Saint Blandina and the Martyrs of Lyon: the fortitude of faith (177 AD)

In the summer of 177, during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, a violent persecution against Christians swept through the city of Lyon. Among those tortured and condemned to death, a slave girl impressed with her heroic resistance and her ability to inspire courage in other Christian prisoners. Her name was Blandina.

Jules Comparat, Le martyre de sainte Blandine. 1886. Lyon, église Saint-Blandine de Lyon, tympan / © CC BY-SA 4.0/Delfin Le Dauphin

Reasons to believe:

The events are recounted in detail by an eyewitness in the Letter from the Churches of Lyon and Vienna to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia.
Blandina was tied to a post in the arena. Wild beasts were let out to attack her but, to everyone's surprise, left her alone.
Physically frail, Blandina endured for several days a multitude of atrocious torments, just one of which is usually enough to kill a person: torture, whipping, wild beasts, the gridiron and a bull's horns. The executioners were stunned and forced to slit her throat.
Blandina remained steadfast in her prayer to the end, and the other Christians in the arena were strengthened by her example.
The pagans attending the games recognized the extraordinary number and cruelty of the torments endured by this woman.
Where did her strength come from? Our minds cannot explain the heroic resistance of Saint Blandina, nor the perseverance unto death of the 47 other Christians of Lyon. The answer is supernatural.

Summary:

Nothing suggested the hidden reserve of strength and determination in this frail female slave. The author of the Letter from the Christians of Lyon to the Church of Smyrna states: "In Blandina, Christ gave this teaching: what, in the eyes of men, is contemptible, vile and ugly, God can judge worthy of great glory, because of the love we have for him."

Under torture, it was not the denial of her faith but the confession of it that helped Blandina to survive. "All she had to do was repeat, 'I'm a Christian, and among us no harm is done'", and she regained her strength, rested and became insensitive to the torture."

In the arena, Blandina was suspended and tied to a post. For the Christians watching her, she was the image of Christ, crucified so that they might obtain eternal life. "Frail, weak, and despised, she was clothed in the strength of Christ." Through her courage and faith, she showed "that there is no fear where the love of the Father reigns, no suffering where the glory of Christ shines forth".

Forty-eight Christians died as martyrs in the summer of 177. Each of them gave an edifying testimony: Saint Pothinus was 90 years old when he was arrested and beaten; Sanctus was miraculously healed of the wounds inflicted by torture; the teenaged Ponticus; Biblis; Maturus, Attalus, and all their companions.

"The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians," Tertullian observed in the 3rd century. Spectators at the games were disconcerted by the persistence of Lyon's Christians to confess their faith despite the horrible torments they faced, when abjuring their faith would have saved their lives. Despite the prolonged efforts of the Roman authorities to discourage conversions, Christianity continued to spread until, two centuries later, it became the state religion of the Roman Empire.

Since the 2nd century, the story and location of Saint Blandina's martyrdom have been preserved in memory. Today, it is still marked by a wooden pole. Pope Saint John Paul II visited the site in 1986 and said of the martyrs of Lyon: "They did not wish to deny the One who had given them his life and called them to be his witnesses. We know that there are still many today, in every part of the world, who suffer abuse, banishment and even torture because of their fidelity to the Christian faith. In them, Christ manifests his power. The martyrs of today and the martyrs of yesterday surround us and sustain us so that we may keep our eyes fixed on Jesus."

Solveig Parent

Beyond reasons to believe:

Martyrs contribute to sustaining the Christian faith and to shape the history of their country. Martyrdom continues to be part of the life of the Church today: there were more Christian martyrs in the 20th century than in all the preceding centuries combined.

Going further:

Read the letter describing the persecutions: Letter from the Churches of Lyon and Vienne to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia, recorded in Ecclesiastical History by the historian Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, 4th century (available online).