Disputation of Achatius · §2 · Acts of the Martyrs

Naming the God he prays to

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Martianus asks Achatius to name the god he prays for the emperor to, after Achatius said sacrifice is owed to the true God and not to a man.

Martianus said, "Answer me: to which god do you pour out your prayer, so that we may pay sacred rites to him as well?"

Achatius said, "I want you to know my God, because it will do you good, and to acknowledge the God who is the true God." Martianus said, "Speak his name to me." Achatius said, "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6)."

Martianus said, "Are those the names of gods?" Achatius answered, "Not these men themselves, but the one who spoke to them is the true God, and him we must fear."

Martianus said, "Who is he?" Achatius answered, "The Most High Adonai, enthroned above the cherubim and the seraphim." Martianus said, "What is a seraph?" Achatius told him, "A servant of the Most High God, one who stands before His lofty throne."

Greek

II. Martianus ait: Responde, cui deo precem fundis? ut ipsi etiam nos sacra reddamus. Achatius dixit: Ego deum meum opto te scire quod prosit et deum qui est verus agnoscere. Martianus ait: Nomen eius mihi enuntia. Achatius dixit: Deus Abraham, deus Isaac et deus Iacob. Martianus ait: Deorum ista sunt nomina? Achatius respondit: Non isti, sed qui locutus est istis, ille est deus verus, illum timere debemus. Martianus ait: Quis est iste? respondit Achatius: Altissimus Adonai, sedens super cherubim et seraphim. Martianus ait: Quid est seraphim? cui Achatius: Altissimi dei minister et excelsae sedis antistes.

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About this text

Martianus, consular prefect under Decius, has Achatius brought before him to require sacrifice with him to the emperor's gods.

This work is anonymous and names no addressee. It is a disputation in dialogue form set under Decius, in which Martianus, consular prefect, has Achatius brought before him to require sacrifice with him to the emperor's gods. The narrator presents the interrogation as remembrance of the deeds of God's servants, ending with imprisonment and referral of the record to Decius, and the clause explaining why Achatius was singled out is corrupt and uncertain.

Achatius argues that Christians honor the emperor by constant prayer for his life, just rule, armies and world peace, but sacrifice is owed to the true God, not to a man, identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Most High Adonai above cherubim and seraphim. He rejects Apollo, Hyacinth, Neptune, Asclepius, Venus, Jupiter, Juno and the rest of that sort, refuses to deny Christ who will judge living and dead, and refuses to name those of the whole church or accept the charge of sorcery. The reader meets Achatius, also called Agathangelus, Martianus, Decius, Jesus Christ, Adam, and Piso and Menander, whose place in one clause as separate bishop and presbyter or as further titles of the speaker is uncertain, and hears judgment sayings, a saying of Christ, and a psalm quoted by Achatius, with Martianus as the voice argued against.

Here sacrifice means pagan offering demanded as proof of loyalty, true God means the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob opposed to visible gods, and gods means Apollo, Jupiter, Juno and others. Son of God and Word of truth name Jesus Christ, Christian faith means the life under attack, whole church means the universal Christian people, deny means public disowning under threat, force means judicial compulsion to sacrifice, and sorcerers states the charge against Christians. Quotations come without book names, introduced by prophet cries, it is written, and again, and psalms follow old numbering about one number lower than modern numbering, cited as Gen, Ps, Matt and Rom, while one passage about the rest of that sort stands in an unreadable gap.

Printed text used

Translated from Oscar von Gebhardt, Acta martyrum selecta (Berlin: A. Duncker, 1902) (Latin)

This work has passed our source check. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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