EUGENIA, AN UPRIGHT CHRISTIAN WOMAN, BEHEADED FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, NEAR THE CITY OF CORDOVA, A. D. 923.
It is recorded that A. D. 923, an upright Christian woman, called Eugenia, was apprehended in the aforementioned persecution, and, remaining steadfast in the confession of the faith in the Son of God, was beheaded, on the sixteenth of March, A. D. 923, through the tyrant and persecutor Habdarraghman.
It is stated that in digging the foundation of some building, in a village called Marmolejos, near Cordova, where she was martyred, an epitaph was found, the first letters of each line of which spelled her name: _Eugenia Martyr_, that is, Eugenia the Witness (namely, of Jesus), as a token that she had died for the testimony of Jesus her Savior. There could be gathered from it, further, the time when this took place, as well as the manner in which she was put to death, namely, that she was beheaded with the sword, at the time indicated above.[149]
[149] For further comments respecting Eugenia’s confession of faith, see the explanation which we shall append to the account of the death of Pelagius.
PELAGIUS, A LAD OF THIRTEEN YEARS, AFTER MUCH SUFFERING FOR THE TRUE CHRISTIAN FAITH, AT CORDOVA, HAS HIS ARMS AND LEGS CUT OFF, AND IS FINALLY BEHEADED, A. D. 925.
It is stated that about two years after, namely, A. D. 925, a lad of thirteen years, called Pelagius, was put to death for the name of Christ, in Cordova, which occurred as follows: His uncle, Ermoigus (who by some writers is called a bishop), having been apprehended and imprisoned at Cordova, by the Arabian King Habdarrhaghman, said Ermoigus, in order to be released, left his nephew, who was then only about thirteen years old, in his stead, as a pledge, which for more than three years was not redeemed, either through the neglect of his friends, or because the King would not let go the youth, who was now very comely and well-mannered.
In the mean time, this lad exercised himself diligently in the Christian religion, to prepare himself for his martyrdom, which seemed to him to be drawing near. When he was about thirteen and a half years old, he was brought before the King, and, standing there, immediately began to confess his faith, declaring that he was ready to die for it.[150] But the King, having in view something else than to hear the confession of the Son of God, or of the Christian faith, proposed to the youth, who was quite innocent in evil, some improper things, which this hero of Christ valiantly and in a Christian manner refused, willing rather, to die an honorable death for the name of Christ, than to live shamefully with the devil, and pollute both soul and body with such an abominable sin. The King, hoping that he could yet be persuaded, commanded his servants to ply him with fair promises, to the effect, that, if he would apostatize, he should be brought up with royal splendor at the court of the King. But the Lord, in whom he trusted, strengthened him against all the allurements of this world, so that he said: “I am a Christian, and will remain a Christian, and obey only Christ’s commands all the days of my life.”
[150] _To die for the name of Christ_, our author says.
The King, seeing that he remained steadfast, was filled with rage, and commanded his guards to take him, suspend him by iron tongs, and pinch him and haul him up and down until he should either die or renounce Christ as his Lord. But having undergone all this, he was as fearless as ever, and refused not to suffer still more tortures, even unto death.
When the tyrant perceived the immovable steadfastness of this youth, he commanded that they should cut him limb from limb, and throw the pieces into the river. As he thus stood before the King, dripping with blood, from his previous tortures, he prayed to none than to Jesus Christ our Lord, saying: “O Lord, deliver me out of the hands of my enemies.” When he lifted up his hands to God [in prayer], the executioners pulled them apart and cut off first one arm, and then the other; thus also his legs, and, lastly, his head. When this was done, the pieces were thrown into the river.