Ss. Philip, Severus and Hermes

Philip was bishop of Heraclea in Thrace during the persecution of Diocletian. Two members of his clergy shared his imprisonment: Severus, a priest, and Hermes, a deacon who had formerly served as a city magistrate. Butler describes Hermes as a man respected for his charity, who supported himself by work and had taught his son to do the same.

When officials sealed the church, Philip continued to encourage the Christians gathered outside. Ordered to surrender the church’s property and sacred books, he distinguished the vessels from the Scriptures: precious metal could be given up, but he would not consent to the destruction of the books entrusted to him. The books were nevertheless seized and burned. Philip and Hermes refused the further demand to offer sacrifice, enduring imprisonment and repeated examinations.

They were eventually taken to Adrianople and condemned to be burned. Before his death Hermes asked that his son be told to restore anything belonging to others that remained in his charge and to continue earning his bread honestly. Severus, left in prison, was put to death after them. Butler draws on the martyrs’ acts and preserves both their public constancy and this final concern that another person’s property should not be wrongfully retained.