Yennam: Milan Martyrs

Martyrdom was one of the most significant influences of what Christianity is today. It is an idea that has been regarded as a holy act, after Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and there was no higher honour for his believers and followers, than to symbolise that death through accepting martyrdom. It is not the death itself that makes the martyr, it is the cause which one fights and dies for. It is a weapon that can change the minds of millions and incline many more to take part in the cause. It is extremely important in the history of Christianity because it shows the devotion people had towards it and the extent that they were willing to go to from abstaining to renounce their religious belief. They feared nothing, not even death itself, and faced it with pride because that is what they felt as their purpose in life. They are highly honoured and become a symbol of sacredness and divinity for standing up for what they believe in.

In Saint Augustine’s Confessions, he reflects on the revelation he has for finally wanting to change from Manichaeism to Catholicism, and how this impacted his perception of the almighty God. During the time when Ambrose was bishop, his church was persecuted by the mother of Emperor Valentinian, an Arian who disagreed on the divinity of the Jesus of Nazareth. As a result of this, the whole Church was prepared to face death in the idea of the Christian faith. He recollects the martyrs who were willing to die along with bishop Ambrose, one of which was his own mother, and Ambrose’s discovery of the location of the dead martyrs Protasius and Gervasius and how miracles started to occur upon peoples’ interaction with their bodies. A blind man regained his vision prior to lifting the cloth off of their bodies; word spread fast of this and created a frenzy of praises and a newfound curiosity in the existence of the Holy Spirit. Augustine asks God why he made him remember this particular instance. Though he knew it at the time or not, it acted as an inspiration for his ultimate devotion to the idea of Jesus as the Messiah.

This event was extremely significant in diminishing the quarrel between the Arians and the Anti-Aryans, which was highly prevalent during the early years of Christianity. Christians at that time faced severe oppression from the Roman Empire. Early followers of the Christian faith were made an example of for what fate of people who followed this religion beholds, they would be forced to fight hungry beasts and would eventually become their victims or be executed in front of the audience merely to send a message. The Roman Empire was willing to do everything in its power to quell the Christian faith and force the supremacy of the Roman religion on the common people. Suffering was expected during the early years of Christianity, but people’s unquestionable faith in the Jesus of Nazareth led them to persevere and even face an excruciating death in the name of Christ. The deaths of these Christians did not go in vein. These martyrs gained a place in the hearts of people all around and earned a place in heaven as a gift for their utmost devotion to God. “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 10: 38-39). People’s belief in Jesus inspired them to face death with honour and dignity, which earned them divinity even after death, as seen with Protasius and Gervasius.

During the time after the discovery of the two saint martyrs, Augustine’s mental state was somewhat in confusion and was in a phase of questioning the legitimacy of the ideologies of Manichaeism. Nevertheless, he was also in a sense of doubt with the teachings behind Christianity; he was in a sort of existential crisis where he did not know what path to take. It was only after his baptism that he finally found solstice in the existence of a higher power, the almighty God, who was guiding him towards this path, without his awareness. He expresses how this revelation made everything in his life clearer than ever before and how his newfound faith made him realize how God was present at every instant in his life through any form that made him a better person. Though he does not express much of how martyrdom influenced his personal beliefs, in the context of the development of the religion as a whole, it played a major role defining what Christianity is today, and it likely would not have been the same without sacrifice of the Christian martyrs. Augustine’s brief involvement of the martyr saints in his Confessions shed light on so much of what we understand of the beginning of Christianity and the thinking behind one’s conversion to Christianity. This is in fact what happens to him; everything that has happened in his life up to this point led him to eventually become a Christian and to have faith in the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ.

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