Eleutherius and Antia

Description

Eleutherius, also written as Eleutherus, Eleuterus and Eleftherios; sometimes called Liberalis or Liberator ‹See Tfd›Greek: Ἐλευθέριος) and his mother Antia, or Anthia (‹See Tfd›Greek: Ἀνθία, Italian: Santi Eleuterio e Anzia) are venerated as Christian saints and martyrs in Greece and Italy.

Born in Rome, Eleutherius’s father died when he was a young child and his mother, Anthia, took him to Anicetus, the Bishop of Rome, who taught him in the divine scriptures. Eleutherius is venerated as a bishop of Illyricum; according to tradition, Antia was his mother. According to a source in Greek dating from before the 5th century, Antia was the widow of a consul named Eugenius. Her son Eleutherius was ordained a deacon and priest and then consecrated as bishop by a man named Anicetus. This tradition may have originated through confusion with Pope Eleutherius, who may have been a deacon of Pope Anicetus (c. 154–164).

The tradition states that Eleutherius was appointed bishop of Messana and Illyricum at the age of twenty and apparently settled in Aulon. He was imprisoned by a comes named Felix; Eleutherius and Antia were taken to Rome to be judged by the Emperor Hadrian. According to this source, Eleutherius and Antia were both condemned to death on December 15. According to tradition, Eleutherius was clubbed to death, while Antia was beheaded.