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Bishop of Antioch. When Numerianus - or some say Decius[1] - was prompted by some demon to go into a crowded church,[2] Babylas stood in front of the door and kept him from coming in, saying that as far as it was in his power he would not allow the wolf to go in among the flock.[3] Numerianus at once backed off from the door, either sensing the sedition in the crowd or changing his mind for some other reason. But he was not happy about the bishop's opposition, so after he went back to his quarters at the palace he summoned him to his presence and brought an accusation against him for hindering him. He then ordered Babylas to sacrifice to the deities if he wanted to avoid a trial on this charge. The bishop spoke in his own defense against the charge and responded to the challenge, first of all, that for him as a shepherd it was entirely appropriate feel strongly about his flock. Moreover, he said that he would not turn away from the real God and sacrifice to destructive falsely-named deities. Then Numerianus, seeing that Babylas was not persuaded, ordered that he be bound by chains and fetters and taken off to his death by beheading. As Babylas was being led off to die, he answered in the words of the Psalm: "My soul, turn to your rest, for the Lord has made you prosper."[4] They also say that there were three boys, brothers by birth, all very young, that had grown up in Babylas's household. The Emperor seized them also and, because they refused to sacrifice even though induced to by all kinds of threats, the Emperor ordered that they should be beheaded. When they came to the appointed place, Babylas stood before them and encouraged them not to tremble or to draw back from their deaths. And he proclaimed as they were being beheaded, "Look, I and the children God has given to me."[5] Then he offered his own neck to the sword, bidding those who collected the bodies to bury the chains and fetters with him, "so that they may adorn me as I lie there," he said. And they say these [chains] are still with him.

Βαβύλας, ἐπίσκοπος Ἀντιοχείας. οὗτος, φασὶ, Νουμεριανῷ, οἱ δὲ Δεκίῳ, κατὰ δή τινα δαίμονα εἰσελθεῖν εἰς πληθύουσαν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν προθυμουμένῳ: στὰς γὰρ πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν ἀντισχεῖν φάσκων, εἰς δύναμιν μὴ περιόψεσθαι λύκον τῷ ποιμνίῳ ἐπεισερχόμενον. τὸν δὲ παραυτίκα μὲν ἀνακρουσθῆναι τῆς εἰσόδου, εἴτε στάσιν τοῦ ὄχλου ὑπειδόμενον, εἴτε καὶ ἄλλως αὐτῷ μεταβουλευθέν. ἐν χαλεπῷ μέντοι τὴν ἀντίστασιν τοῦ ἐπισκόπου ποιησάμενον, ἐπειδὴ ὡς ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ τὰ βασίλεια ἀπηλλάγη, παραστήσασθαί τε αὐτὸν καὶ πρῶτα μὲν τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς κωλύσεως ἐγκαλεῖν, ἔπειτα μέντοι κελεύειν αὐτὸν τοῖς δαίμοσι θύειν, εἰ βούλοιτό γε τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ ἐγκλήματι δίκην διαφυγεῖν. τὸν δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἐπέγκλησιν ἀπολογήσασθαι καὶ τὴν πρόκλησιν διακρούσασθαι τὴν μὲν, φήσαντα ποιμένι ὄντι ἑαυτῷ πάντα προσήκειν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ποιμνίου προθυμεῖσθαι, τὴν δὲ, μὴ ἂν ἑλέσθαι τοῦ ὄντως ἀποστάντα θεοῦ ψευδωνύμοις ὀλετῆρσι δαίμοσι θύειν. εἶθ' ὁ μὲν ὡς ἑώρα μὴ πειθόμενον προσέταξεν αὐτὸν ἁλύσεσι καὶ πέδαις ἐνδησαμένους τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ ἄγειν τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀφαιρήσοντας. ὁ δὲ, ἐπειδὴ ἤγετο τεθνηξόμενος, ταύτας ἀναλαβὼν ᾖδε τὰς τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ῥήσεις: ἐπίστρεψον ψυχή μου εἰς τὴν ἀνάπαυσίν σου, ὅτι κύριος εὐεργέτησέ σε. φασὶ δὲ καὶ τρεῖς παῖδας ἀδελφοὺς τὸ γένος κομιδῆ νέους ὑπ' αὐτῷ ἀνατρεφομένους ἁρπαγῆναί τε αὐτοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ὡς οὐδ' αὐτοὶ θύειν ἤθελον, καίτοι παντοίας ἀνάγκης αὐτοῖς προσαγομένης, καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐκέλευσε τῶν κεφαλῶν ἀφαιρεῖν. οὓς, ἐπειδὴ ἧκον εἰς τὸ προκείμενον χωρίον, ὁ Βαβύλας ἑαυτοῦ προστησάμενος, προτέρους προσῆγε τῷ ξίφει, τοῦ μή τινα τρέσαντα αὐτῶν ἀναδῦναι τὸν θάνατον. καὶ ἀποτεμνομένων ταύτην ἀνειπὼν τὴν φωνήν: ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία, ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός, ἔπειτα αὐτὸς προὔτεινε τὸν αὐχένα τῷ ξίφει, ἐντειλάμενος τοῖς τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ συλλεξομένοις τὰς ἁλύσεις καὶ τὰς πέδας αὐτῷ συνθάψαι. ἵν' ᾖ μοι ταῦτα, φησὶ, κειμένῳ κόσμος. καὶ νῦν μετ' αὐτοῦ, ὥς φασι, ταῦτα τυγχάνει κείμενα.

= (with minor differences) Damascenus The Passion of the Great Martyr Artemius 54-5, adapting the account of Philostorgius (7 fr. 8, pp. 89-92 Bidez-Winkelmann), which is paraphrased somewhat differently by Photius (Philostorgius 7 fr. 8 B.-W.). Babylas does not begin to make much of an impact on our surviving sources until a century or so after his death, when Julian the Apostate tried to have his remains moved and was met with unambiguous signs of divine disapproval. The traditions relating to his life and martyrdom are accordingly diverse.
[1] A number of sources place the martyrdom under Numerianus, emperor 283-4: e.g. Joannes Malalas 303.17, Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopoleos 9/4, Symeon Logothetes 81.12. Our best and earliest sources give it a decidedly earlier date, but not without confusion. Eusebios, Historia ecclesiastica 6.39.4, mentions Babylas by name as having been martyred under Decius, emperor 249-51, but also (6.34.1) relates a story about an unnamed church leader forbidding entrance to the church to Philip the Arab (244-249). For a similar doublet see Chronicon Paschale 503-4, citing Leontios, bishop of Antioch: Babylas was martyred under Decius, but for forbidding entrance to Philip and his wife. Others favoring Decius are Zonaras 3.132, Georgius Monachus 110.552. Cedrenus wavers between Philip (1.451) and Numerianus (1.464). The likeliest explanation is that Babylas died in the persecutions under Decius, and that at some point local legend-makers (represented in the surviving record by Leontius of Antioch) connected his story with that of the earlier cleric who stood up to the emperor, even though in Eusebios' account the nameless cleric is not martyred, or even punished, but instead induces the emperor to confess his sins.
[2] In the incident related by Eusebius (6.34.1), the occasion was the vigil on the evening before Easter Sunday.
[3] The reason for Babylas' refusal is reported variously. The Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopoleos (see n. 1) alleges that the emperor (Numerianus) had sacrificed the son of the Parthian king in a pagan ritual. Leontius, in the Chronicon Paschale, that the emperor (Philip) had murdered the son of his predecessor, Gordian, to obtain the throne.
[4] Psalm 114:7 LXX (116:7 RSV); again at epsilon 3440.
[5] Hebrews 2:13, which is itself a fragmentary quotation of Isaiah 8:18.

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