The Passion of Montanus and Lucius · §6 · Acts of the Martyrs

Keep unity and peace to be heard and to inherit

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The imprisoned letter writers interrupt their prison report to urge their brothers to keep unity, love and peace.

Now, dearest brothers, something must also be said about the love we have for one another. We are not instructing you but reminding you, for as we were of one mind together, so we also live as one before the Lord and pray as one. The unity of love must be held fast, and we must cling to the bonds of love. Then the devil is thrown to the ground, and then whatever we ask is received from the Lord, for he himself promises and says, "If two of you agree on earth about anything you ask from my Father, it will be yours" (Matthew 18:19).

Nor can we receive eternal life and reign with Christ in any other way, unless we do what he commanded to be done, he who promised both life and the kingdom. The Lord himself declares by his own teaching that those who have kept peace with their brothers attain the inheritance of God, when he says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9). The apostle explains this when he says, "We are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified together with him" (Romans 8:16-17).

So if no one can be an heir except as a child, and no one is a child except as a peacemaker, whoever breaks the peace of God will not be able to hold the inheritance of God. And we do not say this as people who have not been warned, nor do we urge it without a divine showing.

Greek

X. Iam nunc, dilectissimi fratres, et de amore quem in nos invicem habemus aliqua dicenda sunt. nec instruimus, sed admonemus quia, sicut simul unanimes fuimus, ita et apud dominum una vivimus et oramus. tenenda est concordia caritatis, dilectionis vinculis inhaerendum est. tunc diabolus prosternitur, tunc a domino quicquid postulatur accipitur, ipso pollicente ac dicente: Si duo ex vobis convenerint super terram de omni re quamcumque petieritis a patre meo, continget vobis. nec alio modo vitam aeternam accipere et cum Christo regnare poterimus, nisi fecerimus quod praecipit faciendum, qui et vitam promisit et regnum. eos denique hereditatem dei consequi, qui pacem cum fratribus tenuerint, suo magisterio ipse dominus denuntiat dicens: Beati pacifici, quoniam filii dei vocabuntur. quod exponens apostolus ait: Sumus filii dei. si autem filii, et heredes; heredes quidem dei, coheredes autem Christi, siquidem compatiamur, ut et commagnificemur. si heres esse non potest nisi filius, filius autem non est nisi pacificus, hereditatem dei habere non poterit qui pacem dei rumpit. et hoc non quasi (non) admoniti dicimus aut sine divina ostensione suggerimus.

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About this text

Lucius, Montanus, Flavian and their companions write from prison at Carthage of their arrest, hunger and visions. A fellow Christian then tells how they died and what Flavian taught the church on his last day.

Montanus, Lucius and their fellow prisoners wrote this in prison at Carthage about 259, to fellow Christians they call dearest brothers, including brothers still to come. After arrest and imprisonment at Carthage they write to leave testimony of the greatness of God and of their suffering and endurance for the Lord for brothers who will come after.

Its argument is that God protects his servants in prison where threatened burning is extinguished by prayer and darkness becomes light and hunger and thirst are relieved through help brought by fellow Christians, and visions of lamps and a guiding child and milk filled bowls and white garments and promise of a more glorious crown assure them that Christ is with them, so they must hold unity and love and peace and unanimity since division forfeits sonship and inheritance. The reader meets fellow confessors Flavian and Julian and Victoricus and Primolus and Renus and Donatian and Victor the presbyter and Quartillosia and her martyred son and Cyprian who taught the faith and Leucius seen with him and Lucian and Herennian and Januarius who bring food. Their own words are quoted for Renus on lamps and Victor with the shining boy and the Lord in his vision and Quartillosia with her son and the youth with bowls and Montanus on his vision and Lucius at execution, and an editor completes the account in which Montanus preaches against idols and schism and hasty reconciliation of those who gave in under pressure and disrespect for leaders.

Here struggle means the whole trial of arrest and prison and execution and crown means heavenly reward and testimony means open declaration of faith and suffering means suffering and execution for Christ and hardship means affliction of prison want and endurance means patient endurance and unity means united love and peace means reconciliation after quarrel and leaders means appointed church leaders and those who gave in under pressure means Christians who failed under persecution and breakaway Christians means Christians outside the church and person preparing for baptism means one under instruction not yet baptized. The author uses Old Latin wording with LXX style book names and Psalm numbering, so Psalms give the LXX number alongside the modern number and quotations are woven in without modern references including Daniel 3 for the three youths in the fire and Psalm 119:105 LXX 118:105 and Psalm 50:15 LXX 49:15 and Matthew 18:19 and Matthew 5:9 and Romans 8:16 to 17 and Exodus 22:20. Primolus is an arrested Christian whose earlier declaration served as baptism and Renus is a fellow prisoner who dreams of lamps and Herennian is a subdeacon who carries food and Cyprian is the church teacher and Leucius is the figure seen with him.

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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