The Holy Martyrs Tigrius the Presbyter and Eutropius the Reader of Constantinople
Life
Tigrius the Presbyter and Eutropius the Reader were clergy of the church of Constantinople in the early fifth century and devoted adherents of Saint John Chrysostom. Tigrius is remembered as a mild and kindly priest, while Eutropius served as a reader and was noted for his prudence and purity of life. Both became casualties of the persecution directed against Chrysostom's supporters in the disorder that followed his deposition and exile.
After Chrysostom was condemned and removed, his partisans in the capital were rounded up. When fire broke out in the city, Tigrius and Eutropius were arrested on the accusation of arson and subjected to torture. Eutropius died of his wounds in prison, and Tigrius was banished to Mesopotamia, where he too perished. They are commemorated together on June 16.
Timeline 3 moments
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404Chrysostom exiled; arrests of his clergyWhen Saint John Chrysostom was banished from Constantinople, Tigrius and Eutropius were arrested as his partisans. A fire that broke out in the city — by one account reaching the patriarchal church and the senate hall — was made the pretext for charging them with setting fire to buildings belonging to Chrysostom's opponents.
c. 404-405Martyrdom of EutropiusEutropius was flogged, suspended, and struck with iron rods, then thrown into prison. When the torments were repeated he died of his injuries. His body, cast out to the dogs, was recovered by Christians at night and buried.
c. 405Exile and death of TigriusTigrius was tortured and beaten and then banished to Mesopotamia, where he was imprisoned and died.
Contributions & Legacy
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Historical Context
The deaths of Tigrius and Eutropius belong to the violent aftermath of the second exile of John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople, who had been condemned by the Synod of the Oak and removed from his see. His many supporters in the capital — the so-called Johannites — were treated as enemies of the new ecclesiastical order, and several suffered imprisonment, torture, or banishment for refusing communion with his successors.
The synaxarion accounts identify both men as clergy under Chrysostom: Tigrius a presbyter and Eutropius a reader. The charge of arson, brought after a fire damaged buildings in the city, served as a legal pretext for moving against Chrysostom's circle. By tradition the civil prefect who pressed the prosecution is named Optatus and described as a pagan.
Traditional Accounts
By tradition, when Christians recovered the body of Eutropius and buried it by night, angelic singing was heard in the sky above them. Some accounts add that Tigrius was exiled specifically for refusing to enter into communion with Arsacius, the bishop installed in Chrysostom's place. These details are preserved in the synaxarion and hagiographic tradition rather than in independent documentary record.
