Ss. Carpus, Papylus and Companions

Butler’s April 14 notice brings together Carpus, a bishop, Papylus, his deacon, Agathodorus, their servant, and Agathonice, the sister of Papylus. It places their trial in Asia Minor and follows the longer traditional account of their imprisonment and martyrdom.

The prisoners were subjected to repeated examinations. In that account Agathodorus was scourged to death in the presence of the others. Carpus and Papylus were taken to Pergamum, where they endured further suffering and were finally put to death by fire. Agathonice also suffered martyrdom there.

The details and chronology of the surviving martyrdom narratives require care. This reading identifies the form of the account Butler used without fixing every episode or the year as certain history. The companions remain individually named: the servant, the deacon, the bishop and the woman are remembered together for their witness to Christ.