05 Works, Today, April 18th, is Eleutherius and Antia's day, With Footnotes - #104

Artist unknown
STS. ELEUTHERIUS and ANTHIA his Mother

Eleutherius was born in Rome, where his father was an imperial proconsul. His mother Anthia heard the Gospel from the Apostle Paul and was baptized by him. 

Artist unknown
Icon of St. Paul the Apostle

Having been left a widow early, she entrusted her only son for study and service to Anicetus the Bishop of Rome.

Artist unknown
Anicetus the Bishop of Rome

Seeing how Eleutherius illumined by the grace of God, the bishop ordained him a deacon at the age of fifteen, a priest at the age of eighteen, and a bishop at the age of twenty. Eleutherius's wisdom made up for what he lacked in years, and was appointed Bishop of Illyria with his seat in Valona (Avlona), Albania. Eleutherius guarded his flock well and increased their number day by day. 

After Antonio Tempesta, (1555–1630)

Hadrian (AD 76–138), Roman Emperor

Oil on panel

H 65 x W 51 cm

National Trust, Anglesey Abbey

Antonio Tempesta (1555 – 5 August 1630) was an Italian painter and engraver, whose art acted as a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp.

He was born and trained in Florence and painted in a variety of styles, influenced to some degree by "Counter-Maniera" or Counter-Mannerism. He enrolled in the Florentine Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in 1576. He was a pupil of Santi di Tito, then of the Flemish painter Joannes Stradanus. He was part of the large team of artists working under Giorgio Vasari on the interior decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

His favourite subjects were battles, cavalcades, and processions. He relocated to Rome, where he associated with artists from the Habsburg Netherlands, which may have led to his facility with landscape painting. More Antonio Tempesta

Emperor Hadrian sent the commander Felix with soldiers to seize Eleutherius and bring him to Rome. When the raging Felix arrived in Valona and entered the church, he saw and heard the holy hierarch of God; suddenly his heart changed, and he became a Christian. Eleutherius baptized Felix and departed for Rome with him, returning joyfully as if he were going to a feast and not to trial and torture.

Artist unknown
Eleutherius, bishop Illyrian

The emperor subjected tEleutherius to harsh torture: flogging, roasting on an iron bed, boiling in pitch, and burning in a fiery furnace. But Eleutherius was delivered from all these deadly tortures by God's power. Seeing all this, Caribus the Roman eparch declared that he also was a Christian. Caribus was tortured and then beheaded, and so was Blessed Felix. Finally, the imperial executioners cut off the head of St. Eleutherius.

When his mother, Anthia, came and stood over the dead body of her son, she also was beheaded. Their bodies were transported to Valona, where even today St. Eleutherius glorifies the name of Christ by his many miracles. He suffered during the reign of Hadrian in the year 120." More on Eleutherius and Antia

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