Sfântul Mucenic Cyrillus de la Axiopolis

Abstract

The name of the holy martyr Cyrillus of Axiopolis (near today’s Cernavodă, in Romania) is mentioned in both the Breviarium syriacum (on March 10 and May 12) and the Martyrologium hieronymianum (on March 8-9 and 11, April 26, May 9 and 10, July 9, and August 1). In the latter document, he is also mentioned as a bishop (on March 8 and 11, May 10 and July 9). The existence of the martyr is archaeologically confirmed by an inscription on a limestone slab uncovered at Axiopolis, in which the names of the martyrs Cyrillus, Kyndaeas, and Tasius are displayed. In his De aedificiis, Procopius of Caesarea also mentions a fortress (φρούριον) in Scythia bearing the name of Sanctus Cyrillus. This indicates the prestige the martyr enjoyed in the Roman province of Scythia in Late Antiquity. One of the issues related to this martyr concerns his episcopal rank. The historical sources attest to the existence of a single bishop (that of Tomis) in Scythia until the first half of the sixth century.
Considering the data of the available sources, the author puts forward the hypothesis that Cyrillus was a bishop of Tomis who was arrested and martyred at Axiopolis during Diocletianic persecution.