But not long afterwards this commander of the camp, having become his own slayer, paid the penalty for his evil ways. As for us, however, banishments and grievous persecutions were again stirred up, and once more there arose throughout all the provinces dreadful onslaughts of the governors against us, so that some of those distinguished in the divine Word, having been taken, received without reprieve the sentence of death. Of these, three at Emesa, a city of Phoenicia, having confessed themselves to be Christians, were handed over as food for the wild beasts. Among them was a bishop, Silvanus, exceedingly advanced in years, who had fulfilled his ministry for forty whole years.
And about the same time Peter also, who had presided most illustriously over the communities at Alexandria—a truly divine pattern of bishops, both for the virtue of his life and for his earnest practice in the sacred words—having been seized for no cause whatever, with no foregoing expectation, was thus suddenly and without reason beheaded, as if by the command of Maximin; and along with him many others of the bishops throughout Egypt endured the same fate.
And Lucian also, a man in all respects most excellent, both temperate in his life and trained in the sacred learning, a presbyter of the community at Antioch, having been brought to the city of Nicomedia, where the Emperor then chanced to be staying, and having made before the ruler his defence on behalf of the teaching over which he presided, was committed to prison and put to death.
So great, indeed, were the things contrived against us in a short space by Maximin, that hater of the good, that this persecution which he had stirred up seemed to us far more severe than the former one.