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Conon, an old gardener at Magydus who says he is from Nazareth and of Christ's family, will not sacrifice and dies after being made to run before the governor's chariot.
The writer of this martyrdom account is unknown, and it names no addressee. It belongs to the time after Papias, Diodorus and Claudian were completed as martyrs, when the governor came to Magydus and tried through a herald to summon the inhabitants. The inhabitants fled, leaving the city empty, and he sent searchers to look everywhere and house by house.
The searchers find only the old gardener Conon watering the imperial garden at Carmena. Bound to a horse and dragged in, Conon is presented by Naodorus, also called Apelles, a city father devoted to idols, as obedient to the gods, laws and emperor, and Conon corrects him with Not as you say it is, affirming that he obeys Christ the great King. Asked about home, kindred and name, he declares himself from Nazareth of Galilee and a kinsman and ancestral worshipper of Christ above all gods. The governor demands only a small amount of incense, wine and a branch with the cry Highest, save this multitude, and says he learned from Jews about the people, deeds and crucified death of Christ, and that they produced the hypomnemata of Christ and read them to him. Conon denounces lifeless stones and human handiwork, refuses to sacrifice, and warns the governor of divine judgment in Tartarus and unquenchable fire. Nailed under the joints of his feet, he is forced to run before the chariot under two whips while singing, then kneels at the marketplace, commends his soul to Jesus, and dies as an offering to God. The reader also meets the unnamed governor as judge, Origen the assistant with the search party, the earlier martyrs Papias, Diodorus and Claudian, and Jesus Christ confessed as great King, God over all, Saviour and Lord. Direct speech is given for Conon, the governor, Origen and Naodorus, and Conon argues against the words of Naodorus and the demand of the governor.
As rendered here, martyr means one who confesses Christ under trial and dies for it, governor means the Roman provincial ruler acting as judge, and tyrant means the same governor as hostile persecutor. Idol means a pagan god image denounced as lifeless stone and handwork, sacrifice means performing a pagan offering to win release, torture means judicial torture meant to frighten into denial, and gardener means a humble day laborer working soil and garden. The author quotes the Greek Old Testament without giving book titles, and psalm language follows the LXX numbering, about one number lower than modern numbers. The psalm quotation is cited as Ps 40:1 modern, LXX Ps 39:2, and the worm and fire warning is cited as Isa 66:24, also known from Mark 9:48.
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