoms commemorated (3.6). In this passage Eusebius refers to a<br />

debate in the early third century A.D. in which the monuments of Peter and<br />

Paul were used to support the authority of the 'orthodox' church at <strong>Rome</strong>.<br />

See further: P. Brown (1981)*.<br />

Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History II.25.5-7<br />

So, this man

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